Most Likely 2008 Race

[Hitchabrut]

Frist vs. Clinton

[Rob]

I wouldn't discount Jeb's prospects too quickly.  While the country may or may not be suffering Bush fatigue by 2008, it already suffers from Clinton fatigue.  Somehow, most of you folks regard Hillary as a legitimate contender, yet dismiss Jeb's chances.     


I think a Jeb Bush/ J.C. Watts ticket would clean house in '08.   Bush would carry the South, no suprise there, but he would also carry the Catholic vote, and make even greater gains in the Hispanic vote.  The inclusion of J.C. Watts would allow the GOP to peel off about 20% or more of the Af-Am vote. 

Following their drubbing in the '08 election, the Dems would find themselves to be a party fractured beyond repair.

Hillary/Richardson  would be lucky to take CA, NM, HI, NY, MA, VT, CT, and maybe RI.

Welcome to the forum.

Jeb would lose in 2008. No doubt about it. The difference between "Clinton fatigue" and "Bush fatigue" is that unlike Bill Clinton, George W. Bush is actually in the White House. It would not be acceptable for most people to have Bush's brother coming directly after him. Now, against Hillary, he would win. But a strong Democrat- such as Evan Bayh- would thrash him.

[BobOMac2k2]

I would like you to....

And the fact that Kerry was only getting 1% doesn't mean a thing. He beat a bunch of nobodies in the end. It wasn't until the primaries did these guys become stars.

Do you think Kerry would have went over Gore, or hell mayor Daley?

all the nobodies like a VP Candidate Lieberman, a former General Clark, Sharpton, and the Democratic House leader Gephardt.

The public did not know these people... except for Lieberman, but obviously the public didnt like him.

And Sharpton didn't have a chance at wining..

[skybridge]

True. www.republicansforsharpton.com must have been one of the greatest partisan efforts. I wont deny it, I got some of the best laughs out of that one!

[ian]

Wow, this discussion is highly productive.

Wrong.

haha!

[ian]

I don't mean to sound like I'm stereotyping the South, but I know many people who vote for Republicans for race-based reasons (ie affirmative action, hate crimes, racial profiling, etc), and I think that this small portion of voters would vote for a flaming liberal Democrat before they voted for Condoleeza Rice.  But I think that it's more likely that they voted for an alternate candidate.
And as for Barbara Boxer, I love her.  She has the guts to do things that other Democrats in the Senate won't do.  The fact is that if the Democrats want to win elections, we need to be a party with ideology different than Republicans; right now, all Democratic Legislators are doing is just incorporating conservative ideology into our own.  What the Democrats in the Senate needed to do was what Barbara Boxer did and contest Ohio's results and oppose Condoleeza Rice for the Secretary of State position; however, she was the one of the few (or the only) to take her position.  Laying down and taking it isn't what our party needs right now; standing up and shouting a resounding "NO!" is what we do need.  I think that if we do, Chaffee, Snowe, McCain, Smith, Specter, Collins, and other moderates will follow, giving us the edge in different issues (obviously not the OH results, but others in the future).  But that's just my opinion.

[Serenity Now]

Hillary vs. Frist

Sorry, but that map even makes me want to make some arrogant, pedantic statement like those made reflexively by so many Republicans on these forums  (J. J. for example).

Something like "ha ha ha It's not surprising the Dumbocrats lose all the time if they think like that! LOL it's gonna be a republican white house for years!"

[YRABNNRM]

Guess who got it right? No one.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Amazingly, almost no one nailed either candidate.  I fail to find a mention of Obama and very few of McCain.  However, some candidates like Bayh, Allen, and Frist that never got in the race seemed to be the popular ones

[King]

Guess who got it right? No one.

Well, back in January '05, Obama was considered a 2012 guy not 2008 and Republican leaders like Trent Lott and Bill Frist hadn't completely lost all credibility.

[Хahar 🤔]

Guess who got it right? No one.

No kidding. McCain was a strong pick back then, but who'd have seen Obama?

[YRABNNRM]

It could be argued that Bayh was in the race. He did form an exploratory committee for a week or two...

Anyway, I, like most of the other posters here, would have laughed in your face if you told me back then that the race was going to be Obama v. McCain. I was convinced that Obama wouldn't run until 2012 at least and that McCain was too old to win the nomination.

[Mr. Morden]

Projected race:
McCain/Bush v Clinton/Bayh

This prediction wasn't that bad.  He correctly guessed McCain, and missed Obama, but instead named the candidate who narrowly lost out to him (Clinton).  However, Jeb Bush as McCain's running mate was a rather questionable prediction.....even back in early 2005 before GW Bush's popularity collapsed (IMHO).

[Alcon]

Gee, thanks for bumping this

[YRABNNRM]

Gee, thanks for bumping this

It's all in good fun, my dear friend.

[Alcon]

Gee, thanks for bumping this

It's all in good fun, my dear friend.

But, seriously.

South Dakota - Safe Bayh.

[YRABNNRM]

We really should have just put Bayh in the history books as the nation's 44th President back then; it was a sure thing.

[Mr. Morden]

Btw, in January 2005 on Intrade, Clinton was leading the 2008 Dem. nomination market by a huge margin (she was up around 40).  Bayh and Warner were vying for 2nd.  On the GOP side, it was something like this:

1) McCain
2) Giuliani
3) Frist

but all three were very close together.  However, on this forum, more people were enamored by Frist and Owens (and later in the year, Allen) than McCain.

[Sam Spade]

Bill Frist as a Presidential candidate?  lol  Same with Bayh.  I don't think anyone mentioned George Allen, but there's another lol. 

You know, Mark Warner clearly has the talent to be Prez, but I have become almost convinced that there is some huge skeleton back in his closet to where he doesn't want to be anywhere near the Prez or VP for fear of it.  Just my gut speaking.

As for the other ones mentioned a lot, I might have been certainly willing to see it back then (well, other than say Boxer or Condi)

[YRABNNRM]

As terrible of a candidate as Frist would have been, I think he would have had a good shot at the GOP nomination.

[Sam Spade]

As terrible of a candidate as Frist would have been, I think he would have had a good shot at the GOP nomination.

You're assuming that the GOP nominates candidates who have no shot of winning.  Maybe when there's a invulnerable incumbent running, but not otherwise.

Besides, Frist comes off as your classic undertaker.  Those people don't get nominated for President.