Presidential candidates I Would and Would Not Vote For

<rim shot>

At least Advocate hit the rim; whereas you missed totally.

Tico, I have to admit that you are half a wit.

Advocate's going to be here all week.

Kucinich, again: This time his presidential bid is all about Dennis

Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's not difficult to figure out Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The diminutive Cleveland congressman has a giant-sized ego that seeks a national platform for attention. It's the reason the 60-year-old liberal Democrat has launched a second bid for president.

The first time Rep. Kucinich made a presidential run, in 2004, he stayed in long after the party had ended for his candidacy, but the man was on a mission. Besides gaining national exposure for himself, Mr. Kucinich ran almost exclusively on an anti-war plank.

The politician who first attracted national headlines as Cleveland's disastrous "boy" mayor has been a consistent and, at times, eloquent dissenter in the Iraq war. He was a passionate opponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq from the beginning, when many of his Democratic colleagues were silent, and for that he deserves credit.

He kept the war at the forefront of his quixotic campaign, hammering away at the steep cost of the unjustified pre-emptive invasion whenever possible. And he was right.

But to use the results of the recent midterm elections as an excuse to run again for president on an anti-war platform undermines the good he did two years ago.

Voters finally got his and other critics' warnings about the war and sent their own resounding message for change to Washington. Their votes affirmed the Kucinich arguments against a war that should never have been waged. The congressman should take great satisfaction in having helped to awaken the country to the catastrophe in Iraq.

But it's not about him. It's about the nation finding new direction through new leadership. Conversely, the announced Kucinich campaign for president in 2008 is about him.

Frankly, his constituents deserve better; they re-elected the congressman to a sixth term with 66 percent of the vote. With such support, they undoubtedly expected Mr. Kucinich to reciprocate by representing their needs and concerns on Capitol Hill. Next time maybe they'll know better.

A politician who takes overwhelming support for granted to embrace a second long-shot candidacy for the White House represents a party of one.

Sen. Sam Brownback thinks he can run. He is a complete loser, and is somewhat of a religious fanatic. I would take Dennis over him any day.

Not surprisingly, I have the opposite take.

You must be anti-choice. Sam is probably more anti-choice than anyone in congress.

No, but I do choose to vote for Brownback given a choice between him and Kucinich.

Now, give me a different set of candidates, and I might make a different choice.

See, I'm all about choice.

One of the big selling points for James Gilmore is that he had the auto tax abolished upon taking office as governor of Virginia. What he and his supporters don't tell you is that he then promptly asked the legislature to increase other taxes to replace of the lost auto-tax revenue. He is another phony from the right.

People should be concerned about Mitt Romney's religion. Moreover, he has said in effect that he is for a blending of church and state. He posits that he is the candidate of the Christian Right.

I am convinced that the best thing that could happen in our country was to have the handsome, highly learned, poliitically astute, charismatic Barack Obama run for President on the Democratic ticket.

How could he lose? Millions more, especially minorities,would turn out to vote for him.

Once people get wind of Barak's middle name, he may be in trouble politically.

Unbelievable.

My middle name is Rea and that prevents me from running for election to the city board of sewer sanitiation. Should I change my name?

Just because Obama's Middle name is Hussein, it would mean nothing to the voter who listens to his ideas and who knows that Senator Obama is a Congregationalist not a Muslim.

Please, I didn't imply that Barak's middle name should raise a negative implication. It is just that I have little faith in the electorate, which, after all, twice put Bush into office.

Generally, I find it easier to vote for the lesser of two evils.

Obama cant run.

He smokes,and the nannies in the loony left that want smoking outlawed and smokers shot would never vote for him.
He wouldnt win the election.

Smokers, a despised minority? That is a new one for me.