Building the perfect Presidential candidate

[MarkWarner08]

A candidate with the following attributes:

Chris Dodd's education (free community college) and environmental ( carbon tax) proposals

Joe Biden's Iraq tripartition plan

John Edwards' dedication to poverty

Barack Obama's eloquence

Bill Richardson's experience

John McCain's military experience

Mitt Romney's executive abilities

Rudy Giuliani's doggedness (nicest thing I could say about the Hizzoner)

Mike Huckabee's conciliatory rhetoric

and Fred Thompson's insouciant manner (helpful in times of crisis)


Edit: Dennis Kucinich's pluck, Hillary Clinton's "drive and determination"*, Duncan Hunter's interest in national security, Tom Tancredo's (albeit misguided) passion for an important issue, Ron Paul's interest in the constitution, Mike Gravel's... not sure about that one.

*Bacon King's apt comments.

[Inmate Trump]

Where's Hillary?

[Bay Ridge, Bklyn! Born and Bred]

I'd say you nailed it pretty good.  Don't forget someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously, a sense of humor and good-naturedness about them, with maybe a hint of pop-culture savvyness to appeal to young voters.  Dennis Kuicinich, maybe?

And you forgot manly, rugged good looks!    Thats where Hillary comes in.  lol

[MarkWarner08]

Where's Hillary?

Name one attribute of hers that you admire. I can't think of one that outshines that of one of her foes. Experience: McCain and Richardson have an edge here. Intangibles: Her husband is a mixed bag and her response to the health care disaster was one of resignation to defeat.

Symbolism: Having a black President with an Islamic name would do more to enhance America's Soft Power than electing a female leader, something which has been done in at least three continents.

[Bacon King]

I'd say Clinton's drive and determination.

[MarkWarner08]

I'd say Clinton's drive and determination.

That's a good description. She surely has overcome many obstacles to rise to where she is today.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

A carbon tax is a non-starter.  Carbon cap-and-trade is the politically safer route, even though they're essentially the same thing.

[Nym90]

I'd say Clinton's drive and determination.

That's a good description. She surely has overcome many obstacles to rise to where she is today.

Most liberals would probably choose Clinton's tenacity, and as you said determination.

One of the good things about her is that she is definitely not going to allow herself to be swiftboated.....she'll fight back against anything the Republicans throw at her, and then some.

[MarkWarner08]

A carbon tax is a non-starter.  Carbon cap-and-trade is the politically safer route, even though they're essentially the same thing.

A couple of points. Most economic conservatives approve of the carbon tax approach.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/business/16view.html

Why? Because it penalizes the consumption of fossil fuels. Such a system would force corporations to invest in innovative alternatives, thus accelerating renewable energy R&D.

Politically it's a non-starter, for now. Thanks to the political consultants who've turned "tax" into an expletive, such a plan is currently politically unfeasible. Once the evidence of anthropogenic global warming becomes more pronounced -- think starving polar bears, desertification and droughts increasing -- consumers will wake up to the threat.

Economic conservatives tend to be more rational than their peers on the left because conservatives seek out empirical data, not anecdotal evidence. The carbon tax has piles of data to back it up, something that the milquetoast carbon cap and trade system lacks.

[NDN]

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Fixed.