If Dick Gephardt was the nominee, how do you think he would have done?

[Fed Up]

Does anybody think he could have won, or do you think that nobody could have unseated Busch?

I can certainly see Gephardt adding 11 EV to the mix by winning his home state anyway, and maybe Iowa too.

Hindsight is 20/20 I know, but I have a funny feeling Gephardt could have pulled this thing off. The Swift boat liars would have had nothing to say, at least, and that loose cannon Zell Miller would have had nothing to talk about. Also, I have a Repuke relative who admires Gephardt. I know Gephardt was not appealing to a lot of DUers, but if he won he would be better than what we have now.

Our election system is cracked. This primary bullshit just pisses me off, why can't the nominee be picked at the convention in smoke filled rooms? Bring back the good old days. Those people back then knew what the hell they were doing.

[Yupster]

1. To me, he has an ability

To explain things to people. Maybe it's just me, but I think he'd have a better shot of getting people to listen to him for more than a few seconds. He comes off as pretty down to earth, and I think he may have been the best shot to win.

[mzmolly]

2. The Republicans were said to be worried about Gephardt.

I honestly don't know though.

I don't think Gep had many fans on the left after his Rose Garden appearance, and he's a typical milque toast Democrat. I like Gep, just don't think he had the fire it takes to win against these ruthless monsters.

[InvisibleBallots]

5. they could have never painted Gephardt as an "elitist"

and with all those tall, muscular, beefy blue collar fans of his, there would have been no jokes about "latte drinking limo liberals" either.

Usually, when Republicans try to attack Democrats like Gep and his crowd, they talk about "union thugs" and "lazy Americans who get paid too much" - think about it.

[mzmolly]

8. Ya got a good point there.

:hi:

[saltpoint]

3. Gep is an affable do-gooder and all --

-- but a bit of a dunderhead. He should not have been a U.S. Congressman, but instead taken a job as a junior high school principal.

He would have made a bigger impact and led a happier life.

His 4th-place finish in the recent Iowa primary was akin to begin buried alive.

[henslee]

4. EZ to Mon. Morn. QB. A Geph.speech puts me to sleep quicker than a JK one.

[StephanieMarie]

6. Nobody could've won because the tally was adjusted

to make the chimp win. The fix has been in the making since 2002 at least. Unless we refuse to surrender, we will never win again. That simple.

[zann725]

9. Bravo!

(Though votes aside, I think Gephardt would've been a better match as Kerry's VP.)

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. Fuck Gephardt

Between the Rose Garden and the "Dean is Osama" ads, that backstabber got exactly what he deserved. If I never see his face on my TV again, it will be a good thing.

[mtnsnake]

10. He couldn't have done any worse than Kerry

but he just didn't have that image the Democrats were looking for at the time....you know, that "fighting man" image. All I remember is hearing many political analysts saying Gephardt was probably the best qualified Democrat, but would have trouble in the primaries.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. We could have run Jesus H Christ, Bush would have still stolen

it

It is the machines stupid, and yes Kerry won... now it is about proving it

[Benhurst]

14. With the Republicans controlling the voting machines and

tabulators, it didn't matter who we nominated. And, unless we do something about it pretty soon, it won't matter in the future, either.

[Contrary1]

12. Wouldn't have mattered much,

the fix was in.

[Warpy]

13. he's got a great record on labor issues

and he knows how to talk the working class language.

However, he'd have been just as neutered by the DLC as Kerry was, turned into a bland little man who inspired neither hope nor loyalty.

Plus, nobody but Bush could have won. The election was rigged.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. I think he would have done worse than Kerry.

He just comes off as being very weak, and very bland, and not having any fighting spirit. His war stance would have sent more Democrats voting third party - he was much more unequivocably pro-war than Kerry was.

His performance in Iowa after he had been campaigning his ass off there, and it's considered his back yard, should provide a clue. He just didn't have anything in him to draw in voters.

The Repugs would have found just as many bad things to say about him as they did about Kerry, and he would have been even weaker in fighting back.

That's just my take on the issue. I may be full of it.

[dansolo]

16. Gephardt would have been trounced

If people were really voting against Kerry because of either moral issues, or because of the perception of being able to defend America, Gephardt would haven't fared any better. He also would have had a more difficult time criticizing any aspect of the Iraq war. Unlike Kerry, who at least had some objections on record against the war, Gephardt was one of its biggest cheerleaders.

[leesa]

17. He would have lost. The election was rigged.

[Dr Fate]

18. Worse. He is even more dishonest concerning Bush than Kerry.

I've never once heard him tell the complete truth about Bush's lies, corruption and criminal activity.

Same problem all top DEMs have- a fear (corruption?) of being truthful & honest about Republicans.

[Name removed]

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[saracat]

20. Gep was "old news" Edwards had already replaced him as the "new" populist.

And Edwards didn't do as well as expected either.And personally, Gep sold us out way too often for my tastes but JMHO. If he had overwhelming appeal, that fact wouldn't have stopped his nominatiom.And hey, he could have countered Cheney's Gay daughter with his own!

[Skittles]

21. terrible

he is boring

[mikehiggins]

22. Worse than Kerry did

You can't beat somebody with nobody and as bad as Kerry was (IMHO) he at least had some bite to his story. DG was just a bland D.C. insider with lots of ties to unions and little more going for him.

He was boring in Congress and would have been boring on the stump.

Dean, Clark, Edwards, any of those would have been a better nominee than DG.

Of course, I think Clark would have been better than any of them but it seems a sizeable number of people disagreed with me. Go figure.

[hangloose]

23. he's old a worn out the margin would have been greater to the

credit of the republicans

[Pithy Cherub]

24. Gep's best political days were behind him.

The good ole days meant people were just as beholden to special interests. Transparency in elections is the only way!

[nevergiveup]

25. Gephardt would not have carried Missouri

Missouri is a conservative border state and like Tennessee in 2000, would have rejected its native son.

[American Tragedy]

26. Badly.

He had a similarly flawed argument regarding the war, and he's boring as hell. Obviously a nice guy, but very uninspiring. I don't think he would be able to motivate people.

[GreenArrow]

27. He would have done EXACTLY the same as Kerry

.

[JHBowden]

28. 5% of vote to Greens

They would have had a field day with Gephardt's infamous Rose Garden appearance.

[Jack Rabbit]

29. If Dick Gephardt had been the nominee . . . .

. . . there would have been no doubt about the election.

Bush would have won without resorting to underhanded tactics.

[Neshanic]

Compared to a wet noodle....uh...tough call.

[Mark H]

30. Interesting premise to ponder.

Gephardt is just not an electric speaker, but neither is *. so that's a push. He's not gun friendly, the issue that has split the union vote over the years. Dick Gebhardt however is a union guy. The union people know this and know him. This also takes the Vietnam issue off the table making the election about current issues (bringing in the under 30 crowd) instead of archaic issues to many voters. I say Gebhardt easily takes Missouri and takes enough of the union vote in Ohio to get the job done. Game set match. Hindsight 20-20, I voted Kerry.

[IStriker]

31. He would have carried Missouri which would have shuffled the deck...

of the electoral college. I don't know if he would have won. He would have had a better chance in Ohio than Kerry did because of strong union backing. I think the Repukes would have considered him a more formidable candidate than Kerry.