How Many Of You Have Made A Decision As To Who You'll Back In '08 For Prez?

[Dinger]

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[LaurenG]

1. I have - I'll vote for whoever wins the democratic primary

:hi:

[Dinger]

2. Works For Me!

:hi:

[mak3cats]

3. Until Al Gore says he's absolutely, positively not running...

...I'm not moving off the fence.

[SharonRB]

9. I'm with you

Welcome to DU.

:hi:

[Larkspur]

10. Same here

[Bjornsdotter]

17. Ditto, ditto & ditto n/t

[AndyTiedye]

18. We Gotta Have Gore!

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

21. Ditto x4 - Run Al Run!!! n/t

[Uncle Joe]

26. Ditto x 5 I'm ready whenever Al Gore is,

and I'm staying on the fence until the convention.

[rosesaylavee]

27. Ditto x6

I think he will enter the race in September.

[NaturalHigh]

4. I honestly have no idea.

I have made up my mind regarding several candidates I won't vote for.

[oldgrowth]

5. It's way to early it's what 17 months !!!

[Parche]

6. DINGER FOR PRESIDENT

KERRY/CLARK 2008
GORE/KERRY 2008
GORE/EDWARDS 2008


WAHOO :hi:

[Dinger]

22. Gosh Damn, I Just Love You "Parche"

:hi: :loveya:

[Forkboy]

7. I'm decided for the Primary...after that who knows?

[SharonRB]

8. It's not black and white for me

I have if Gore runs. If he doesn't, I don't know who I'll vote for in the primary/caucus, but I'll back whoever gets the nomination in the GE.

[Totally Committed]

11. Not yet...

and not because it's too early (although it is....), I am not "moved" by any of the current pack.

TC

[davidwparker]

12. Edwards, unless Gore enters. I've only decided that I'm NOT voting for

Hillary even if she is the nominee. I'll write in Gore if that's the case.

[agtcovert]

13. Maybe I'm too young to remember...

but the hype and "horse race" mentality surrounding this election is far more than I remember from elections past...I think it's absolutely ridiculous frankly.

In my mind, it's over the top, driven by a media whose intent is 1) not in the best interest of the people 2) to make people numb to the process by the time it matters and 3) make it seem like our democracy is alive and well and like they (the people) are taking part in the process.

[oldgrowth]

15. Yes and then the media can easily push us the way they like in there

Corp. interest.
IMG]

[Dinger]

23. I Agree Completely, And I Wonder How Many More "Top 3 Only" CAMPAIGN Events We Will Have?

Democracy at work? I doubt it.

[illinoisprogressive]

14. obama 08

[zanne]

35. Obama nt

[Adelante]

16. I'm deciding in the fall on the primary

In the GE I'm for the Dem tcket.

[Colobo]

19. Gobama!

[leftofthedial]

20. whoever the Democratic nominee is

although I may puke into my mouth a little when I do it


":kick:" :puke:

[Bucky]

24. I keep wanted Obama to be JFK; he keeps on being his own man instead.

I go back and forth among three candidates. Biden is the third one because he's really surprising me this time. I think he could really perform well in the fall campaign--he's a brilliant and forceful debater. He'd chew up Romney like a puppy on a tubesock.

Edwards looks good on paper, but I have some invisible block about him. Not sure what it is, but he triggers yellow flags with me.

Obama is the one I'll probably end up with. He's got crossover appeal and frankly I think this country needs a full majority president, not a "51% is my mandate to rule as a king" president. Still, whatever people see that inspires them to love Barack eludes me. He seems so ordinary & wonkish, not inspiring at all. I read about his ability to connect with people, but I never see it. I never feel it.

So right now I'm unsold.

Attention Gore. ATtention Clark. I said "Right now I'm unsold"

[LWolf]

25. I have.

Not because I think people ought to make up their minds this early.

There is simply no good alternative. One great candidate, some that are "ok" but not "great," and some don't even appear on my list of possibilities.

If more had superb, consistent stances on every issue, and great records, I wouldn't have made my mind up yet.

[bananas]

28. Kucinich

[thoughtcrime1984]

33. Yes!

No strings attached.

[bklyncowgirl]

29. Not really. I have my criteria but nobody currently running meets them.

Here are my criteria for what it's worth:

Experience: I want to feel confident that the candidate I am promoting would be able to actually do the job. Prior experience in a high executive office would go a long way to making me feel good about a candidate. I also would like to see a candidate who'd travelled extensively, lived in a foreign country and has lived and can understand the sort of real world that middle class Americans live in.

Judgment: I want a candidate who's not afraid to look a the facts and make a decision based on those facts even if it may not be the most popular thing to do politically. Major lapses in judgment such as voting for the IWR particularly if the candidate did not read the full National Intelligence Estimate, are a serious black mark against a candidate.

Leadership: I want a candidate who is able to get out in front and bring others over to his or her side.

Communications: A good leader has to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of media including, unfortunately, TV sound bites.

Vision: I want a candidate who has a vision for the future that I can embrace, that is achievable and who has a documented history of both looking forward and being right.

Issues: I want to agree with my candidate on the issues that are most important to me: Iraq and foreign policy in general, the environment and energy, the economy and health care.

So far no candidate meets my criteria for all out enthusiastic support. Al Gore comes the closes but he is not running.

Of the ones who are running in order of how I'd vote if the primary were held today:

Richardson meets my experience and vision criteria but has not proven a good communicator although he's shown considerable leadership in the real world as governor and diplomat. I like most of his current positions on the issues but wonder whether his newer views on things like trade are positions of convenience. He supported the Iraq war but was not in a position to vote on it, he made some mistakes as energy secretary.

Obama meets my judgment, vision, issues and leadership criteria but not the experience part.

Edwards meets my issues and vision criteria and is a good communicator but I question his judgment particularly on the IWR. He lacks executive experience.

Kucinich is probably closest to me on the issues but I don't see him as an effective leader. He was right about the war.

Dodd is a good communicator he position on the issues sound good and knows the Washington world but lacks executive experience. He voted, of course for the IWR.

Biden: Mood swing man can be either a great or terrible communicator. He knows DC cold but may be lacking in real world experience.

Clinton is a strong communicator but has not shown leadership on the most pressing issue of our time and showed poor judgment in voting for the IWR. She is too conservative for me on the issues.

[Dawgs]

30. You sound like a Gore Obama person.

Obama has also lived in another country and has been consistently against the Iraq war.

BTW, Nice list.

[bklyncowgirl]

32. Great combination. Yes, that would be my dream ticket.

Not likely to happen, though unless Gore changes his mind and Obama is willing to play second fiddle.

[zanne]

36. I always wonder why people like "Gore-Obama" and not...

"Obama-Gore"

[rucky]

31. I have a strategy, but not a final decision.

Kucinich, unless...

Gore steps in.

-or- Richardson or Edwards looks like a threat to Hilary by the time the primary comes to Ohio.

[Popol Vuh]

34. Kucinich

With the current line-up Kucinich is the only one I like. He's the only one who I feel isn't giving me lip service and the one who most closely matches my views and opinions.

[SexyLiberal]

37. Hard to say but...

I would like Kucinich, but looks like Edwards may be the one...

[flaminbats]

38. not me..

my minimum requirement, they better support universal healthcare.

another thing I always consider, who Jimmy Carter endorses. I have so much respect for that guy, and I actually trust him! there are not many politicians I can say that about, Democrats or Republicans.

I don't always vote for the person Carter endorses in the primary, but I usually end up voting for that person in November. Carter started out backing Dean in 2004, but ultimately voted for Edwards. I voted for Kucinich in 2004. He backed Gore in the 2000 primaries, yet I voted for Bill Bradley. Carter backed Tsongas early in the 1992 primaries, and so did I. but Carter backed Clinton after he and Gore were nominated, and that had allot to do with why I didn't vote for Ross Perot in November.

I like our choice of candidates better than the ones we had in the last two elections. actually DU has had a growing influence over who I back in the primaries, and it is a great place to read how others feel.

[DemBones DemBones]

39. Kucinich. I've supported him since 2002.

Go Dennis!