Joe Sestak 2016?

[N.i.K.]

If he can win the senate seat of course. He seems like a competent, charismatic guy. His military expierence seems good as well. He'll be 65, younger then Clinton, Sebelius, and other people people think may run.

[N.i.K.]

Bump. No one?

[Bo]

Maybe. I could see him running in 2016 only if he wins a Senate seat in 2010 and if Hillary doesn't run in 2016.

[Senator Libertas]

He seems like an asshole. So yeah, he'd be great for the job.

[Rowan]

The guy is a prick.

[Ronald Reagan]

Sestak would be horrible. A friend of mine heard him speak and basically blame crime on African-Americans because of their lack of education. Hopefully, this guy would never have a chance.

[Derek]

Obama will offer him a job not to run then. He already has offered him one not to run for senate. See there you go Obama, way to create a job.

[N.i.K.]

Obama will offer him a job not to run then. He already has offered him one not to run for senate. See there you go Obama, way to create a job.

Why would he do that when Obama is not up for re-election?

[Derek]

Obama will offer him a job not to run then. He already has offered him one not to run for senate. See there you go Obama, way to create a job.

Why would he do that when Obama is not up for re-election?

I mean he is doing that now to stop him from running for senate.

[A dog on every car, a car in every elevator]

There is nothing about Sestak that on the face of it would attract much of a following were he to run for president.  Sestak is mostly riding anti-Specter (and anti-incumbent) sentiment in the primary rather than wooing voters on his own merits.  John Kerry's military record was an asset in his winning the nomination but he was running to challenge a wartime incumbent who had dodged combat as a young man: very specific factors that made Kerry seem well-suited to be nominee (in my opinion, deceptively so).

I also think Sestak's age would be a bit of a problem (though it wouldn't bother me). Hillary as one of if not the most admired politician in the country running in her 60s and an unknown first term senator in his 60s... their ages would affect candidacies in vastly different ways.  In her (or Biden's) case, it'd be a big issue she (or Biden) had to defend against.  In Sestak's, it'd more be an unaddressed lack of an asset- valid or not- that younger candidates enjoyed.  Probably enough to keep him from getting much traction.  Even Franken or Feingold who are about the same age would have a better chance to overcome the problem because they are progressive heroes in ways that I think it's unlikely Sestak will end up being and so could more easily spark excitement in spite of being seniors.  Based on the fact that he decided to challenge Specter, you might wonder if he's enough of a risk-taker or has a big enough ego to attempt a presidential run.  But if he did, I'd bet on a fizzle.

*also: I wouldn't be surprise if Specter pulls a rabbit out of his hat and wins on Tuesday.

[Derek]

That's true too. ^^

[ShadowOfTheWave]

I'm voting for Specter in the primary, and immediately afterwards changing parties. The Democratic party of PA is a scum machine that puts NJ to shame. I'm a fiscal conservative anyway.

Sestak is an abominable human being, I can't imagine him being President. I never thought I'd say this, but I hope Toomey kicks his ass.

[Derek]

The democrat machine definitely skews PA voting to the left in federal elections. PA would be about the most conservative state without the machines in Philly and Pitt. It's by no means as far to the left as NJ, DE, NY, MD, or CT. I want to see PA go GOP in 2012!

[RomneyGekko Situation Hairgel]

The democrat machine definitely skews PA voting to the left in federal elections. PA would be about the most conservative state without the machines in Philly and Pitt. It's by no means as far to the left as NJ, DE, NY, MD, or CT. I want to see PA go GOP in 2012!

I wouldn't be so sure of that.  I would easily argue the Philadelphia suburbs might be as socially liberal or even more so than the city proper.  Unions and African Americans make it so Democratic.  And I wouldn't exactly call parts of the "T" that conservative.  You still have Harrisburg, State College, Scranton/Wilkes Barre, etc.  Even with the shift to the right in western PA, you still have many parts of the state shifting left easily offsetting that trend.  And per issue, PA IIRC ranked about #10 in the nation support of gay marriage and about #15 in support of abortion rights.  Has the entire upper Midwest beat except for Illinois and while not as liberal as those states you listed above, it certainly ranks right under them.  Not what I call a conservative state.   

[Ameriplan]

The democrat machine definitely skews PA voting to the left in federal elections. PA would be about the most conservative state without the machines in Philly and Pitt. It's by no means as far to the left as NJ, DE, NY, MD, or CT. I want to see PA go GOP in 2012!

I wouldn't be so sure of that.  I would easily argue the Philadelphia suburbs might be as socially liberal or even more so than the city proper.  Unions and African Americans make it so Democratic.  And I wouldn't exactly call parts of the "T" that conservative.  You still have Harrisburg, State College, Scranton/Wilkes Barre, etc.  Even with the shift to the right in western PA, you still have many parts of the state shifting left easily offsetting that trend.  And per issue, PA IIRC ranked about #10 in the nation support of gay marriage and about #15 in support of abortion rights.  Has the entire upper Midwest beat except for Illinois and while not as liberal as those states you listed above, it certainly ranks right under them.  Not what I call a conservative state.   

You forget that that still includes Urban Philly and Union Pittsburgh. The rest of the state, including SWB, State College, Harrisburg that you had mentioned has a moderate stance. Even  union dominated Allentown (<3) had a Republican mayor as recently as 2002. And so the removal of Philadelphia that many small town Pennsylvanites long for would instantly make this already swing state a leaning republican state.

[RomneyGekko Situation Hairgel]

The democrat machine definitely skews PA voting to the left in federal elections. PA would be about the most conservative state without the machines in Philly and Pitt. It's by no means as far to the left as NJ, DE, NY, MD, or CT. I want to see PA go GOP in 2012!

I wouldn't be so sure of that.  I would easily argue the Philadelphia suburbs might be as socially liberal or even more so than the city proper.  Unions and African Americans make it so Democratic.  And I wouldn't exactly call parts of the "T" that conservative.  You still have Harrisburg, State College, Scranton/Wilkes Barre, etc.  Even with the shift to the right in western PA, you still have many parts of the state shifting left easily offsetting that trend.  And per issue, PA IIRC ranked about #10 in the nation support of gay marriage and about #15 in support of abortion rights.  Has the entire upper Midwest beat except for Illinois and while not as liberal as those states you listed above, it certainly ranks right under them.  Not what I call a conservative state.    

You forget that that still includes Urban Philly and Union Pittsburgh. The rest of the state, including SWB, State College, Harrisburg that you had mentioned has a moderate stance. Even  union dominated Allentown (<3) had a Republican mayor as recently as 2002. And so the removal of Philadelphia that many small town Pennsylvanites long for would instantly make this already swing state a leaning republican state.

Oh, without Philly, PA would be a Republican-leaning state.  No arguments there.  But would it be Alabama?  Not even close.  PA's social liberalism is dominant in the gentrified parts of Philly and the suburbs.  The blue collar, white union areas I'd consider socially moderate with a good mix of secular and religious Catholics balancing each other out.  A lot of "ethnic Catholics" you hear about that supported Hillary Clinton aren't exactly taking the Church's stances word for word.  A good number of older Catholic women support the right to choose.  And the rest of the state, even in some of the whitest Central PA counties, still voted in the 30s and sometimes 40s for Obama.  Not the case in the Deep South taking out the black areas at all where it would be lucky to be double digits.

The GOP needs a good year and a moderate candidate to win the state.  Santorum had the luxury of a still GOP voting Philly suburbs with conservative, primarily Catholic Democratic base in SW and NE Penn voting for him in 1994 and 2000.  That won't be the case anymore.

[Derek]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

[RomneyGekko Situation Hairgel]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Even in the current highly favored GOP environment, it's a Tossup.  If Obama and the national Dems improve even slightly, Toomey is toast.  And while PA is more conservative than MA, it is not that much more and Toomey is no Scott Brown.  Scott Brown had the looks, charisma, and could play indie very well.  Toomey has a voting record to the right of Santorum to go by plus a Wall Street background.  Not exactly what steel mill and coal mining countries like with Wall Street, plus he has to overcome a strongly Democratic and populous Southeast.  I'll give the election to the Twitter Nazi/Healthcare Lawsuit Corbett right now, but then again I don't know what Kool Aid this state is drinking with him.

[TopherAwesome]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

[TopherAwesome]

I voted maybe.

This is all assuming he wins the Senate seat. He has strong credentials. Over 30 years in the Military, and serving in the House and Senate. Electorally it would be beneficiary too since he's from PA. Republicans wouldn't even contest PA, a state they try to contend in every four years but always lose at the federal level.

Sestak is an attractive candidate, and if he does become Senator Sestak, I think it's likely he will run in 2016.

[Derek]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

2006 was a strong democrat year. 2012 is a strong GOP year. PA is in the middle and will swing with that much momentum. Erie? I was born an hour south of there.

[TopherAwesome]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

2006 was a strong democrat year. 2012 is a strong GOP year. PA is in the middle and will swing with that much momentum. Erie? I was born an hour south of there.

You do have a point that it was a strong Democratic year. I think though that Republicans that are Moderate such as Tom Ridge and Arlen Specter (when he was a Republican) have a much better chance in PA. Pennsylvania is turned off by extreme candidates. Same can be said about Far Left candidates, I'm not just saying it's Republicans in this case. In my opinion Pat Toomey is too extreme to the right. We may disagree whether he's far right or not, that's just how I see him.

Yes, I'm from Erie. An hour south eh? I'm gonna guess Mercer County?

[Derek]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

2006 was a strong democrat year. 2012 is a strong GOP year. PA is in the middle and will swing with that much momentum. Erie? I was born an hour south of there.

You do have a point that it was a strong Democratic year. I think though that Republicans that are Moderate such as Tom Ridge and Arlen Specter (when he was a Republican) have a much better chance in PA. Pennsylvania is turned off by extreme candidates. Same can be said about Far Left candidates, I'm not just saying it's Republicans in this case. In my opinion Pat Toomey is too extreme to the right. We may disagree whether he's far right or not, that's just how I see him.

Yes, I'm from Erie. An hour south eh? I'm gonna guess Mercer County?

Grove City, PA. My family has a legacy at Grove City College actually but I went to Thiel.

[TopherAwesome]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

2006 was a strong democrat year. 2012 is a strong GOP year. PA is in the middle and will swing with that much momentum. Erie? I was born an hour south of there.

You do have a point that it was a strong Democratic year. I think though that Republicans that are Moderate such as Tom Ridge and Arlen Specter (when he was a Republican) have a much better chance in PA. Pennsylvania is turned off by extreme candidates. Same can be said about Far Left candidates, I'm not just saying it's Republicans in this case. In my opinion Pat Toomey is too extreme to the right. We may disagree whether he's far right or not, that's just how I see him.

Yes, I'm from Erie. An hour south eh? I'm gonna guess Mercer County?

Grove City, PA. My family has a legacy at Grove City College actually but I went to Thiel.

Ahhh, good ol Grove City. I drive through there quite often. My Mom loves going to the shopping mall down there. It's a very nice place.

[Derek]

He will most likely lose this fall to Pat Toomey.

Don't scare me. I don't want Lake Erie becoming an oil drenched lake.

Sestak will win. Toomey is a Santorum clone, and you saw how Pennsylvanians rejected him.

2006 was a strong democrat year. 2012 is a strong GOP year. PA is in the middle and will swing with that much momentum. Erie? I was born an hour south of there.

You do have a point that it was a strong Democratic year. I think though that Republicans that are Moderate such as Tom Ridge and Arlen Specter (when he was a Republican) have a much better chance in PA. Pennsylvania is turned off by extreme candidates. Same can be said about Far Left candidates, I'm not just saying it's Republicans in this case. In my opinion Pat Toomey is too extreme to the right. We may disagree whether he's far right or not, that's just how I see him.

Yes, I'm from Erie. An hour south eh? I'm gonna guess Mercer County?

Grove City, PA. My family has a legacy at Grove City College actually but I went to Thiel.

Ahhh, good ol Grove City. I drive through there quite often. My Mom loves going to the shopping mall down there. It's a very nice place.

That's awesome. My dad helped to design the sewer lines around there. I've been there plenty. Tell me about your boy the mill creek mall.