My ranking of the candidates, and why.

[Pale Blue Dot]

Living in Pennsylvania has its advantages and its disadvantages. Right now the one pressing on my mind the most is the fact that by the time the primaries get to me, the Democratic nominee will most likely be decided. The advantage to that is, that by not having to make a choice, I have been mostly able to avoid this forum, which I feel has been 80% destructive and only 20% constructive.

But I WANT to have an opinion. Even if it means little or nothing. And, like everyone else in here, I want to share it. So, after much hand-wringing and contemplation, I have put together a ranking of the remaining candidates in the primary. Keep in mind that I am firmly in the ABB camp (because I can be), and this should not be seen as an endorsement. I am not changing my avatar or anything. And I could still change my mind.

So here are my rankings, from least-excited about to most-excited about, and a few of the reasons why I have placed each candidate where I have.

7. Lieberman - He is simply too conservative for me, particularly in his foreign policy views, which I believe closely resemble the current administration;

5. (tie) Sharpton and Kucinich - As much as I like most of what both of these men have had to say, there is zero chance either will get the nomination;

4. Clark - When Clark first entered the race, I felt energized. I remember him saying something about being proud to be a liberal, or words to that effect. I liked that he used the word. But a series of recent missteps have really soured me on him. First, I think his tax proposal is irresponsible pandering. We should not be talking about any more tax cuts until we get our fiscal mess straighted out. Secondly, just yesterday, he gave an interview with NPR in which he completely disavowed Michael Moore's statement about Bush being a deserter. I know it was a tough political spot for him, and I don't agree that there should be so much focus on this one statement by one of Clark's supporters, but still, I felt that Clark was taking the coward's way out;

3. Edwards - I like the fact that he's young and attractive (I DO think that wins votes - so shoot me), and he fits in with the "Southern strategy". But I feel that he does not really have enough experience at this time. I'll take him much more seriously 4 years from now;

2. Dean - There is only one thing keeping me from ranking Dean first: the scream. I know, I know. Do I think it is a stupid thing for the press to focus on? Yes. Do I understand the context in which that speech was made? Yes. Do I think Dean should have realized that a camera was on him and toned it down? Yes. Do I think this should make him unelectable? No. Do I think this does make him unelectable? Sadly, yes.

1. Kerry - I never thought I would be at this point. I completely disagree with Kerry's vote on the IWR, and it angers me that he is standing by that vote. But, I don't really believe that this election will come down to the Iraq war. I believe that Kerry is liberal enough in most other positions to make it easy to pull the lever for him. He looks Presidential, he has the experience, and he has the temperament, to beat Bush in November. I really believe that John Kerry will be our next President. So he gets the top ranking.

THere you have it. Fire away!

[Skittles]

1. re: Clark - a series of missteps?

or buying the media whore spind ???

[sangh0]

4. People can come to conclusions different than yours

and that doesn't mean they are "buying the media whore spin"

[economic justice]

8. Absolutely right...thank you! <eom>

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. I heard him myself in an interview yesterday

Here: http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=103183&kw=lamb+chops&action=filtersearch&filter=recipe-filter.hts&collection=Recipes&ResultTemplate=recipe-results.hts&keyword=lamb+chops&queryType=and">NPR(scroll down)
I lost respect for him as a result of what he said, not by what was spun to me!

[KensPen]

2. I agree with your ranking

I think Dean has some important things and ideas to say,
he just seems to fight sometimes getting the words out,
and has a tendancy to say the wrong thing too often,
or at least words that can be twisted by the right..
Kerry is much more polished in his delivery.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Hey, my primary is in May

That's Arkansas. It will be all over by then. I like your analysis. You are spot on, I think. What I'm seeing here are a number of people who can't stand Bush. They are just waiting to have reasons to vote Democratic. I'm hoping the sniping stops here so we can work together to give each other ideas we can share with these kinds of folks.

[TheDonkey]

5. Looks a lot like my list (another PAer here)

I agree. Kerry will be the next president, and if we all rally behind him and he gets a Democratic congress he might be one of the most progressive presidents akin to FDR.

Clark, Dean, Edwards (everyone else) good people and canidates. No one including JK has a free ticket to the WH it's going ot be a tough fight and we need to rally behind the winner of this nominee to get chimpboy OUT!

[PretzelWarrior]

7. my reasoning may be different..but order is the same.

I live in Oregon and our primary is in May. No way with our small amount of delegates we will make a big difference. However, if one of your/my top choices gets nominated...very good chance for a close national election and then your state will be VERRRRYYYY important. And so will mine. Both were closely contested and narrowly went to GOre. Bush is going after them, and we need to energize the base of Dem/Indy voters now and throughout the year in our respective states.

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. good analysis

:thumbsup:

[economic justice]

10. Interesting

Very interesting. It's obvious you have arrived at your position after much thought. I like the way you have a good mix of ideology versus the practical politics of electability Thanks for a solid post.

[emulatorloo]

11. Thanks, Finnfan, for posting this

I know you had some trepidation about posting it.

My list is pretty close to yours, with a little switching here and there.

I am thrilled that we have such a strong group of candidates running.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

12. Kucinich, Edwards, Sharpton, Dean's fans

:bounce: :kick: