Worst to Best:
Johnson = Nixon > W. Bush > Carter = Ford = Clinton >  Kennedy > Truman >  HW Bush > F. Roosevelt = Reagan > Eisenhower

In some cases (Carter and Ford, especially) the issue isn't necessarily political policy but leadership skills (or rather, lack thereof); to the contrary, Eisenhower, Reagan, and F. Roosevelt were all good leaders, whatever their political policies/actions were. Johnson, Kennedy, and W. Bush are dragged down by poor choices for Defense Secretary (Rumsfeld, McNamara; technically Ford qualifies as well but Rumsfeld's first term was short). Johnson, Nixon, Clinton, and to a lesser degree Kennedy were brought down by personal moral failures. Johnson, F. Roosevelt, Nixon, Reagan, and W. Bush among others instituted policies which lead to short-term gain but contributed to the nation's current financial woes. Note: by my grading standards even Eisenhower would only get a "C+"; Kennedy and below would get failing grades.

Romney. He's a lousy candidate but Santorum is nuts.

For those of us who use third party IRC tools such as mIRC, ChatZilla, XChat, BitchX, etc. - what is the server used for IRC chat?

1. The GOP is very forgiving of past failure in Presidential Primaries - and in the past, even the General Election - and has often nominated people who lost in the past, especially if they are party seniors. This strategy has mixed results.
On the one hand, see Nixon in 1968 (1960), Reagan in 1980 (1968/1976), and Bush in 1988 (1980).
On the other hand, see Dewey in 1948 (1940/1944), Dole in 1996 (1988), and McCain in 2008 (2000).

2. Mitt Romney may be the Bob Dole-1996, the John Kerry-2004, or even the Mike Dukakis-1988. However, Rick Santorum would be the George McGovern-1972, Ron Paul would probably be the Barry Goldwater-1964, and Newt Gingrich... hmm... can't think of a nonincumbent with his sort of baggage in the 20th/21st centuries.

This race is the GOP's to lose. And by all accounts, they're managing to do an extremely good job of it. And frankly, I'm not even sure if it's the fault of the party or the primary voters, or perhaps the media. Probably all of them.

Seriously. Gary Johnson and Jon Huntsman weren't the most charismatic of candidates. But they had solid resumes and reasonable policy prescriptions. They got zero traction; Johnson in particular was completely ignored in favor of Donald Trump, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and now Rick Santorum. Huntsman only did somewhat better. Instead, we got a circus.

Rick Santorum seems to me like he's got a good chance of being to the GOP what George McGovern was to the Democrats in 1972. He's also making me consider voting for Obama - though in all likelihood I'll vote for the Libertarian candidate (Johnson?) and go 0-2 on major party votes/ 

Here are the candidates:

Vermin Supreme is a perennial candidate and performance artist. He wears a boot for a hat, carries a large toothbrush, and is campaigning on mandatory toothbrushing, zombie apocalypse awareness, time travel research, and offering every American a free pony.

James "Jimmy" McMillan III is a perennial candidate whose opinion on The Rent is well known. He'd also like you to know that his opinion on The Deficit is similar. He also supports the right of a person to marry a shoe, and supports a national rent control policy, low taxes, favors legal gay marriage, believes global warming is a natural occurrence and opposes cuts in education or elderly care.

Yes, Roseanne Barr is running for President of the United States. And Prime Minister of Israel, supposedly. She is fighting the Patriarchy, and is focusing her campaign on economics (any guilty Wall Street Bankers are to give up all income over $100 million, be sent to re-education camps, or executed), personal health, and meditation.

Robert Burck, "The Naked Cowboy", is a street performer in Times Square who wears only a cowboy hat, boots, briefs, and a strategically-placed guitar. He is running as the Tea Party candidate in this election - and may actually represent them better than any of the Republican candidates!

Terry Jones is senior pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. He believes Islam is of the Devil, and that Muslims seek to implement Sharia Law in the United States, and is quite willing to burn any Quran he gets his hands on. He also believes in deportation of all illegal immigrants, withdrawal of American troops abroad, and a reduction in bureaucracy and corporate tax rates.

I've heard, supposedly, that Mrs. Romney and Mrs. Paul became friends during the 2008 campaign. That might explain it.

No, I personally take him at his word that he was born on the planet Krypton.

Donald Trump was born in Kenya, BTW.

- Of the top 20 cars sold in the United States in 2010, 4 were Fords - the F-series pickup, the Fusion midsize sedan, Focus compact sedan, and Escape compact SUV. (Toyota and Chevrolet also sold 4 top-20 models, Honda sold 3, Hyundai 2, and Nissan, Ram, and Subaru each sold 1).

- My dad owns (and quite likes) his Town Car. I find it a pleasant car as a passenger (smooth ride) but a chore to drive (like piloting a boat), and a miserable choice for urban areas. Also, the Crown Victoria/Town Car/Grand Marquis are hilariously outdated - the 4.6L SOHC V-8 has less horsepower and in some cases even less torque than a modern V-6, or even a turbo 4. It has its uses, mostly as a fleet vehicle for taxis, limos and police (as parts are cheap due to being produced for decades, the cars are actually pretty reliable, body-on-frame cars are easier to modify into limos and hearses, and police are notoriously small-c conservative and don't like to change their driving style or tactics for more modern vehicles). Ford intends to replace it with 3 existing models for these purposes:
- For the taxicabs, a passenger version of the Transit Connect small van. This strikes me as a good choice; they are fairly cheap, very roomy for their size, are available using gasoline, CNG, LPG, or electric power (Europeans get a diesel instead of gasoline as well), and are far better suited for urban areas like New York City than the ubiquitous Crown Victoria.
- For limos, the Lincoln MKT. This is funny; the MKT is very roomy - the 5-seat luxury cab version will make the Town Car look cramped inside - and non-body-on-frame-RWD limos have certainly been done before (like the Cadillac DTS/DeVille, used in 1990s-early 2000s Presidential Limos), but the MKT is a pretty ugly fullsize crossover and stretched versions would just look hilarious rather than classy. Don't know what Ford should do here, to be honest.
- For police, the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor. I'm not sure about this one, police are very attached to RWD and the Taurus is FWD/AWD. This may drive some departments to using the Dodge Charger or GM's weird for-police-only import/rebadging of the Australian Holden Caprice. I personally would suggest a US-market version of the Australian Ford Falcon (which may be coming, but not before 2014-5 at the earliest) or a 4-door stretched Mustang for police use.

- One of Ford's big strategies is, contrary to what Opebo might want, bringing European cars to America. The Fiesta, Transit Connect, and 2012 Focus are already out, while the C-Max mini-minivan is coming and in 2013 the Escape and Fusion are going to be revised to be more like their European counterparts, the Kuga and Mondeo respectively. For the most part, they're big improvements over previous models. Sadly, they're not bringing the good international-market Ranger because its almost as big as an F-150 (my response is 'drop the F-150 then' but Ford's not likely to listen to me given how well the F-150 sells).

Incidentally, in my absence I've finally bought a new car: a metallic blue 2011 Ford Focus SE, discounted because I bought it about a month before the 2012s arrived.

And Opebo: the news for you gets worse. Cadillac is dropping the DTS and STS in ~2012 and replacing them for MY 2013 with a V-6-powered XTS based on the Epsilon II LWB platform (same as the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and 2011 Saab 9-5); they've already stopped building new NorthStar V-8s. Buick is dropping the Lucerne if it hasn't already, leaving the LaCrosse as their biggest vehicle. If you don't like the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300 duo or won't settle for a 2-door muscle or pony car, my suggestion is to move to Australia and buy a Holden Caprice.

And finally, I can't end a car rant without denouncing the NHTSA and the Chicken Tax, but that's mostly off-topic.

Perhaps Steele is an undercover Democratic saboteur?

The entire Republican Party is filled with Democratic plants.

Given that "compassionate conservative" seems to be semantically equivalent to "corporate communist", there might be some truth to this.

I just don't get it.

1. Why can't we just concentrate on policy?
2. Why can't we stop being the whitest group of people in the world?
3. Why do we think that all women are good at politics just because they're women?

This is politics. People who possess the intelligence/common sense to actually run the country usually, with a few exceptions, don't make it past city council (if even so far) - either they get disgusted by the whole process and leave or are chased out by the idiots.

Before or after ~1955?

Before, largely an FF.

After, largely an HP. Perhaps partially the fault of the Americans/French, but still HP.

No I do not believe he is. Though I don't think McCain or Palin would be, either. 

Frankly, I don't know who would be the right man/woman for the job. He or she is most likely a shopkeeper, mayor of a small town in Nebraska, security guard, brain surgeon, or perhaps a prostitute - most likely not anyone seriously being discussed for the Presidency.

So far, most mainstream politicians' reactions to this recession have been painful. Its like they - and I do not exempt either party from this - WANT to bankrupt the country.

Why assume that Kerry botches Katrina so bad? (Maybe he would have - but there's no reason to assume that would be the case.)

Because <1 year in office isn't going to cause massive changes to FEMA, and anyway most of the immediate foul-ups were caused by the governments of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Perhaps Kerry would be smart enough to avoid a "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" moment. Otherwise, I don't see much difference.

Ok, I will imagine...

Barack Obama : 2009-2017
John Edwards : 2017-2025
*a moderate republican* : 2025-...

I'm highly doubtful of Edwards; he ran for and lost the nomination twice and is not terribly popular in his home state of North Carolina. I think that Sebelius, Henry, or Napolitano would be more realistic; heck, Newsom would be more realistic as well. Also, its not likely that either party will have two 2-term presidents in a row.

Here's my prediction - very loose, as predictions this far in advance should be:
(Obama - current)
Huntsman,  Jindal, or Sanford (in 2012 or 2016)
Sebelius, Napolitano, or Henry (in 2020)
Jindal, Flake, Drolet, or Haridopolis (in 2024 or 2028)

Here's my proposed government reorganization:

- Department of State
- Department of Defense (includes most of Homeland Security)
- Department of Justice (includes the rest of Homeland Security)
- Department of the Treasury (deals with government revenue)
- Department of Economic Infrastructure (Commerce and Labor, plus bits from elsewhere including Agriculture)
- Department of Social Welfare (HHS, HUD, and Education)
- Department of Natural Resources (Interior and the eco-minded bits of Agriculture)
- Department of Science&Technology (from Energy, and various items from elsewhere like the Patent Office, NIST, and anything that involves non-military tech R&D)

Minor offices that may not be attached to one of the above:
- Indian Affairs
- Office of Personnel Management
- Executive Budget Office (I forget the current name for this now)

He might make an interesting candidate in 2012.  Seems better than Romney, at any rate.

The US will lose in a long, drawn-out, to-the-death war - not enough resources to face everybody else - but would put up one  hell of a fight.

The US has essentially overwhelming naval superiority (the US has more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world combined, for example,), which will help keep the huge numbers of Eurasian troops away from the US mainland for a little while, leaving the US army facing only Canada and Latin America, which the US might be able to take on (although it won't be easy).

In the long term, though, the US will be cut off of most of the world's resources, except for conquered areas - which may face insurgency problems (Mexico will be a bloody mess, as its one place that the US could relatively easily conquer and yet have a very large, rebellious population...). Mass production of aircraft and submarines from other powers will eventually, over the course of several years, overwhelm US naval and air defenses, and then the millions of Eurasian troops can invade.

damn. Way to come out of the woodwork.

I'm not completely out of here - I usually come and make a few posts a week now, and lurk quite a bit as well. Other hobbies/boards, RL issues, and the sheer fact that too much politics is bad for my blood pressure keep me from being quite as active as in the past.

As for the whole "vote in the stupid poll" bit, of course I would prefer as few abortions as possible. But, I don't think you'll have more abortions if you restrict it for medical reasons, probably less. 

You are suggesting that reducing abortions and outlawing them are mutually exclusive, a false dichotomy, so I will not vote.

Well, how come the abortion rate in Europe is 2.7% of all women each year and in Africa its 2.8%?

Apples and oranges.

- People in Europe have, on average, a much greater access to contraceptives.
- I bet a much smaller percentage of Europeans are pregnant in any given year than Africans, due to the much lower pregnancy and birthrates. Ergo, its probable that a much larger percentage of European pregnancies end in abortion, even if a smaller percentage of women abort every year.
- In terms of what people use as justifications for abortion, poverty is a very common reason (and, if there is no hope for any other means to take care of the child, such as adoption, then abortion is much easier to justify). Compare the poverty rates of Africa and Europe, and further compare how many "poor" Europeans are capable of providing at least minimal care for an additional child compared to "poor" Africans. QED.
- do we know these numbers are accurate? Africa, especially, may not have the most reliable statistics. I could see the actual abortion rates being considerably lower or higher, for a variety of reasons.

I also refuse to vote in this poll - a false dichotomy if I have ever seen one.

Also, WSW, do shut up, even if I agree that abortion is, in most cases, blatantly unethical.  Bringing in "Islamic Extremists" does nothing for a general abortion argument, and I've learned over the years that naked demagoguery rarely convinces people of arguments (thus you're probably either rather young - in which case you need to get real-world experience, heck I was a bit like that when I was 12 - or a troll - in which case, you are free to go to gehenna and never return).

I'd probably self-identify as Libertarian, though on individual tickets I may vote NIP or Republican depending on the individual candidate.

     I supported Barr. What do you think?

^^^

Harry is one of the few left-wing imperialists I've seen online.

My answer: yes, if they want to or can be peacefully convinced. If not, then no.

1. Create an "energy independence" road map that includes a prominent role for coal. This will help in West Virginia and Kentucky, and some western states with large coal-mining operations.

2. Shut down anyone who tries to push for gun control. Big urban areas are going to vote Dem anyway, while pushing for gun control will kill chances of expanding in the South while leaving current Obama states vulnerable.

3. If you're going to drop Biden for anyone, Sebelius would be a good choice. Lefty enough to satisfy the base, but popular enough in a quite conservative state. Another option would be Napolitano (who would help get Arizona). That may also help "pander to women".

This poll is missing the "No, he's in purgatory",  "No, he's in Valhalla", "No, he's in Tartarus", "No, he's in Mechanus"  and "No, he got reincarnated" options.