Five People Most Likely to be the 45th President

[N.i.K.]

Is Gillibrand really that impressive, or are people just mentioning her because she's a female Dem. from New York state?  I have to admit, of the little I've seen of her, I haven't been terribly wowed.  Amy Klobuchar seems more articulate, from what I've seen of her.  I agree that there's a good chance that the Dems would want to go with a woman in 2016, but if Clinton doesn't run, would Gillibrand really be the best they could come up with?

If neither Hillary nor Biden runs- which seems unlikely- 2016 on the D side may revolve around female candidates filling the vacuum of Hillary's political exit and progressive candidates wooing a base disappointed in Obama.  Perhaps Coakley will emerge as both.

He basically hit the nail on the head. I think, falsely, that much of this is left over from when Caroline Kennedy was going to be appointed. I remember talk of Kennedy in 2016, or such nonsense.

[Jbrase]

Mark Warner
ew...Mitt Romney
Gary Johnson
Andrew Cuomo
Martha Coakley

[Bo]

Mark Warner
ew...Mitt Romney
Gary Johnson
Martha Coakley
Andrew Cuomo

I don't think Warner will ever run for President. I don't think he has what it takes.

[JSojourner]

Is Gillibrand really that impressive, or are people just mentioning her because she's a female Dem. from New York state?  I have to admit, of the little I've seen of her, I haven't been terribly wowed.  Amy Klobuchar seems more articulate, from what I've seen of her.  I agree that there's a good chance that the Dems would want to go with a woman in 2016, but if Clinton doesn't run, would Gillibrand really be the best they could come up with?

Klobuchar seems to have some heft on policy matters.  Not unlike Barbara Mikulski, except she doesn't remind you of grandma. Personally, I'd love to see Klobuchar advance.

Hillary Clinton remains the leading light among Democratic women...not necessarily because she's "all that", but she's the most prominent.

Like you, I am pretty uninformed about Gillibrand. I'm not doing as good a job as I should when it comes to tracking governors, either.  In either party.  So far, I've admired Republican Jodi Rell of all the GOP women. But moderates don't win Republican primaries without the requisite "come to Jesus" moment on gays and abortion.  Rell strikes me as very unlikely to undergo such a transformation.

[Derek]

Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
Sarah Palin
David Petraeus
Hillary Clinton

[N.i.K.]

Mitt Romney (2012)
Joe Biden (Anytime)
David Petraeus (2016)
John Thune (2012 & 2016)
Andrew Cuomo (2016)

Martha Coakley

ROFL

[Bo]

Disagree about Romney, Petraeus, and Thune. Agree about Biden and Cuomo. And in JBrase's defense, many people back then thought Coakley would easily win and that she was Presidential material.

[Anthony]

1. Some random Republican who very few people know about at the moment. (2016)
2. Joe Biden (2016)
3. Mike Huckabee (2012)
4. Mitt Romney (2012)
5. Hillary Clinton (2016)

Most likely, the next president will be a Republican in 2016, after people get tired of having a Democrat in the White House for two terms. Though it's too soon to say who that is at the moment.

By the way, I'm new to this forum. Hello.

[Bo]

1. Some random Republican who very few people know about at the moment. (2016)
2. Joe Biden (2016)
3. Mike Huckabee (2012)
4. Mitt Romney (2012)
5. Hillary Clinton (2016)

Most likely, the next president will be a Republican in 2016, after people get tired of having a Democrat in the White House for two terms. Though it's too soon to say who that is at the moment.

By the way, I'm new to this forum. Hello.

Welcome to the Forum!!!!!!!!!

BTW, just to express my honest opinions, I think Huckabee and Romney will never become President.

[Anthony]

I hope you're right about Huckabee or Romney not becoming president. But if Obama's approval numbers aren't great, then I fear that these two are the most likely to win the Republican nomination, and therefore, would end up winning the general election.

[Bo]

I hope you're right about Huckabee or Romney not becoming president. But if Obama's approval numbers aren't great, then I fear that these two are the most likely to win the Republican nomination, and therefore, would end up winning the general election.

Even though I like most of Huckabee's economic views, I think that many people would consider him too religious and his social views too extreme for them to vote for him (unless the economy was in a Second Great Depression). As for Romney, he could win if the economy is in very bad shape, but I see the economy recovering in 2012, even if unemployment will remain relatively high.

[milhouse24]

Cuomo will def run, especially if he is elected NYS governor.  He won't flip-flop like his father (that supreme court nomination is still available, lol). 

Hillary will probably give it another shot.

Warner would be in a good position after serving one term in the senate and one term as governor. 

Jeb would like to run.

Thune would be able to get the votes.

[Bo]

Cuomo will def run, especially if he is elected NYS governor.  He won't flip-flop like his father (that supreme court nomination is still available, lol). 

Hillary will probably give it another shot.

Warner would be in a good position after serving one term in the senate and one term as governor. 

Jeb would like to run.

Thune would be able to get the votes.

I doubt Jeb would run, since many people will still remember his brother's Presidency in 2016. Also, I don't think Cuomo and Warner will run if Hillary runs--but they certainly could if Hillary doesn't run.

[milhouse24]

Cuomo will def run, especially if he is elected NYS governor.  He won't flip-flop like his father (that supreme court nomination is still available, lol). 

Hillary will probably give it another shot.

Warner would be in a good position after serving one term in the senate and one term as governor. 

Jeb would like to run.

Thune would be able to get the votes.

I doubt Jeb would run, since many people will still remember his brother's Presidency in 2016. Also, I don't think Cuomo and Warner will run if Hillary runs--but they certainly could if Hillary doesn't run.

GWB won re-election, so there are still plenty of Bush voters out there, specifically in Florida, Ohio, NC, and Virginia.  Besides Jeb is not a pro-war vocalist.  If he stays true to his steady calm governorship, that would be reason enough for voters to like him.  After mid-terms 2010, if the country votes anti-Dem, Jeb is all-in.

Cuomo and Warner should run if they want to be considered as a potential VP.  I don't think people will remember Hillary in 8 years.  There would be some mid-western or southern candidate that would outmaneuver her in the primaries.

[Bo]

Cuomo will def run, especially if he is elected NYS governor.  He won't flip-flop like his father (that supreme court nomination is still available, lol). 

Hillary will probably give it another shot.

Warner would be in a good position after serving one term in the senate and one term as governor. 

Jeb would like to run.

Thune would be able to get the votes.

I doubt Jeb would run, since many people will still remember his brother's Presidency in 2016. Also, I don't think Cuomo and Warner will run if Hillary runs--but they certainly could if Hillary doesn't run.

GWB won re-election, so there are still plenty of Bush voters out there, specifically in Florida, Ohio, NC, and Virginia.  Besides Jeb is not a pro-war vocalist.  If he stays true to his steady calm governorship, that would be reason enough for voters to like him.  After mid-terms 2010, if the country votes anti-Dem, Jeb is all-in.

Cuomo and Warner should run if they want to be considered as a potential VP.  I don't think people will remember Hillary in 8 years.  There would be some mid-western or southern candidate that would outmaneuver her in the primaries.

Bush Jr. was much more popular in 2004 than in 2008. Now people blame win (and many will continue to blame him for some time) for the current financial crisis and Great Recession. Jeb would be too close to GWB to win the GOP nomination unless the GOP field was really bad. Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

[milhouse24]

Cuomo will def run, especially if he is elected NYS governor.  He won't flip-flop like his father (that supreme court nomination is still available, lol).  

Hillary will probably give it another shot.

Warner would be in a good position after serving one term in the senate and one term as governor.  

Jeb would like to run.

Thune would be able to get the votes.

I doubt Jeb would run, since many people will still remember his brother's Presidency in 2016. Also, I don't think Cuomo and Warner will run if Hillary runs--but they certainly could if Hillary doesn't run.

GWB won re-election, so there are still plenty of Bush voters out there, specifically in Florida, Ohio, NC, and Virginia.  Besides Jeb is not a pro-war vocalist.  If he stays true to his steady calm governorship, that would be reason enough for voters to like him.  After mid-terms 2010, if the country votes anti-Dem, Jeb is all-in.

Cuomo and Warner should run if they want to be considered as a potential VP.  I don't think people will remember Hillary in 8 years.  There would be some mid-western or southern candidate that would outmaneuver her in the primaries.

Bush Jr. was much more popular in 2004 than in 2008. Now people blame win (and many will continue to blame him for some time) for the current financial crisis and Great Recession. Jeb would be too close to GWB to win the GOP nomination unless the GOP field was really bad. Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

I don't think Jeb will be associated with the Iraq War, specifically with draw-down.  Jeb's a competent guy and is far more astute on economic matters than GWB ever pretended to be.  I think Obama will get blamed if the economy continues to falter.  Besides Bill Clinton de-regulated Wall Street, so it wasn't entirely Dubya's fault.

The GOP field is really that bad - Romney, Palin, Giuliani, Gingrich, Huckabee, all terrible.  Thune and Barbour have a slightly better chance.  Hillary is fairly charismatic and compelling, but Cuomo and Warner would also be able to establish a strong volunteer group in NH and SC, respectively.  Bayh would be competitive in Iowa.  16 years is a long time, but Reagan kept fighting and eventually won!

Of course, Hillary could promise Bayh the VP spot (again) for leaving the race, same for Warner.  Cuomo wants to run and he should, he wouldn't be her VP pick anyways.

[Mr. Morden]

Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

So what, you expect HRC to run unopposed in the 2016 primaries or something?  Why would the field empty out for her any more than it did in 2008?

[Bo]

Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

So what, you expect HRC to run unopposed in the 2016 primaries or something?  Why would the field empty out for her any more than it did in 2008?

I would not expect Hillary to run unpposed in 2016, if she would decide to run. But I don't think that she will face any serious opposition in the primaries if she runs unless Obama is really unpopular. In 2008, the only serious opponent that she had was Obama--all of the other candidates were very weak and she would have easily crushed them all.

[milhouse24]

Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

So what, you expect HRC to run unopposed in the 2016 primaries or something?  Why would the field empty out for her any more than it did in 2008?

I would not expect Hillary to run unpposed in 2016, if she would decide to run. But I don't think that she will face any serious opposition in the primaries if she runs unless Obama is really unpopular. In 2008, the only serious opponent that she had was Obama--all of the other candidates were very weak and she would have easily crushed them all.

I think both Warner and Cuomo could mount a serious challenge.  Cuomo would challenge in NH, and Warner in both Iowa and SC.  I'm sure there would be nostalgia for Hillary, but I think Warner and Cuomo could come off as competent and more of an executive and leader. 

For all of Hillary's success, she's never had an executive role, and I think some voters would see this as a weakness because there's no history of what she would do if she had "to take that 3 am call, and handle a crisis" but the other 2 would have been governors and capable leaders. 

[Bo]

Also, most Hillary supporters will still support and remember her in 8 years if she decides to run, thus my reasoning for saying Cuomo and Warner will now run to oppose her. Besides, many people still have fond memories of her husband's Presidency and she is more charismatic than both Cuomo and Warner.

So what, you expect HRC to run unopposed in the 2016 primaries or something?  Why would the field empty out for her any more than it did in 2008?

I would not expect Hillary to run unpposed in 2016, if she would decide to run. But I don't think that she will face any serious opposition in the primaries if she runs unless Obama is really unpopular. In 2008, the only serious opponent that she had was Obama--all of the other candidates were very weak and she would have easily crushed them all.

I think both Warner and Cuomo could mount a serious challenge.  Cuomo would challenge in NH, and Warner in both Iowa and SC.  I'm sure there would be nostalgia for Hillary, but I think Warner and Cuomo could come off as competent and more of an executive and leader. 

For all of Hillary's success, she's never had an executive role, and I think some voters would see this as a weakness because there's no history of what she would do if she had "to take that 3 am call, and handle a crisis" but the other 2 would have been governors and capable leaders. 

Keep on dreaming. No offense, but Hillary would easily win the nomination if she decided to run unless Obama became very unpopular. She already managed to win 18 million votes and would have likely won the nomination and Presidency had Obama not run. Cuomo and Warner are not even that well known on the national stage yet. Don't get me wrong--I don't want Hillary to run for President ever again.

[Derek]

Jeb Bush will never be able to run for president and neither will another Bush for about 30 years. Does anyone think that Mike Huckabee will not be running in 2012. I have this feeling he won't run for some reason.

[Mr. Morden]

Does anyone think that Mike Huckabee will not be running in 2012. I have this feeling he won't run for some reason.

[Bo]

Does anyone think that Mike Huckabee will not be running in 2012. I have this feeling he won't run for some reason.

Is that the guy he pardoned who shot some people in Washington State recently?

[ajc0918]

Martha Coakley

ROFL

[Bo]

Martha Coakley

ROFL

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

However, almost everyone thought she would win her Senate race in December.