Who's Your Man... or Woman?

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Meltdown of the GOP

It’s hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation, or that he seems to be dragging every ’08 Republican presidential candidate down with him.

The public’s approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent, an all-time low for this president in our poll, and a point lower than Gallup recorded for his father at Bush Sr.’s nadir. The last president to be this unpopular was Jimmy Carter who also scored a 28 percent approval in 1979. This remarkably low rating seems to be casting a dark shadow over the GOP’s chances for victory in ’08. The NEWSWEEK Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head matchups.
(snip)
A majority of Americans believe Bush is not politically courageous: 55 percent vs. 40 percent. And nearly two out of three Americans (62 percent) believe his recent actions in Iraq show he is “stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes,” compared to 30 percent who say Bush’s actions demonstrate that he is “willing to take political risks to do what’s right.”

For the GOP meltdown, we need to thank Mr Bush and his minions. Without them, without his stubborn arrogance, we wouldn't be looking at such pretty blue numbers.

In an effort to separate themselves from "The Commander Guy", during the first GOP debates, Reagan was mentioned 17 times, Bush, only once.

A conversation with John Edwards

I found this on Salon this morning, you can read the whole interview here.

Elizabeth has announced that you plan to hire a tutor to help home-school your two youngest children, Emma Claire and Jack, in the fall so the family can be together on the campaign trail. Have you realized how many conservative votes you could get if you play up your plans for home schooling?

I hadn't thought about that.

I assume that evolution will not be part of the curriculum.

It'll be part of our curriculum.

If there is one word that I have heard from you in this campaign -- in your criticism tonight of "incrementalism" and in your New Hampshire speech last month about "transformational change" -- it's the word "bold." I didn't hear this from you four years ago at this time.

You probably never heard it from me.

What changed?

Circumstances. I think things have changed for America. Our standing in the world has gone down. The war in Iraq has gone downhill. Our healthcare systems have become more dysfunctional. And both climate change and energy use have gotten worse. I think it's what's needed under the circumstances. I think it's also combined with me being more seasoned and more comfortable with taking stronger, bolder positions.

If someone who was in a campaign 10 years ago had published a pamphlet that some interest group was really upset about -- with the oldest technology in the world, a printing press -- it would have been a somewhat similar flap.

Sure, sure. Bloggers by nature, as you know, are right at the edge. That's how they operate. It's how they get their message across and how they get heard.

Do you have any sense of the role that blogging and the Web will play in this campaign?

I think we all are learning. But I have a sense of it. I think they're going to play an important role. That's what it feels like to me.

In your speech tonight, referring to terrorism, you talked about how Bush and Cheney want us to cower. . . .

They believe in a parental government. They don't believe it in the sense that they think that big government should solve all the problems. But they believe it in the sense that they don't exhibit confidence in the power of Americans to do great things and be strong and courageous. And that's amazing for a Republican president. And they tap into fear as the mechanism for accomplishing it. I just think it completely underestimates America.

The larger sort of question is: Do you buy the notion, as Cheney has said, that what the Bush administration calls the "war on terror" is a struggle that will be going on all of our lives?

There is a struggle that certainly will go on for some time. But I do not define the struggle the way he does. He wants to talk about this as war, the war on terror. And this struggle is one that has many layers. One layer is the only one they like to talk about, which is violent, radical Islam. Is this a threat to the security of the world? It absolutely is. But there are many components of that struggle that they never talk about, which are the underlying causes, which is the underlying capability of the terrorists to recruit. It is a multi-causal thing. It is young people not being educated, being educated in madrassas, living lives of poverty and hopelessness; corrupt regimes. There are multiple contributors to the undercurrent that allows terrorism to be a force in the world. Can we stamp it out entirely no matter what we do? Probably not. If we do all the things today that we should be doing, we can weaken it to the point that America and the rest of the civilized world can manage it.

So it won't be the defining issue of the 'teens and '20s of this century?

I think that depends on what we do. It depends on what we do.

Last question. Do you regret voting for the Patriot Act?

No, no. What I do regret -- put this in there if you're going to write it -- is that it was hurried, it was rushed, it wasn't challenged the way it should have been. There are provisions in there -- sneak-and-peek search provisions, provisions about libraries -- that never should have sailed through like they did. That I do take responsibility for voting for. I along with the other members of the Senate who voted for this. But there were things that needed to be done. We had huge problems with the sharing of information that needed to be fixed. But it should have been done the right way.


Please read the whole interview, I just hit some highlights of it.
As Democrats, we have a nice selection for '08. While the right, thinks that Cheney running could be their "secret weapon". Ah, can't you just see the humor!

I think it's not to early to really look at the candidates, see what they stand for, who they are and maybe help each other make some choices. Let me know what you think of this interview and Edwards. With any luck, between us, we may find a solution to the clusterfuck that has become our government and our country.

The White House Derby

I am foregoing my series on Dr Laura today for this little fun piece.

The race is on! Let the mud slinging, opponent bashing begin! Let the brave and foolish step up to the plate and may we all see their true natures. May we be not as foolish as we were in the last two presidential elections and vote our head and hearts, not our party lines. And in the end, may America win a man/woman who is actually worthy of the job.

Here's the list so far, pick your favorites & tell us why. This is going to be a fun one, I think - Good Luck!


Democrats

Officially announced (date of announcement)

• Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd ( Jan. 11, 2007)

• Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (Dec. 28, 2006)

• Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (Nov. 30, 2006)

• Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Dec. 12, 2006)

• Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel (April 17, 2006)

Established exploratory committee (date of filing with the Federal Election Commission)

• Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (has publicly announced he plans to file with the Federal Election Commission later this month to establish a committee)

• Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) (announced Jan. 16, 2007, that he is setting up an exploratory committee for a possible presidential campaign, which an announcement on whether he will definitely run or not by Feb. 10)

• New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (announced Jan. 20, 2007, ending months of speculation and placing her as the front-runner in the race.)

Widely mentioned

• Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
• Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas

• Former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee

• Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry

• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

Officially not running (date of announcement)

• Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (Oct. 12, 2006)

• Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record) (Nov. 11, 2006)

• Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (Dec. 2, 2006)

• Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record) (Dec. 15, 2006)

Republicans

Officially announced

• Attorney John H. Cox of Illinois (March 9, 2006)

Established exploratory committee (date of filing with the Federal Election Commission)

• Texas Rep. Ron Paul (news, bio, voting record) (filed papers with state authorities in Texas on Jan. 11, 2007, to establish a campaign exploratory committee, but has not yet filed with the Federal Election Commission)

• Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) (Nov. 16, 2006)

• Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (Nov. 20, 2006)

• Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) (Dec. 1, 2006)

• Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson (Dec. 13, 2006)

• Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III ( Jan. 9, 2007)

• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Jan. 3, 2007)

• California Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record) (Jan. 12, 2007)

• Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo (stated Jan. 16, 2007, that he is setting up an exploratory committee for a possible presidential campaign)


Widely mentioned

• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia

• Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record)

• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

• Former New York Gov. George E. Pataki

Officially not running (date of announcement)

• Forme rTennessee Sen. Bill Frist (Nov. 29, 2006)


Clarification: Attorney John H. Cox of Illinois announced March 9, 2006 that he is officially pursuing the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination. The chart previously listed him as having a presidential campaign exploratory committee.