Has your candidate of choice changed at all?

[JSojourner]

Gore was my first choice.

I always said that if he didn't run, I would support Russ Feingold or John Kerry.  (Not that I care about actually winning!)

After it was clear they were not running, I was truly stumped.  I agreed with Kucinich on most issues, but he struck me as more of a gadfly/crackpot.  The UFO nonsense really turned me off on him.

So I started watching the debates, watching Road to the White House on CSPAN and reading the newspapers, blogs, etc.

Two candidates stood head and shoulders above the rest, in my assessment.  I was already inclined to like Chris Dodd because he authored the Family and Medical Leave Act.  He also fought to insure that the Act's new child leave included adoptive parents. It tremendously helped my wife and I (and our adopted daughter).  But there was also his vision of an America that was better than Abu Ghraib, better than Guantanamo, better than warrantless wiretapping and better than torture.  He gave a damn about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, unlike a lot of Republicans AND Democrats.  He answered every debate question articulately and honestly.  He seemed to have a good control of facts -- whether the issue was military, agricultural, environmental or something else.  So he won me over.  Even though I knew another New England liberal did not add up to a general election win.  Been there, done that, eh?

The second candidate who stood above the crowd was Joe Biden.  I always loved his candor, his wonderful sense of humor.  He was having fun in the debates...almost playing.  But when the issues came to his lectern, he was deadly serious.  When he said Pakistan should be America's biggest concern, I was all ears.  I thought that before 9-11.  And even more so now.  Now that Bhutto has been murdered, Joe Biden sounds like a prophet.   My hesitation was his tendancy toward bloviation and the inopportune, smart-alec remark.  

But I came down on Dodd and Biden (in that order) pretty much after the first televised debate.  I'm still there.  And, of course, I am sure I'll have to re-assess matters after Iowa, or New Hampshire.  I had hoped that Bill Richardson would establish himself as an impressive backup choice...but he has fumbled, mumbled and stumbled through the entire primary.  Particularly in debates.

So we'll see.  Of the big three, my heart is with Edwards.  But it's his rhetoric I like...I am not sold on the man.