It is too far out for me to make a decision, unless Al Gore comes in, and I want to see some push back. Nobody has to put up with this crap.

I don’t know what Jim Lehrer would do in a more prominent spot, but I do know that he’s a conservative Republican Texan in real life. He seems to be a straight shooter by comparison to the other talking heads, but that doesn’t take much.

Maybe it’s because I remember the media of Vietnam/Watergate that I expect more of them. It’s a sad thing that most of todays editors would be better portrayed by Jim Carry than Jason Robards.

Oh, well, Al Franken is running for the Senate – better a professional comedian than amateur clowns.

McCain is, in my estimation, toast. He may be the only person left in this country who actually thinks he has a shot at winning the Republican nomination, much less the 2008 general election. He had a moderate following eight years ago when he was less demonstrably insane, but the last six years of carrying water and very publicly osculating the preznit’s arsehole I think have done away with much of that. He’s an unabashed hawk in a nation where two-thirds of the people routinely say they’re sick to death of the war he wants to keep on fighting and even make bigger. So I think we can safely say he’ll have a hard time rounding up independents in the general–and without them, he’ll never win.

He’s also got problems on the home front. Despite the way he has practically grafted himself on to Bush, McCain has no base cred with the Republic Party faithful. They consider him too much a “maverick” (i.e., too willing to think on his own, instead of following the line set by the apparatchiki). That’s going to make it damn hard for him to win the nomination, though at this point I think the die-hard conservatives are really going to be SOL this time around. The only guy who’s announced so far that they might possibly like is Sam Brownback, and he’s got no hope. So the Republic Party may find itself having trouble motivating voters to come out at all, this time around–and that also bodes well for our side.

Giuliani is an empty suit. He was never a “real” Republican (by their standards of Republicanism). He does have that thrice-married stigma attached to him, to say nothing of rumors that he’s a little light in the loafers (and that was before he roomed with a gay couple while getting a divorce from his second wife so he could marry his then-mistress). The “family values” crowd are going to hate him on sight. And while I’m sure he’ll be wrapping himself in the 9/11 mantle even more fervently than the Boy Who Would Be King, that’s six years ago–an eon in political time. We know more now than we did then, and his “leadership” during that difficult period doesn’t have nearly the same hagiographical glow about it as it did in the first year.

McCain and Giuliani aren’t the ones to worry about, in my estimation. In fact, I don’t know (a) whether there actually is someone to worry about on the Republic ticket, or (b) if there is, who that might be. At least not yet.

On the Republican side you have the process controlled by people who believe that any thought beyond Y1K is dangerous and to be avoided. On the other side the Democratic party is plagued by people who think fielding a center right candidate is the only way to go. This leaves the right side all the choices, and provides nothing for the left.

Hopefully, Howard Dean’s moves will provide a little more balance for the Democratic Party.

John Kerry was anointed by a plurality of a minority in a few small states and there was no choice for most of the country. Most of the country is dependent on media reports, and the media refuses to provide accurate information, treating political campaigns as theatrical events. The media has major responsibility for every disaster that has been wrought by the Shrubbery – they refused to accurately report what they knew.

CG, the “sheeple” go along, because the media doesn’t bother to give them the information they need. If they really received facts from the media, they would be a good deal more likely to “do the right thing.” Given the current corporate media distortions, getting the truth out is more difficult than ever.

This two year campaign is garbage. It is a waste of time and effort, especially since it has produced nothing more than “bumper sticker” concepts. If there were a few detailed plans coming forth, it might make sense – giving people the time to understand where candidates stand – but we are getting the same old crap and talking points.

I’m looking for an advocate. I want someone willing to push to improve things. I want someone who is willing to speak realistically about the problems and what it is going to take to clean things up. Faced with the corruption, cronyism, and incompetence of the Shrubbery, there is no need to talk about Democrats. These people need to be outlining what they are going to do to clean up this mess.

The next time a winger demands an apology for anything, Democrats should respond that it will come right after the wingers apologize for the systematic corruption, cronyism, and incompetence they supported for the last six years.

The early numbers may give you some comfort, then. Giuliani’s support in the latest Pew poll (I think that’s the one) is down like 15 points from a year ago. And Gallup had some interesting “what if?” numbers (kos FPed them over at Big Orange if you want to see the actual numbers) that suggested most of the likely Republican slate was going to be in trouble for one or more items on their resume. Voters apparently are less than enthusiastic about candidates who are 72 years old or more (McCain), Mormon (Romney), or multiply serially monogamous (Gingrich and Giuliani have both been married three or more times).

Actually it concerns me greatly as to which Democratic candidates survive into the primary rounds. The “hows” of their survival is probably my central concern. Will it be the in-fighting or external factors (the Reich Wing) that cull the herd? My current wish is that Howard Dean gathers all the Democratic contenders into a room and establishes some ground rules for the next year. No fighting among yourselves until 2008. Develop your positions-tell the public what you will do and HOW you will do it. Point out the failures of the current administration. Illustrate the possible crisis points facing the nation and what solutions you will offer. Edwards has a health plan-let’s hear the nuts and bolts of it. I want to hear how he’s going to make an this arrangement work with business and still provide the care necessary. Hey, it’s really swell Senator Clinton wants to get us out of Iraq…sounds great…how will this be accomplished and what will fill the void once we leave? Haven’t heard a whole lot on that score…

I absolutely do NOT want an a pre-selected candidate from the Democratic ranks. But I also don’t want to see a knife fight. I want to see the Democrats elevate the discourse to a new level…that way if they lose in ’08, they can look back and show how and what they did in attempt to lift the whole process out of the gutter.

And yes, the Republicans have already selected their candidate…the fix is in for McCain. I actually see a McCain/Giuliani ticket in ’08 and I see it having a distinct possibility of winning. And those will be some of the worst four years this nation has seen in quite some time. While it may be the death knell for the current incarnation of the Republican Party, I’m not sure what condition the country will be in after a one term McCain Administration.

As to the masses, you’re right: my faith in them is quite low.

“When the Democratic candidates begin to go after each other, it’s going to be a mess. And every moment of it will be chronicled.” – CG

What… would you rather have an anointed candidate a priori, as Republans [sic… an ‘ic’ for an ‘ic’] often do? Good grief. Democracy is messy and noisy… and I’m OK with that.

I, for one, am not ready to give up on the American people or the process so easily. And I doubt the Edwards campaign is finished. My disappointment that Edwards didn’t figuratively raise his middle finger toward Donohue right away is simply a recognition that Edwards is more conservative than I am. And thanks to your Two Year Root Canal, there’s plenty of time for everyone to forget about it. If we start freaking out every time the eliminationists crank up their noise machine against a Democratic candidate, we are well and truly done for. I’m not saying we should forget the incident, I’m just saying, suck it up and move forward.

The early declarations by so many candidates is unprecedented and while I feel it should be cause for alarm, it puts the nation in previously uncharted territory (The Two Year Root Canal is my appellation for it). This will be one of the longest campaigns in our history and I believe it affords every candidate an equal opportunity to screw up. And they will not miss the opportunity. Unfortunately, the most promising opportunity they will all squander is the chance to frame the Democratic vision, to clarify their positions and to chart a new course for the party. When the Democratic candidates begin to go after each other, it’s going to be a mess. And every moment of it will be chronicled.

The Two Year Root Canal has the potential to be one of the most expensive in our history, with one network predicting a total of one billion dollars being spent. That’s a lot of solar panels…

However, the biggest problem in American politics is the American electorate, the sheeple. The Sheeple are the ones who have already made up their minds about the Edwards campaign. The Sheeple won’t listen to him now that it’s been planted in their collective conscious that Edwards hired two “anti-Christian feminists” in spite of the fact Edwards has a promising health care plan and the Sheeple could use a really good health care plan. The Sheeple are the biggest threat to the democratic institutions of this country, not the instigators or the provacatuers such as Donohue. The Donohues, the O’Reilleys, the list is quite long are media parasites. They are tapeworms in the body politic. Let’s examine a few of the afflictions of the Sheeple. Decades of inferior education have left them barely able to read and write their own language and yet our
political system demands they possess critical evaluation skills lest they be completely in the sway of the tapeworms. Decades of the Consumer Culture have mutated the Sheeple into a self-absorbed, self-centered mass of needs and demands. Their vote will go to those who they feel will insure no disruption to this seeming inalienable Right to Consume. And last, the average Sheeple watches 4.5 hours of television a day and you can rested assured it ain’t PBS in the Land of the Sheeple. They actually have faith in what is transmitted through their television. How are you going to combat that?

If you can find a way to leverage the Sheeple out their reactive Consumer mindset, you might stand a chance, but what will fulcrum and lever will it require?