General Pres. Candidate 08 Thread

[Usually Lurkin]

and the two frontrunners are actually pretty tight:

Poll Date Sample Giuliani (R) Clinton (D) Spread
RCP Average 07/15 to 08/14 - 44.4% 44.6% Clinton +0.2%
Rasmussen 08/13 - 08/14 800 LV 47% 40% Giuliani +7%
Quinnipiac 08/07 - 08/13 1545 LV 43% 46% Clinton +3%
NBC/WSJ 07/27 - 07/30 1005 A 41% 47% Clinton +6%
FOX News 07/17 - 07/18 900 RV 41% 46% Clinton +5%
Battleground 07/15 - 07/18 1000 LV 50% 44% Giuliani +6%

[purplefrog]

Bloomberg And Hagel For 2008?
By David S. Broder
Sunday, August 26, 2007; Page B07

Chuck Hagel, the senator from Nebraska, describes himself as a "tidal" politician, one who believes that larger forces in society shape careers more than the ambitions of individuals. "The only mistakes I've made," he told me last week, "were when I tried to go against the tide."

Today, that tide may be carrying him away from his Republican Party and toward a third-party or independent ticket with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- a development that could reshape the dynamics of the 2008 presidential race.

Next month, Hagel will make a threshold decision -- whether to run for a third term in the Senate. He gave me no definitive answer, but my guess is that he will say that 12 years of battling the institutional lethargy of Capitol Hill will be enough. Certainly he is under no illusions about how much he can achieve as one of 100 lawmakers.

On the contrary, while Washington is gridlocked in partisan battle between two equally spent parties, the country is moving rapidly, he thinks, to the conclusion that neither Republicans nor Democrats have the answers to the problems people see.

The war in Iraq is the prime example, a war on which Hagel was perhaps the first prominent Republican to break with the president. Credit problems that have shaken the mortgage markets and fed the decline in housing add to the sense of anxiety. And the abject failure of Washington to deal with the issue of illegal immigration is fueling further frustration.

The common thread to all these problems, he says, is leadership -- and leadership is precisely what Bloomberg demonstrates every day as mayor of New York, following his success as a financial publisher. "A guy like Bloomberg could have deep credibility as a candidate," Hagel said. "He's a fresh face and a proven leader. It could be he'd release a dynamic that would be an answer for many people."

Hagel said that he and Bloomberg have "had some talks" but that neither of them is ready at this moment to form a partnership or stake out a strategy. Like everyone else, Hagel understands that the mayor's personal wealth would permit him to organize a campaign, starting in the winter or spring, and still have time to gain ballot access in enough states to make him a credible national candidate. But wealth alone will not bring him within reach of 270 electoral votes, and Hagel shares the view that Bloomberg is not interested in being "a spoiler" whose only effect would be to hurt one of the major-party candidates.

So it really comes down to a question of the strength of those tidal forces moving out there in American politics. Hagel's sense, reinforced by a recent trip to California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is providing a demonstration of the powerful appeal of "post-partisan" politics, is that "the tide is really moving fast."

The imperative the public will impose on the next president, Hagel says, "is to lead the country and restore the sense of national purpose." But the early start on campaigning for the GOP and Democratic nominations, and the prospect that the battles on one side or the other or both could continue right through next summer's conventions, could make it harder for the survivor to be that unifying figure.

Bloomberg is, on the face of it, an implausible alternative. A lifelong Democrat -- he became a Republican only to avoid running in a tough primary race for mayor and now has quit the GOP and declared himself an independent -- Bloomberg has no institutional support in any camp. His appeal as a divorced Jewish city guy to the South, the Midwest and rural areas is questionable.

Hagel is, on the surface, a much more conventional politician. A Vietnam vet, a businessman and a career Republican from the Midwest, he is as mainstream in manner as can be imagined. But he has gone his own way, not just on Iraq but in supporting a comprehensive, balanced approach to immigration and on other contentious social issues.


John Kennedy liked to say that a rising tide lifts all boats. The Bloomberg-Hagel pairing would test that proposition.

[Usually Lurkin]

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

Oh god...I'm going to be very,very sick.

[Mavdog]

Richardson: Troops add to Iraq unrest
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said Wednesday that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq has contributed to the sectarian violence rather than bringing stability to the war-torn nation.

"There's no question there's tribal and ethnic hatreds," Richardson told The Associated Press. "But when those tribal and ethnic hatreds are fueled by American policy of hostility, then you make the situation worse."

In an interview with AP editors and reporters, the New Mexico governor argued that all combat and non-combat troops should be removed from Iraq because their presence is only contributing to violence.

"It's not a guarantee of success, my plan, but at least it's stability," Richardson said.

"American foreign policy is being bled dry by the invasion of Iraq," he said.

Iraq was the primary topic of Richardson's hourlong interview, but he discussed several other issues as well. Among them, he:

• said he would lift the trade embargo with Cuba in exchange for the release of political prisoners.

• said he would consider banning assault weapons if there were an effective way to do so, although he said past efforts have been "a joke."

"I believe you don't need Uzis to go hunting," said Richardson, who has been a proponent of gun rights and had the backing of the National Rifle Association. "If there is an effective way to ban them, I'd take a look at it. But past bans don't work."

• said Republicans appeared to be giving up on outreach to minorities by refusing to attend their presidential forums and debates. "Whatever happened to their outreach to Hispanics?" he said.

• proposed an effort to deal with $83 billion in corporate welfare much like the military's base closure commission. It "would look at all the goodies that involve corporate welfare and have an up-or-down vote like we do with base closures, because otherwise they nitpick you to death."

• said he was making a "mad dash" as the third fundraising quarter ends and would raise about as much as he did in the first two quarters — $6 million-$7 million.

• compared his campaign to the underdog candidacies of Bill Clinton in 1992 and John Kerry in 2004. "I'm going to win this nomination," he said. "You watch." He said he knows he needs a strong finish in Iowa and New Hampshire to stay in the race.

"I've got to beat one of the top three," he said.

Richardson criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards — his leading rivals for the presidential nomination — for plans to pull out combat troops from Iraq but leave residual forces behind. He said he would keep the Marines that guard the U.S. embassy in Baghdad but would withdraw all other military personnel.

"Who is going to take care of non-combat troops? The Iraqis?" Richardson asked. He said he would move a small contingent mostly of special forces to Kuwait and more troops into Afghanistan, although he would leave the specific number up to military leaders.

He said he has asked his rivals to describe exactly how many troops they would leave and for how long in two previous debate but seemed frustrated that he hasn't gotten an answer.

"It's as if I'm talking to myself," he said.

Richardson said the window for a political settlement in Iraq is closing, with only about six months left. But he said the country has resources to govern itself, including experience with free elections, democratic institutions and oil wealth.

"Iraq is not exactly helpless," Richardson said. "I think we're selling the country short."

He said he disagrees with a newspaper ad run by the liberal group MoveOn.org referring to Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, as "Gen. Betray-Us." But he said he supports the group's work.

"Moveon.org is doing a lot to stop the war," he said.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

Um....Bill..... you have something coming out of the side of your face dude

[alexamenos]

CLINTON HAS 33-POINT LEAD
By GEOFF EARLE
October 4, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton has jumped to an astounding 33-point lead over Barack Obama, topping her main rival among every major slice of the electorate and widening a dominating advantage she has held all summer.

Clinton got support from a full majority for the first time in any national survey about the Democratic presidential field. She is backed by 53 percent in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll.

Obama follows far behind, with 20 percent, and John Edwards has 13 percent.

"I think it's pretty well done, don't you? All over but the voting," said Rep. Tom Petri (D-Wis.), when asked about the poll.

The contours of the survey are striking, even considering Clinton's previous edge.

Clinton leads her rivals on every major policy issue - and gets backed by an astonishing 66 percent on health care. The New York senator just released her health plan last month.

She wins backing from voters who want "strength and experience" (62 percent) as well as those who want "new direction and new ideas" (45 percent to Obama's 31 percent). She even rates as more "inspiring" than the charismatic Obama, 41 to 37 percent.

the lesbian lizard queen has all but locked up the Dem nomination, and the biggest strategic question she will face over the next several months will be just how far into submission should she beat Obama. On the one hand she might like to see him curled up in a fetal position and begging for mercy, but on the other he might be useful to her down the line.

anyhoo....

as alexamenos so eloquently put it more than eight months ago.....

Originally Posted by alexamenos

...Godzillary is a shameless hussy with a solid political machine. This is her strength, and it's quite enough in my estimation. Republicans will continue to slide downward for the next two years, and Godzillary will pull in the Dem vote and pander enough to other demographics to get over the top.

the ever smiling national socialist lesbian lizard queen is your next prez....