Kucinich on CSPAN right now making a great case for President.

[sarcasmo]

He is dead on with the War and Health Car. IMHO two of the biggest topics in the next election

[tmooses]

1. Yes, he nailed the health care issue dead on. As long as we

have for profit corps running health care prices will continually escalate. I don't hear any other candidates talking about this.

[sarcasmo]

2. I agree and that should be the #1topic debated in this next election cycle.

[sarcasmo]

3. No Strings. What a great slogan. I hate replying to my own thread but he nailed it.

A President with no strings.

[NYCGirl]

4. You won't think it's so great when the media dubs him "Pinocchio"

It's a BAD slogan.

[GreenArrow]

9. except that Pinochio is less known for being stringless

than for being a liar. Nothing wrong with the slogan.

More likely, the Media will just use the descriptors they already have for Kucinich -- "Keebler Elf" "Vanity Candidate," for example -- and largely ignore him.

[NYCGirl]

11. I remember the song from the movie:

I've Got No Strings (Released 1965)

I've got no strings to hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings but now I'm free
There are no strings on me
I've got no strings so I have fun
I'm not tied to anyone
How I love my liberty, there are no strings on me!
Hi-ho the me-ri-o, I'm as happy as can be
I want the world to know nothing ever worries me
I've got no strings to hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings but now I'm free
There are no strings on me
Why does the gay little dicky bird sing?
What put the zing in a butterfly's wing?
What's the reason for the smile of a troubadour?
Why does the breeze have a barrel of fun?
Even the bee who's a son of a gun
It's all because they're free
And stringless the same as me
I've got no strings and I'm so glad
No strings at all to make me sad
I had strings but now I'm free,
There are no strings on me
Oh, hi-ho, the way we go
I'm as happy as can be
I want the world to know nothing ever worries me!
I've got no strings so I have fun
I'm not tied up to anyone
How I love my liberty, there are no strings on me!
No ties to bind me, it's not easy to find me,
'cause I've got no strings on me!

http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/songs/Ive_Got_No_Strings.htm

Kucinich really needs some professional advertising people.

[GreenArrow]

14. sure,

but no strings (attached) has a positive connotation, generally.

As to the professional adverstising people, it could make for a slicker message, but perhaps a less honest one.

[ashling]

8. he lost me with that gimmick

I supported Dean and then Kerry last time and was really put off by Kucinich. However, based upon his comments on the war and health care, I planned to give him serious consideration. Then he started with the strings thing.

"Vote for me, I'm a real boy." I like what he says, but he is killing it with that pinnochio stuff.

[FtWayneBlue]

13. no strings

attached to Kootch means that he is claiming he has no puppeteer, no dirty big-money special interests funding him. I am all for that, as well as his unwavering stand for peace and against Bush's war.

[fed-up]

17. tell me you're joking-is "no strings" seriously your reason for not considering Kucinich??

[ChairmanAgnostic]

18. spousette and I laughed, then both agreed. He is now our candidate.

NO STRINGS is right

[ashling]

29. That's not actually what i said

What I said was that I started to give him serious consideration because of his comments to George St'ous.

The "no strings" slogan is not bad in aand of itself, but his standing there with his arms out turning around like a clokmakers figurine took away from the seriousness of the message. We don't need those kind of antics on the world stage anymore than we need little big man in the white house masquerading as an intellectual.

I personally don't want a president at an important world meeting doing 'I'm a little teapot, .... tip me over and pour me out"

edit; sorry about the typing, some of the keys on my keyboard are a little loose ... no strings attached.

[Bobbie Jo]

27. I was right there with you...

He had me too up until then. His thinking is spot on, but he has to lose the flailing about if he wants to be taken seriously.

Bright guy though....

[Vadem]

5. Kucinich-Gravel for President/Vice President!......n/t

[malaise]

6. I'm watching

Go Gravel! :D

[trashcanistanista]

7. He was good.

He even covered NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO and Free trade. He will repeal it during his first two weeks in office. Yes, adding environmental protection, human rights protection and right to organize protection will stop offshoring in it's tracks. If only he could win. He has it right and was right on Iraq in the first place. I think he was the best so far, I've been watching this since the beginning. NO STRINGS!!!!:loveya:

[AnOhioan]

10. DK makes sense...much more so than the other candidates

[PreacherCasey]

23. This is what I see as "the way" he CAN be elected. n/t

[Selatius]

12. Ideally, the Democratic Party's platform would be Kucinich's

However, we have many middle-of-the-road Democrats who are unable or unwilling to grasp the problems surrounding both Iraq and health care in the US or anything beyond the vanity of electability or even why the country has fallen behind nearly all other industrialized nations.

Of course, with a two-party system, the party of the left is forced into watering down its platform to appeal to centrist and even right-wing voters. Sometimes, it feels like voting between moderate right-wingers and far right-wingers. This only helps to drive down voter participation.

I hate to say it, but I feel that if Dennis looked like RFK or John Edwards, he would be taken more seriously. Is that a reflection of me? Or a reflection of the low level of American politics?

[thethinker]

16. Electable

I hate this word. The MSM pounds it into our heads that one candidate is "electable" but the next one isn't. Is George Bush good looking? Is he polished? No - he isn't, but he was electable.

What they are really saying is one candidate has big corporate money behind him, and the next one does not. That what being "electable" is really all about.

[chknltl]

15. I watched them all

There were good points made by all as well for me. If I was to choose from this who I thought would be the best President for our country it would be Dennis Kuccinich. I was put off by the no strings spin though...not very leader-ly. I wish he would at least LOOK like someone who can be leader of the free world. This was my first exposure to Gravel, no clue who he is or was. Unlike Kuccinich, Gravel LOOKED very leaderly...I was waiting for a booming Charlton Heston voice but alas that was not to be. Gravel made EXCELLENT points but he did so in the format of a manic and a comedian.... He came off as someone I would expect to see on Jay Leno hawking some book or another... considering his actual points that he made...well his antics overshadowed them in my mind...those points fade from my memory. Kuccinch's no strings trick is doing the same for me too.

Did anyone else notice DK's trembling hands when he was hanging on to his coffee cup? Is he OK? (health-wise?)

I liked DK's plan for Iraq, I liked Biden's as well. Both plans called for enlisting international aid. Kuccinich's plan called for reparations to the Iraqi people, I AGREE 100 PERCENT here. Iraq is the biggest issue for me. Call me an anti American if you like but to put it in Colin Powell's terms: WE BROKE IT and WE MUST FIX IT. WE MUST NOT IGNORE THIS! I take the view that WE THE PEOPLE should be held accountable here. Just after WWII when the German locals were made to go into those horrendous nazi death camps like Auschwitz and Dachau, I feel we the people need to be made totally aware of what we have done.

Sure it is easy to argue that bushco did this to the people of Iraq...that argument worked real well for those Germans after WWII didn't it. Aren't we a Democracy? Aren't we proud of our representative style government? Well yes our government needs fixing...but I argue at the very LEAST we must fix another country while concurrently fixin our own...and that is being selfish.

To put it in simple perspective: If you caused a horrible car crash, your car smashed as bad as the other car(s), would you get out and at the very least see to the safty of those in the car you just bumped into OR would you turn your back on them, leave them to whatever fate may bring and worry about your own car? You are my fellow Americans, I KNOW how you would respond, I am proud of this in us. Let's not turn our back on our responsibilities here. Of all the candidates who spoke today, Dennis Kuccinich spoke of fixing the damage we caused over in Iraq. He speaks for me. I just wish those other candidates did too.
c

[eridani]

19. If you live in a caucus state, FUCK "electability"

Get as many Kucinich delegates to Denver as possible, and they can offer their support to one or more of the designated "electables" in return for universal health care, fair trade or repeal of Taft Hartley. He is offering himself as a way to push the party more to where its base would like it to be--let's USE that!

[chknltl]

20. I am new at this...

What can I do from behind this keyboard? If I can do it, I will do it!
c

[eridani]

21. Do you live in a caucus state?

Then start getting everybody you know to commit to caucus for Kucinich. The goal is as many Kucinich delegates in Denver as possible. There's no way he'll win the "beauty contest" primary states, but we in caucus states don't have to care about that. The more delegates we have in Denver, the more power we have to say to the more "electable" contenders "Promise to do this, and you'll get our delegates."

Put the data in a spreadsheet, and get their precinct, state LD, County and Congressional District. Before the caucus, do massive outreach to get them to the caucuses. If you find someone willing to commit to more than just going to the caucus, sign them up to do what you are doing, and arrange for someone to be responsible for the central data base. Word of mouth guerilla marketing is the key here.

[chknltl]

24. I do not think Washington is a caucus state...

...that said I still want to help... I am retired with plenty of time on my hands and a cranky old computer hooked to cable. My senators get an earful from me often, when senators who are not from my state do something worthy I let them know too...if I get through that is. Not all of them want to hear from folks outside of their own constituents...Maxine Waters for example will not take my e-mails. Hell, silly as this sounds I even wrote something to Oprah today begging her for help in-regards to getting the plight of the Iraqi citizens out into public view.

We broke it and I wish to help fix it. I don't care if BUGS BUNNY is running for president, if he offers up a plan which includes helping out the poor Iraqi civilians from the brutal situation WE put them in then he speaks for me. Right now only Dennis Kuccinich is saying he want us to fix what we broke OVER THERE. I like the idea that we may be able to use DK to get this turned into a Dem. plank in Denver. It needs to be.
I want to help.

[eridani]

25. Washington is most assuredly a caucus state

Dwight Pelz, the state party chair, is committed to keeping it that way because he thinks (and I agree with him) that the caucuses are a great way of growing the state party. The only way we get more progressives running for higher office is to have more of them in the pipeline at the local office level.

I have a full time job, and can't volunteer to lead a state campaign for Kucinich. Once we have someone who can take responsibility for maintaining a data base, we start recruiting. Guerilla marketing--contacting people whose issues would incline them to support Kucinich. Don't bother with general outreach (unless people who are PCOs want to canvass their precincts)--no point in looking for your socks in your freezer compartment.

[chknltl]

28. Great! plz check pm.

c

[lovuian]

22. Lov ya Dennis

He truly knows what the people want

[CrazyForKucinich]

26. Link?

I'd like to see it if it's on C-SPAN's site...couldn't find it.