The best candidate up against Bush will be...

[CMT]

The one who actually wins the Democratic nomination.

We have posters who insist only Clark can beat Bush. We have posters who insist only Dean can. To be fair I don't see too many insisting that only Gep, Kerry, Edwards, ect can beat Bush.

I think the candidate who has the best chance to beat Bush will be the one who actually receives the most votes in the primaries and caucuses and majority of delegates and as such earned the right to go up against Bush.

The winner of the Democratic nomination will be the last man (or woman) standing. The one who perservered despite constant attacks. The one who appealed to democratic voters enough to win the most support.

I don't see how the best candidate to go up against Bush can be someone who doesn't win the most votes or delegates among Democratic voters.

The early primaries and caucuses will widdow down the field and the man or woman left standing at the end will have earned the nomination and will have proved to be the best candidate we can put up against George W. Bush.

That's my feeling on the subject.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

1. Thank you

It's good to read some fucking common sense here instead of the usual crystal ball gazing. I don't know who's the best candidate to beat Bush and neither does anyone else, despite what they may think. NOBODY knows what's going to happen.

The Rove machine will be a draconian meat-grinder designed to smash the democratic nominee down to his or her particle atoms. ANY candidate can be successfully smeared by these people, no matter who they are or how spotless their record is. Whoever survives the primaries is probably our best bet, since they'll at least have a practice run at getting assailed from all sides.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[Some Moran]

3. What a Lieberbush?

Ah screw him...He'll only win the support of Haitian-American delegates anyways...lol

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. How can you win the most votes or delegates among Democratic voters

and still lose? Well, Walter Mondale knows, for one.

[unfrigginreal]

5. Wasn't Mondale the establishment candidate? n/t

[paulk]

6. McGovern and Dukakis

also spring to mind....

Goldwater, too, for the other side.

[CMT]

7. but no candidate would have beaten Reagan on the democratic

side in 1984.

If Clark or Dean wins the nomination they will have earned the nomination and proved to be the toughest and most durable candidate. If you cannot even win the nomination of your party I doubt you will be the best candidate to go up against Bush. That is why we have primaries and caucuses.

[mmonk]

8. I could see Kerry

as well as the two mentioned. This doesn't mean I am insistent the others can't. I like DK very much. Its just I give kudos to Dean for his base of support. I support Clark because I think he can deflect all the defense and patriotism issues that the repubs will use.

[WilliamPitt]

9. The best candidate against Bush

will be the one who can win every state Gore won in 2000, plus Ohio or West Virginia. That means a candidate who is attractive in the West coast, along the Canadian border states, in New York and Pennsylvania and Michigan, and in New England, plus West Virginia and Ohio.

[CMT]

12. I concur

It will be interesting to see how the candidates do in some of these key states in the primaries and what kind of coalitions they are putting together. Who is attracting significant minority support? who is getting the strongest union support? who is appealing to independents who vote in Democratic primaries? ect.

But to have a chance to go head to head against Bush they must win their own party nomination and the person who does so will be battle tested and a proven vote getter.

[lindashaw]

10. To be brutally realistic about it, the candidate who has money

to spend after the primaries has a chance. I'm glad Dean opted out of public financing. I wish Clark would do the same. Since Dean opted out, Bush has already been forced to start spending some of his money. But he's saving a lot of dry powder to use when the Dems reach their spending cap. As bad as it is, I think any serious candidate has to take the "when in Rome do as the Romans do." Unfair but true.

[salinen]

11. The best candidate

will be the one who trashes * ass in the debates. Get ready for negotiations by Rove to have as few debates as possible. We should hammer home that we want tons of debates. Go for the stars and settle for the moon. The debates are the keystone!

[paulk]

14. Gore trashed Bush's ass in the debates

and nobody paid attention...

I wouldn't put much faith in debates meaning much.

[salinen]

17. excuse me paulk,

the only one worse than Gore was Bush. When someone who can really speak is witnessed side by side with mcsmirk, it will be powerful. At this point we need all the ammunition there is.

[Think Globally]

13. The best candidate up against Bush will be...

The one who adheres to his principles instead of selling out to the right. Too many are taking their base for granted in hopes of picking up a few stray neo-con votes. It will never work! There can only be one party for the people, and it will be either the Democratic Party or the Green Party. Democrats can either keep selling out and having their issues stolen by Republicans, or keep true to their principles and give us a reason to vote for them!

[ACK]

15. The only one selling out to the right is Lieberbush

And he will not make it through the primaries.

[ACK]

16. No more circular firing squads

It goes like this:

Clark people bashing Dean.

Dean people bashing Clark.

Everyone beating up on Kerry... blah ... blah ... blah.

I know its the primary season.

I just think a lot of this talk is destructive.

As long as Lieberbush does not get it I will be a happy man.