Who has a better chance of winning in the GE, Obama or Edwards?

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hey, if people can make binary polls leaving out Edwards... I can make a binary poll too.

I think the preponderance of opinion both here on DU and in the "real world" is that Hillary Clinton has the toughest time defeating the Republican nominee, whoever it might be, in the General Election.

I'm not a Clinton hater, I'm impressed with many things about her and would enthusiastically support her if she wins the nomination. But this is a single-issue poll which will not be including her.

Edwards has southern appeal, and also appeals to the most progressive in his party (which doesn't necessarily help him with independent/moderate Republican voters). Obama appears to have the ability to gain some independent/moderate Republican votes, but at the same time appears more vulnerable to the RW smear machine.

There's a good chance that neither will win the nomination.

But putting that aside - which one would have the better chance in the General Election?

HRC supporters: Please vote in this poll!

:)

[Fresh_Start]

1. Edwards may not get the GOP elites

but he can get the GOP working class.

[ElderBurry]

13. He's getting this GOP voter.

Never thought I'd see the day I'd vote for a Democrat. Couple of months ago, Edwards was my biggest worry. Then I saw what my party was offering, and I had to do some thinking.

The GOP is running lunatics, liars and crooks. I can't vote for any of them. Not even close.
As a political junkie, I've watched the candidates, the websites, the debates, even the damn tv. Watched with horror at the advance of Hillary Clinton, but at least she knew her way around the block and was someone you took seriously, unlike Obama and Edwards.

Then...I don't know, there wasn't a revelation really, but seeing the GOP contenders were no more appealing than her, I took a fresh look at Obama and Edwards.

And here's what it came down to, in order of importance:
1 Unquestioned personal integrity
2 Not a career politician, successful and self-sufficient in the private sector.

The issues aren't that important to me, compared to those things. Most presidents don't get far with their issues anyway, that's up to Congress. I will just be satisfied to know that someone HONEST and consistent is in charge, and that he is the kind of man who isn't motivated by political power.

I'm not young. I think I know people. John Edwards is a decent man and an able one, and I'm more than willing to give him a chance. I'm actually looking forward to it.

I think I speak for many disgusted Republicans.
Th-th-th-that's all folks.

[Andy823]

14. My dad feels the same way

But he hasn't decided on Edwards or Obama yet, but I have been doing my best to show him the "right" way to go! That's Edwards of course.

[Fresh_Start]

15. thank you for giving the dems a fresh look

by far, Edwards is the best choice for those of us who are not CEO's

[MissDeeds]

18. Welcome to DU!

Glad to have you as an Edwards supporter! This election is one of the most important in modern history, and I believe we can trust John Edwards to get this country back on track. :hi:

[ElderBurry]

20. Thank you!

I've been lurking a while, not much of a joiner. It was important to me to let folks know, Edwards can win because he can appeal to Republicans. I hope he does. America needs more than change, it needs a renaissance, and he could bring it about.
Back to lurker mode for me, too rough-and-tumble here! :hi:

[MissDeeds]

21. Don't go, ElderBurry!

DU can be a lively place, but there are lots of good people here. I lurked for a long time before posting, and got into a few scrapes early on, but it's worth it. I really would welcome your input and know that we could all benefit from your perspective. Hope you'll reconsider. :toast:

[melody]

34. It's usually not this bad, ElderBurry. Glad to have you on our side of the aisle

Edwards is a good man. I only hope we're smart enough to elect him President.

[vanboggie]

23. Welcome to DU

Honored to have you in the Edwards fold, Elderburry, and thanks for taking the time to give us your reasons for crossing over party lines to support him. :hi:

I agree John Edwards is our last best hope.

[ChiciB1]

29. My Sister In Texas, Who STILL Has A thing For The Decider Told

me that she's thinking of voting for him. There are 6 females in my family and she the ONLY one who supported any Repugs, ever, so we rarely talk politics together.

But when talking with her on the phone recently, she told me she liked John Edwards. I almost fell over! I'm telling you, if SHE said this, there must be something to GOPers not happy with their choices. And to pick Edwards, the Democrat who is more "left" than the other two is way "of course" for her!

But, I'm just pumping her up and emailing the NEWS on Edwards now!!

[Yael]

38. Thank you for this!

Crossed linked in another thread -- I missed it the other day.

:patriot:

[Radical Activist]

2. Both have a better shot than Hillary.

Obama's advantage is the likelihood that he would expand the electorate in ways few others have or can. A 30% or so increase in black voter turnout will help in Michigan, Ohio, and put at least two or three Southern states in play. Obama also has a message that brings in new young voters that the Democratic Party has written off for a long time. A lot of young people are unhappy with Bush and could show up in large numbers for a candidate who connects with them. Obama has done an amazing job of that so far.

Edwards has a good message but I don't see where he expands the voting base the way Obama does.

[MethuenProgressive]

3. Republicans would happily vote for Obama. Edwards is a Democrat, though.

Republicans hate Democrats.

[Chipper Chat]

4. Except for KO Edwards gets no respect from the MSM.

Quick! What are the top 3 things that flash into your mind about JOhn via the MSM coverage?

1) THE HAIRCUT
2) HIS FATHER WORKED IN A MILL
3) HOW HE'S RUNNING THIRD AND HAS NO CHANCE AT THE NOMINATION

Absolutely NOTHING about his platform how he would make a great president

We are a nation of sheep. Sheep.

[SammyWinstonJack]

35. ...

x(

[BenDavid]

5. I will say HRC but seeing you do not have her on the list I will

go with Edwards

[Windy]

8. Hillary has NO SHOT of beating McCain, especially after Bill's recent antics.

she will get absolutely no independent votes and certainly no crossover. If they try and go after McCain like they are going after Obama after what bush did to him in 2000, it will get very very ugly.

[Windy]

6. Both could win it. And if Barack wins, it should be Barack Edwards if he'll accept. n/t

[Radical Activist]

11. they would make a great ticket.

Their messages work together much better than Kerry and Edwards did. Plus, Barack wouldn't have to worry about sticking Edwards in a corner for fear of being outshined all the time.

[glowing]

7. From what I'm hearing in FL .. in my hotel from breakfast.. from people

all over the US.. is that McCain tops Hillary.. Hillary tops Obama (they feel he's a walking target for an assassination)... Then I say what about Edwards.. and they say, if he's the Dem nominee, him over McCain, but dems being stupid in their primary selection... so, they have to go with McCain.

[balantz]

9. That's interesting.

[SecularNATION]

12. True

"but dems being stupid in their primary selection"

The average Democrat is stupid and has been for years. Dems have picked the wrong candidate on multiple occasions. Namely, '68 Humprey, '72 McGovern, '84 Mondale, '88 Dukakis, and '04 John Kerry. It looks like the Democratic Party in on trajectory to do so again. '08 Hillary Clinton. If they're smart they'll select Edwards, but like I said, Democrats aren't that smart.

[glowing]

22. Dems aren't stupid.. people want something new.. a lot of dems would

like to see progress as in seeing a black man or a woman run and win... But when those candidates are not putting forth the kind of progress America needs, then its not, in my opinion, good for the country.. AND MSM has done a great job of only putting these two options as the only options for the nation... Its been effective.. they've been talking about both hillary since the first election to senate and Obama since his speech at the 04 convention.

[FlyingSquirrel]

24. All presidents are walking targets for assassination

I'm sure there are many who would like to assassinate George W. if they knew they could get away with it (and if Cheney weren't next in line). That's not a particularly good argument for not electing someone IMO. I'd rather have a president that people want gone for all the wrong reasons than a president that people want gone for the right reasons.

[Onlooker]

10. Obama does

Obama will pull in a lot of new voters, not only blacks, but he'll be the beneficiary by and large of newly registered women and Latinos. The same logic that inspired them to support Hillary will inspire them to support Obama. And I'm sure the Clintons will play ball. The other thing about Obama is that he has been, wrongly in my opinion, overtly reaching out to Reagan admirers and religious homophobes, and his health plan is far more attractive to conservative independents because its quite corporate friendly.

Edwards is great, but his biggest problem will be among Independents, many of whom are mostly worried about their 401Ks and will refused to believe government regulation is the answer. I'm not defending those people, but there are a lot of them, and they are swing voters. Edwards will do very well with labor union members and liberals, but he won't inspire minorities who saw a chance for history to be made.

[jlake]

16. Obama would be crushed - by major double digits. Edwards could pull a victory.

[Tulkas]

17. Edwards spent 5 years in Iowa and couldn't win

Won't win the state he was born in.

Couldn't deliver the state he represented (in '04)

Couldn't hold onto his senate seat


I like the guy but he loses elections far to frequently for me to believe he can take on McCain or Romney

[CorpGovActivist]

19. KNPnta

[NJSecularist]

25. Good lord

We had a massive infusion of Edwards fanboys (and fangirls) in this thread. This poll wasn't about who is your favorite candidate, it was about who do you think has a better chance of getting elected. Is it possible that the Edheads could be impartial and answer this question honestly?

[FlyingSquirrel]

26. Probably not. ;-) Oh well....

One good thing that came of it though was that we got an opinion from someone who stated they were Republican and gave us their perspective on who they might be persuaded to vote for and why. Seemed genuine.

[NJSecularist]

27. Agreed. I enjoyed that differing perspective

But when has Edwards shown that he could ever win a bunch of states, let alone an election? He couldn't even win Iowa, the state he canvassed for 3 years. You need to start small and then when you win the nomination you can compete with the big boys. I love Edwards' message, but let's get real here, Edwards will come in 3rd in his own party's nomination process, what does that say about him? I don't understand how that translates to winning the general election.

That's just my .02

[FlyingSquirrel]

28. I'd say what it says about him is that he isn't backed by

$Zillion$ of corporate money, and the corporate-owned media.

However, if he could somehow pull off a miracle and get the nomination IN SPITE of that, they couldn't possibly refuse to cover him in the news. They wouldn't have a choice, 'cause people want to hear about the campaign trail and they'd have nobody else to report on. (They might still slant it against him though)

[melody]

30. If you really want the facts, use the search engine

Your problem is you're an Edwards basher. If you want to address your specific problems with him (and I invite FS into this, too) why not do so here? Be ready to back it up with specific dates and accurate figures. There's a lot of disinfo floating around about all the candidates, Edwards included. If you want the reality of the matter, use the search engine (if you're a member anyway).

You othercandidate fanboys really have to come up with a better riff than merely vaguely knocking Edwards and the fact his supporters tend to be focused, energized and positive.

[FlyingSquirrel]

31. Hmmmm were you saying I'm not an Edwards supporter?

Hope not!

:)

[melody]

33. No, I meant Free Spirit, the Edwards basher, not you lol

Sorry, I should have used different initials.

[Yael]

39. I did answer it honestly. I like Edwards chances in the GE.

He appeals to the middle class who are waking up to the reality that we are heading toward a guilded age.

Obama has said nothing of substance since he started his campaign back when he first got to Washington.

[Radical Activist]

32. Edwards is winning the poll but the posts are mostly for Obama.

I see several arguments about why Obama is the more electable candidate but not so many for Edwards. Why don't the Edwards supporters make their case beyond siting a few polls?

[mathewsleep]

36. i support obama

but i'd still say edwards would do better in the general election. they'd both do better then hillary, but that's besides the point. the point is you support the candidate you think is the best, not the one you think could win the easiest. and although edwards is a very close second, very close, i still think obama would do america better by bringing in independents the way he's proven he can.

[Raine]

37. Edwards but Obama

would have a chance too. Hillary doesn't have a chance in hell of beating any reTHUG.