Hopefully not too inflammatory.
I decided I'd like to know who, if anyone, you guys find interesting out of the field of presidential candidates and, if anyone looks worth voting for in a way more substatial than "at least they're not...", why you find them interesting. This is, of course, just preliminary thoughts about people we won't be voting for or against for months, but I thought it would be interesting to hear what you guys think. That's how democracy is supposed to work, right? Citizens discussing their leaders in the common marketplace of ideas and all that. And since we already fight about religion, why not add politics to the mix. (It would also be a special treat for me and Andy who otherwise only see Republicans on TV or occasionally in business class when we get on airplanes.) We live in the most powerful country ever; we should be doing this kind of thing.
If you don't have any favorites at the moment, what are the factors that will determine who you vote for (or against). What do you care most about in an administration? (This really kind of sounds like an online dating survey, doesn't it?)
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OK. I don't know if this will work, but I'll start. Since I'll be voting in the Democratic primary, I'll start on that side. I am a quasi-supporter of Obama, largely because he is at least rhetorically basing his campaign on hope for real change and not just on "I'm not evil like George Bush", but I think a lot of my enthusiasm for him lies in the fact that he's the candidate with the most support who isn't Clinton or Edwards. (There will be 50 year olds voting in '08 election who have never seen a presidential ticket without a Bush or Clinton on it. Dynasties aren't good for democracy.)
The guy I'm probably more interested in is Bill Richardson (current governor of New Mexico), but I don't really know as much about him as I'd like to. I do know that he was a high-level diplomat and ambassador to the UN during the Clinton administration, and it would be nice to have a president who can practice diplomacy that doesn't involve blowing people up. Seriously, though, I think the diplomatic arm of foreign policy will be one of the most important stakes in the next administration.
Oh, and taking it from another angle, the "issues" I'm looking at most closely right now are war, immigration, civil rights and health care. Pretty much in that order. What are you guys looking for in a candidate.
Honestly, I don't really believe in any of the candidates that are in anything resembling serious contention to "win."
I think politics in the United States, and elsewhere of course, is so far beyond what it really should be. I guess it sounds trite, but in my opinion, the whole process is tainted by all the money, all the "who you know" connections, and all the artificial posturing required to not get ripped apart by the media.
I want a real person to elect, and while I'm sure all the candidates are real people, so to speak, behind closed doors, I hate the facade they have to put on. I'm no fan of Bush, but I feel like if you were able to have dinner with him before he sort of "got in too deep" he be a pleasant companion.
I think Obama could be OK in the position, but again, I don't think we've seen the real man, and the real man could be better than the "candidate", you know?
But really, I think the best person for president out there is probably someone nobody has ever heard of, too poor to run, but a genius...
Oh well.
Here is an interesting set of websites sent to me by a friend of mine.
The first has a big chart of issues cross-listed with candidates:
http://www.2decide.com/table.htm
The second takes the data from that chart and uses a questionaire to match user positions with candidate positions:
http://www.dehp.net/candidate/index.php
Both sites are rather interesting, I think. They don't have a great degree of nuance, but they're a broad strokes starting point and the first site provides links to all the candidates official websites.
Enjoy and Bon Courage.
We're keeping our eyes on Obama at the moment, largely for reasons as have already been outlined (time to end the dynasties, he seems the least forced, seems to grasp for a larger vision than a single issue, etc). With his background in community organizing, he could turn out to be quite the diplomat, which would be a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, I don't do as much thinking of politics these days as I wish I could.
I am reading McCullough's John Adams, which came highly recommended to me from several sources. Indeed, it's a wonderful picture of the man, Adams, as well as the amazing times in which he lived. It is also a good thing to learn/relearn all the thoughts, conversations and careful writings that went into the formation of our government structure and processes
I have to agree with Hillary when she said Obama is naive. At least that's the way he has come off recently.
The guy I think most resembles aeijtzsche's "real person" is Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. He seems quite able to defend his positions sincerely and quick-mindedly, even in a live debate (unlike our current misunderstood president). Though I really disagree with his opposition to gun control, at least he explains his position well.
So I've been doing a bit of research and reading the last few days, and I think I'm going to throw myself behind Kucinich in the primary. I know he's not one of the media's golden boys, and it may be another of my lost causes, but I find both his positions and his rational behind them incredibly compelling. Taking one example, he is the ONLY candidate I've seen so far who recognizes that the US/Mexican border is an ETHICAL issue that, primarily, has to do with keeping families together and protecting workers from exploitation. That's a risky thing to say in the post-2001 backlash against anyone non-American or with a slightly brown complexion, but it is the right thing to say. He also believes in the strength of peace and in peace as more than the absence of war. Social justice. Effective education. Fair representation. A Department of Peace. An end to the barbaric, racist death penalty. I'm intrigued.
On the Republican side, I like McCain even though he is dead in the water. His home town is where I lived the last 4 years, and he announced his candidacy on my birthday.
On a more serious note, he strikes me as having more integrity, courage, and sense of duty to do what's best for the country. Granted Bush's presidency has scared me in many ways, but I still like the idea of a president who doesn't hold himself a slave to public opinion polls.
On the Democratic side, I go with the anybody but Edwards, probably Obama, because I think he'd shake things up. I find Biden curious, though historically he can't keep his foot out of his mouth.
McCain is an interesting bloke... I think he seems OK as a person, but it seems like he's too interested in being beholden to the Bush administration at times. I think that if he really spoke his mind, it would be a different story to what he says publicly now, which is not a good thing when you don't have alignment there. But in how many candidates do we have that alignment anyway? My guess is none and therein lies my problem as touched upon above.
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