Would Ted Kennedy be a uniting force if he ran for President?

[Atman]

Just askin. Would he bring together both Republicans and Democrats to help solve America's problems?

.

[NewJeffCT]

1. He's like the ultimate Republican boogey-man, isn't he?

and, I think DU would have had a meltdown if they had to go through the Carter-Kennedy race in 1980.

[Buzz Clik]

2. His previous run was met with uinversal indifference.

[rubberducky]

3. Too much baggage.

I respect Ted a great deal, but you factor in age, Chappaquidic (sp?). No chance, sadly.

[Egalitariat]

4. Nobody will bring Republicans and Democrats to help solve America's problems

That's a pipe dream.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Right: we need someone with a strong enough character

not to be intimidated when the Republicans threaten to hold their breath and turn blue if they don't get their way.

Today's Republicans see compromise as a sign of weakness. They are bullies, pure and simple. My guess is that like all bullies, they will slink away if someone actually stands up to them, ESPECIALLY if the Democrats stand up to them in a united front.

I keep pointing out the example of the Democrats joining together to declare their support for Social Security. The Republicans backed down.

They could have done the same for FISA, for funding the Iraq War, and for Kyl-Lieberman. They didn't--the spineless wusses besotted with outdated notions of "bipartisanship."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. He's up there in years (75, I think)

(It's hard to believe, but his brother JFK would be 90 years old if he were still alive.)

Also, he's been one of the Republican boogymen for even longer than Hillary has, so I doubt that he'd be able to bring Republicans and Democrats together.

[Imalittleteapot]

6. Chappaquiddick. Chappaquiddick. Chappaquiddick.

That's all we'd hear from dusk to dawn for months and months. I don't want him to have to go through that, although he WOULD make a great President.

[rox63]

7. He gave up on that ambition after his 1980 run

And he decided to be the best Senator he could possibly be. I think he's been darned successful at that.

[IADEMO2004]

9. Ask former Pres. Carter

bet he will say no.

[VP505]

10. If Ted Kennedy

announced a Presidential run I think all the RePukes would have an instant orgasm, talk about energizing the base, they would all crawl out from the rocks they hide under to add their 2¢ to the effort to destroy him.

[AndyA]

11. I like Ted a lot.

But if he ran for President, all we'd hear about would be "that car accident where the girl drowned..." I still get that from the GOPers around me whenever something is said about ANY Kennedy.

Then I remind them of Laura Bush's accident in 1963, when she killed her boyfriend. Most act like they haven't heard of that, and why would they? The "liberal media" :eyes: doesn't really cover it much.

[Ganja Ninja]

12. Republican's want it all with no compromises.

You can't deal with them. No matter what anyone says about unity we'll never be able to unite with them.

[Justice Is Comin]

13. No but make him

Senate leader and things would start flying.

[WinkyDink]

14. No.

[bigwillq]

15. No

He's a great senator, imo, but he has a lot of baggage and is perceived as too liberal and divisive.

[Atman]

16. Some people seem to be seeing what I'm getting at...

The only reason I asked the question is because I'm so tired of hearing DUers saying that we're just imagining the Hillary Clinton "polarization" thing. That once she's nominated, she'll be totally electable.

But when asked about Ted Kennedy...oh noooooo. He's too polarizing. He'd energize the Republican base like never before. It seems like a bit of a double standard, or at the very least, pure denial.

This isn't a Hillary bashing thread at all. To a lesser degree, I think Obama faces a similar challenge; too many people will simply not be able to look past his skin color. This is America, after all. When many of us DUers were kids, blacks still had separate bathrooms and drinking fountains -- point being, this isn't ancient American history, it happened practically yesterday in historical terms. A lot of us pointy-headed liberals in New England and on the West Coast tend to forget how different the "flyover" states still are.

I agree that Ted Kennedy would make an excellent president, but even HE knows he'd never be able to get anything done just because of his name. A large percentage of voters would simply NEVER consider anything a Kennedy did as acceptable. As we select our potential nominee for November, we must keep this in mind. We will not get unity from a candidate half the country simply cannot stand under any circumstance. Ideas and experience will only get you so far. You need to be able to LEAD.

.

[seriousstan]

17. No. His last major project was "The Big Dig". Not a glowing recommendation.