Presidential Politics: Who’s Your Early Choice?
Let’s digress from local politics for a change of pace and discuss the current situation at the national/Presidential campaign level. Fox News released a recent poll. Click on for details:
http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/071907poll1.pdf
In seven different head-to-head matchups, the poll shows the Democratic candidate tops the Republican. While this had been the case when Hillary Clinton was tested against Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, this is the first time she has the advantage over Giuliani.
By a 5 percentage point margin, voters say they would back Clinton over Giuliani (46 percent to 41 percent) if the election were held today. Clinton also leads McCain by 3 points (45 percent to 42 percent), Romney by 15 points (50 percent to 35 percent) and the yet-to-announce Fred Thompson by 9 points (47 percent to 38 percent).
In addition, voters think Clinton would do a better job than Giuliani handling the situation in Iraq (45 percent to 40 percent).
Obviously, it’s very early in the campaign. We realize a lot could change between now and the 2008 Election. However, we would like to gauge the current situation at our local level.
Who is your early-on choice and why? Give us your comments.
Also, please participate in our Straw Poll to express your early-on preference in the Presidential race:
http://www.insitefulsurveys.com/Survey.asp?SI=155328912733
posted by Blog Master @ 7:26 PM
69 Comments:
Give me HILLARY or give me death!
The best person for the job is a woman.
I like Fred Thompson's chances. He's not even let people know whether he is a candidate and is very popular. He's got a nice looking young wife too!
Romney is the only R who meets most all of the republican principles and he is not perfect. I think FT may be the best but don't know enough about him yet.
Hillary? Never. I'm a woman and I wouldn't vote for her. Now, if she had left her cheating, lying, husband then yes, I would feel differently about her. I lost total respect for her and realized she only stayed in that marriage for political gain. She did not need to hang on to Bill's coat tails to prove herself, but she did. As much as we would like to see a woman become president, it will not happen in my lifetime. Just look at the comments that have made the news about Fred Thompsons wife. Hillary has support, but only to her face. What happens behind the voter's curtain, will be totally different.
The Fox results have one interesting question about Hillary's popularity or lack thereof: Is there one candidate you would never vote for under any circumstances?
59% of Republicans and 27% of Independents said Hillary.
Ron Paul is the only real choice among the Republicans. His name recognition grows everyday.
Many young conservative Democrats, Libertarians and Independents are working for him. They are also changing their registration to Republican to support him.
www.ronpaul2008.com
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/550
Rudy Giuliani is my current pick. I’m going to support one of those marshmallow Republicans Nancy Stacy talks about. I like him because he seems in the same mold as Governor Crist, who I believe is doing a great job. I’d bet we are going to see more marshmallows elected. Voters are getting tired of Republicans with attitudes like Nancy Stacy and others.
Giuliani is about as conservative as....uh..let's say Bill Clinton. As a matter of fact I really can't find a spit of difference between the two men. Giuliani is a carbon copy of Bush and how do the Republicans think they can win with that on the ticket? They can't.
Which candidate leads the pack in contributions received from military people?
Answer: Ron Paul (yes, even more than McCain).
Among Dems, Obama leads in military sourced funds raised.
The Fox polling also shows how political popularity can turn around. In November 2001, George Bush had an approval rating of 88%. In the recent Fox survey it is at 32%. Insurance rates and property taxes could easily do to Governor Crist what Iraq has done to Bush.
From a New York Times/CBS News Poll taken last week: Half of Americans said a president who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat could govern effectively.
And with 6 in 10 Republican primary voters and almost 4 in 10 Democratic primary voters saying they are not satisfied with their party’s current slate of candidates for the presidential nomination, the political environment could be ready for an independent candidate to break into the race.
The current poll suggests that Americans are significantly more optimistic about the chances of a third-party president meeting with success, than they were in 1995 before the Bill Clinton-Bob Dole-Ross Perot contest. In the summer of 1995, just 30 percent of Americans said an independent president could govern effectively and 61 percent said such a president would encounter serious problems dealing with Congress. Forty-four percent of those polled recently said such a president would have trouble dealing with Congress.
Independents and Republicans are significantly more supportive of a third-party president than are Democrats. Similarly, younger Americans are more open to the idea of an independent president — as respondent age increases, the incidence of those saying an independent could govern effectively decreases.
CT, cut us some slack my man!
Rudy G. another George Bush. Never in a century will he be. Rudy is a real leader and has proved it. He will not be another GB.
Giuliani has never proved anything to anybody. This single article should scare the stripes off a zebra. There are mountians more from numerous sources. Rudy Giuliani is legend in his own mind and the media's.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8264
Not many have likely ever heard of Republican Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo. He is a tough on immigration candidate. I like his ideas.
A Democrat Presidential Debate takes place Monday, July 23 at 7:00 PM on CNN (hosted by Anderson Cooper). The format will be questions presented to the candidates via “You Tube” from ordinary citizens.
Check out an example of the type of questions (this one on global warming) and format (some funny, some not) that will be used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0BPnnvI47Q
The Republicans are planning a similar Presidential debate in St. Petersburg on September 17. Also hosted by CNN.
Blogman--You should have had a none of the above choice on your poll. I don't like any of them!
How about NYC's current mayor Bloomburg as an Independent?
The US Postal Service has issued a recall of a stamp they created with a picture of now US Senator Hillary Clinton to honor her achievements while serving as the First Lady of our nation.
The problem was discovered when claims had been made that the stamp was not sticking to the envelopes, and that mail which had been sent using Hillary postage was not being delivered. Senator Clinton demanded a full investigation into the allegations.
A special Postal Service Investigation team was formed and after several months and many dollars spent, made the following findings:
1. The stamp was manufactured properly.
2. There was nothing wrong with the adhesive.
3. People were just spitting on the wrong side.
Bloomberg
Clayton Ellsworth
If you enjoy online games, there is a political game called Fantasy Congress that is interesting. It gives you a chance to pick an “ideal Congress”. Even if you don’t want to get involved in the game, you can find out about the legislation history and ratings of our congressional delegation. Check it out:
www.fantasycongress.com
A great combination would be Clinton and Obama, if you could get him to accept the VP spot. I don't see any R or combination of Rs who could beat them.
If Obama is in either slot on the Democratic presidential ticket, it could cause a dramatic increase in the turnout of black voters and have interesting implications for local elections, and no one could stop that by filing a write-in.
Clinton/Obama....Obama/Clinton.
It won't matter the order the Republicans can't beat them now in any event. Us conservatives and libertarians better get our act together or we're going to be facing 8-16 years of far left poltics. Bet on it.
For those who believe libraries are passe, here is some information about the use by children and students this summer:
"...June through last Friday, the library system's nine branches combined had hosted 234 events that drew 8,816 people. Last summer during June and July, they featured 107 programs for a total of 4,320 attendees. In other words, the number of events increased 119 percent, while the number of people who visited the libraries for the festivities jumped 104 percent."
And since Nancy Stacy no longer is among the blog posters, someone with her emial address might pass this information along to her. Call John Lund at the same time. His eight callers will be interested.
pwf
PWF:
Just how does your post relate to "Presidential Politics: Who's Your Early Choice?"?
FYI That is the title of this thread.
The fantasy congress web site sure doesn't paint a very good picture of the influence of Cliff Stearns. He has introduced many pieces of legislation but none have been passed.
This article pretty much sums up the crap the "Bush Believers" have gotten us into. Hey Hannity and Limbaugh: Do the conservative movement a favor and go away! far away!
"GOP's big Florida donors sitting on sidelines"
http://www.miamiherald.com/569/story/178201.html
The only winning combination for the Republicans is Rudy Giuliani and Charlie Crist. This is the only ticket that will win. A conservative candidate will not do it. Look at how popular the new Governor is and paired with Rudy, that would be an awesome combo!
Yeah...
Giuliani would make a good VP.
anon at 10:17 . . .
Hopefully, you will join the children and visit the library. Get a life. --pwf
Clinton/Obama or Guliani/Crist?
Oh My God!! I'll just stay home on Election Day.
Gun Nutt says...
People seem to care only about their 6 pack (either the kind you drink or the kind which is a creative name for your abs). They would rather watch desparate housewives and survivor than learn what is going on in their government. They would rather watch two groups of nearly identical men, the only difference being that they are wearing different colored clothing, slamdunk a basketball. In fact, I'm convinced that if a UFO did come to Earth and saw basketball, they would leave concluding that there was no intellegent life here. Anyway, as long as this keeps up we will not get the best candidates.
In spite of that, I encourage anonymous 4:27pm to work hard during the primaries to make sure he doesn't lose interest in the general election.I don't know who I'd vote for yet in the Primary. I'd like to see Newt run but if he doesn't I'll probably vote for Tancredo
Some of our bloggers expressed a preference for NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Here are survey results released today indicating how his entry to the Presidential race would impact Florida results:
{If New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg runs for President as an independent candidate, it helps Democrats in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
In a two- way race, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani edges New York Sen. Hillary Clinton 46 - 44 percent. With Bloomberg in the mix, taking 9 percent, Clinton inches past Giuliani 41 - 39 percent, giving the Democrat her best shot so far at Florida's crucial 27 electoral votes.
"The conventional wisdom may be that Mayor Bloomberg's generally liberal approach to many issues would mean he would take more votes from Democrats and help the Republicans in a three-way race. At this point, that just isn't so," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Mayor Bloomberg can clearly be a spoiler in Florida, but he would have a long way to go to have a serious chance of winning the state," said Brown. "Only slightly more people view him favorably than unfavorably and 57 percent don't know enough about him to venture an opinion."}
Hillary will never win. Obama will not take a back seat to her; however, she may take a back seat to him. Not that I would vote for either. It's too early to make that decision and I want to hear the debates first. I just hope that pertinent questions will be asked...instead of the garbage questions that are asked of our local politicians.
The Ron Paul campaign certainly has been interesting to watch. He has zealous supporters from both the fringe left and the fringe right with no one else to turn to. His most vocal supporters are wackos: 911 Truthers, Illuminati believers and tin foil hat wearers.
In which category would you put our own Christopher Thurow? You know he is a big proponent of Paul.
IF I COULD VOTE IN THE DEMOCRAT PRIMARY, I WOULD CAST MY LOT WITH OBAMA. HE'S THE MOST FORWARD THINKING OF THE GROUP IN THE CNN DEBATE.
Think Hillary may have had some work done on her face? In last night's debate her baggy eyes seem to have disappeared.
To 10:22AM July 23rd - Like Nero, our own Congressman Cliff Stearns has been a legislative light weight. While Mr. Stearns fiddles with inconsequential issues and fluff for the extreme right of his party, troops are dying. By the hundreds. Where is Statesman Stearns? Introducing such simple minded bills such as the weighty issue of the 10 commandment on courthouse steps, the defunding or elimination of the UN and the witholding of funds for the IRS' spanish website. None, of course, passed. Only a couple of like minded neanderthals even co-sponsored. Meanwhile, most of the world burns. Where's his bill on immigration, trade, Marion County water, troop equipment, or veterans hospitals? Will history ever apply rthe word Statesman to Mr. Stearns? Hardly seems likely since the only bill he was able to pass was to congratulate the UF sports teams. Talk about a wasted vote.
To Anon 9:28...
Please allow me to answer your rhetorical question as to which group I may belong!
-911 Truthers?
While I might empathize with these folks, the fact is they're simply wrong.
-Illuminati believers?
Since I'm not really even sure what the "Iluminati" is or does or why someone would be as part of it rules this one out. Sorry.
-Tin foil hat wearers?
Being a longtime member of the Skeptics Society I must say that I diligently work to help disuade this group from any of thier passionate displays of "faith". Again sorry!
On the other hand: If supporting a man and his platform because he understands, respects and lives the US Constitution is such lunacy, then please indulge yourself and call me a lunatic!
To Anon 9:10 and Anon 9:28
Please share with us your presidential preference and tell us why.
Also why are you so timid? Please use your real name.
The only difference between Rudy and Hillary is the War in Iraq. However, I don't think their position is much different on that either, just their rhetoric.
They are both pro-choice.
They are both pro-gay rights.
They are both anti-gun
They are both supporters of Democrats becoming judges (Rudy appoints judges at a 8 to 1 rate in favor of the Dems)
They have both endorsed liberal Democrats.
They have both worn women's clothing (see YouTube video under 'Rudy in drag' search)
They have both said negative things about Ronald Reagan
This list can go on forever . . .
I saw Giuliani on TV a couple of days ago pointing out that he had appointed some Republicans to judgeships but had appointed quite a few Democratic judges because, as New York City mayor, he had to appoint from what was available to him in a city that is heavily Democratic.
Guilliani has said he would appoint “strict constructionist” judges. You will never hear Hillary Clinton say that. I think there would be a substantial difference between the Supreme Court appointments they would make.
I haven’t been watching the debates generally but did see some of the most recent Democratic debate.
Leaving aside for a moment the important matter of ideology and just looking at the feel the candidates are projecting, I have to say that Hillary Clinton is coming off as presidential. Stylistically, she is cool, calm, and assured.
The massive exposure of a presidential campaign might cause some people to re-assess their “shrill bitch” image of her. Some of these people telling pollsters they would never vote for her might end up rethinking that.
Her reputation for political toughness may play to her advantage in assessments of whether she can handle international issues with Iran and North Korea and the like and the terrorist threat.
I’ve never voted for a Clinton. I voted for Bush in ’92 (unlike pwf, who voted for Bill Clinton) and Dole in ’96. Trying to look at it objectively, though, I think this is how she is coming off style-wise.
Let's not forget that Giuliani married his cousin. Another pillar of Republican values and morals!
To Christopher - I choose not to use my name like 90% of the people that post on this site. A name is a name and I can choose one if it will make you feel better. I posted the 9:10 comment only. It was not directed at you personally; only a comment on what I have observed and read on Ron Paul and whom his supporters are. If you fit that category, then so be it. I have no idea whom I will vote for until I have seen other debates. YouTube is not the source I wish to get information from. Especially when it comes to making such an important decision as to whom I will vote for President. That was geared for the "kids" similar to what MTV does during an election.
I see someone mentioning Crist as a VP candidate. I really doubt it. When I think about Charlie Crist, who I made the mistake of voting for, this story about Blackstone the magician really hits home. Crist, the new Blackstone?
“When I was 10 years old, my father took my elder sister and me to see a performance by a famous magician called Blackstone. What I remember most about the show is when Blackstone, with a flourish of his cape, made an elephant appear onstage out of thin air. It was an astonishing feat, and the crowd- including me - went wild with applause. I had no idea how he did it. After the show however, as we were exiting the theater, my elder sister said, ‘I didn’t see what was so great about that elephant. It just walked onto the stage and everyone started clapping.”
My sister’s revelation was just as amazing as the trick itself, which suddenly made perfect sense. Blackstone had used some kind of sleight of hand, distracting the audience over here while he got the elephant to walk on stage over there. With this simple, well-known magician’s tactic, he managed to fool just about everyone.”
I think there are many “elder sisters” beginning to understand the political tricks.
I’m not a Democrat, but Joe Biden looked pretty good to me in last nights You Tube debate. If he makes it to the Big Game and Fred Thompson, Romney or Tancredo don’t on the Republican side, Biden would get much consideration by me.
Although not a Hillary fan,I agree with BC, she was impressive in the"debate". The Democrats were impressive which is welcome news to me. They have looked stupid at times since gaining control of Congress.
Lost Our Way---You nailed it!
Glad my sister was fairly good looking. We didn't have elephants in West Virginia back in those days. --pwf
To Anon 8:13...
I appreciate what I see as a true concern over your choice for a good candidate. I can also understand your perception regarding Ron Paul.
It is a fact that there have been attempts to undermind Dr. Paul's candidacy due to his very...uh..un-Republican ideals. The RNC "ivory tower" have instigated these feeble attempts to silince Paul. He was even rejected from several regional debates only to be invited at the last minute.
Take a minute and check out his ideas and REAL credentials then come back and lets discuss him further.
Thanks for your reply.
www.ronpaul2008.com
I, along with 14 other members of the Florida House (soon to be more) have committed our support to Fred Thompson. Shortly I will have an electronic petition up and running for those interested in joining us in his soon to be official campaign.
http://www.imwithfred.com/
Blogman, I just tried to vote in your straw poll but it isn't working.
Fred Thompson does have a very good history. I guess I missed the fact he has served in Washington.
Good move Larry Cretul. --pwf
While I respect Larry's lobbying effort on behalf of his candidate I offer the following article.
While Fred is no doubt a pretty good guy. He is a typical Washington "insider" portraying himself as a "peoples" candidate while profiting handsomely from lobbying.
What Republicans do not need a our candidate is another flip-flopping insider. You know...just like Hillary.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3317935
He also supported McCain-Feingold.
Sorry about the sloppy grammar in my last post.
This website is great for hard information and voting records of the candidates. It is indespensible for anyone looking for real answers.
www.ontheissues.org
Go to the presidential race tab.
The current Mason-Dixon poll shows Rudy Giuliani with 21 percent support among likely Florida GOP voters, and Fred Thompson with 18 percent, within the poll's 5-point margin for error. John McCain was at 11 percent and Mitt Romney at 7 percent.
Among the Democrats, Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama 31-17 percent lead with John Edwards trailing third at 12 percent.
Yo Christopher, don't see Ron Paul in the ballgame.
I'll go with a "past" insider like Thompson over a "current" insider like Paul. Yes they both have their political blemishes, but Thompson's are less noticeable.
A good site to make one of your favorites.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/2008_republican_presidential_primary
The previous post wasn't complete, I know its a long address but worth looking at frequently.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/
public_content/politics/
2008_republican
_presidential_primary
Fred Thompson had better get his act together. His wife's interference in the campaign has led several key staffers to resign.
This not only reveals flaws in the campaign but comes at a time when good operatives are already involved in other campaigns making it difficult to find good people.
Also making it difficult to recruit good people is Mrs Thompson's desire to run the campaign, a no no in campaign primers. Many a candidate's spouse has lost the race for the candidate.
All opponent guns are aimed and armed at FT, when he announces there will be blood on the streets, something his campaign is ill prepared to handle.
The ground that FT has gained by being coy in announcing will be lost very quickly if he doesn't shore up his campaign between now and Labor Day.
Clayton Ellsworth
Clayton,
Thompson’s issue in announcing his candidacy probably has to do with good old economics and TV ratings. Once he announces, Federal communications law requires broadcasters to give candidates equal time. That would more than likely mean reruns of Thompson’s “Law and Order” shows would have to be pulled and Fred and his co-stars lose their residuals and ratings could be impacted.
He will come out with guns blazing once he announces!
Four minutes of Newt Gingrich talking about the “Phoney War”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9cqtJTvF4
Tell it like it is Newt!
How about all the paid name ID Fred is getting from all those TV shows? Better being paid than paying.
Fred & Newt. A combo I could vote for.
The daughter of Republican hopeful Rudy Giuliani has signaled she's backing Democrat Barack Obama for president.
According to her Facebook profile, Giuliani's 17-year-old daughter, Caroline, belonged to Democrat Barack Obama's Facebook group "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)."
Whoa is me!!!
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