Who Will be the 1st to DROP OUT of the race??

[The Sushi Bandit]

Platform: "What do I know about politics - I'm a comedian."

[Stop Cornyn]

1. I respect his right to run for president, but I pray nightly that Richardson will run for Senate.

[rucky]

9. Domenici has gots to go!

but it won't be Richardson.

maybe Martin Chavez, Diane Denish (Lt. Gov) or Gloria Tristani

[Stop Cornyn]

11. Domenici has got to go and I fear that Richardson is the only one who can beat him.

[Hippo_Tron]

12. I doubt that he wants the job

He probably would rather have a cabinet post.

[saltpoint]

2. for the Pukes, it's going to be Tommy Thompson. He'll be out before

60 Minutes is over with this Sunday.

For us, maybe Gravel. I don't think he has the operation to compete in all the places he needs to compete in. I betcha a conversation with his supporters in remote parts of varoius states would be provocative and extremely worthwhile.

But I don't see an apparatus for victory there and sooner or later, he's going to grow weary of one more night at the Motel 6 in Oklahoma City in Fort Worth in Des Moines in Manchester in Carson City in Columbia in Modesto . . .

[TwilightGardener]

3. Richardson or Dodd--they're realists. Biden's enjoying the stage too much, and

Gravel and Kucinich are dreamers.

[Endangered Specie]

4. Pretty much sums up what I was going to post....

Kuchinich stuck in it all the way to the primaries and got like .42% of the vote.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

7. Richardson is up to 3rd in NH and closing in on 3rd in Iowa

Why should he quit?

[jobycom]

5. I'm thinking Dodd, and I think he'll endorse Clinton. Some of the others

like Kucinich, Gravel, and Edwards, will probably stay in until the convention, because they don't like the frontrunners, and they really don't have anything better to do. They may run out of funds before then, but I don't think they'll feel they can help their cause by dropping out. Obama is closer to Clinton than to them politically, so they don't have much reason to throw their support behind him.

Biden and Richardson will follow, in that order, because those three do have other things to do, and will spend less time wasting their time and money. Plus, I think all three consider themselves VP material. (Only Richardson has a chance, though. Clinton or Obama wouldn't choose another senator as VP).

All that assumes Clinton or Obama don't do something really stupid and fall completely out of contention, of course. If one of them does, I think either Edwards or Richardson will benefit most. Which is another reason Edwards and Richardson will try to stay in the race as long as they can. I can't imagine Edwards getting out early.

Those are my predictions. Probably wrong, as always.

[rucky]

6. What's a Pat Paulsen? n/t

[The Sushi Bandit]

13. OMG you dont know!!!!!

follow this link!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04BhAxBNWIo

[AnneD]

28. I miss Pat...

I loved his stance on gun control. He proposed registering bullets.

The Smother's Brothers may not have a show-but thank God we have KO.

We all need a good life. I wonder what his spin on Bush would be? My mind goes crazy with the potential.

[countmyvote4real]

8. The first drop out will be one of the GOP candidates.

Hence my "other" vote.

[The Sushi Bandit]

39. Your right...it happened today

[wisteria]

10. I don't think anyone of them should drop out. We need to hear from all of them.

The elections are still a long way off. This race could go to anyone, polls mean nothing at this point.

[Bake]

14. Might want to wait until there has actually been a VOTE cast ...

You know, like in a PRIMARY? Why would anyone drop out before then?

Having said that, Gravel will be the first to go (on our side).

Bake

[beastieboy]

15. Where was Gravel last night?

I don;t remember seeing him, either that or I tivo'd past him.

[slick8790]

23. I heard there was some paperwork issue or something

from another post here. Campaign didn't get the papers in on time or something. But no, he wasn't there.

[rinsd]

16. Everyone but Gravel and possibly Kucinich has enough money to make IA.

Though I think Dennis will stay in even if money is tight.

[The Sushi Bandit]

19. Dennis will be there at the convention

fighting for his platform

[flaminbats]

25. I think Gravel will too..

Kucinich and Gravel should try joining forces on the issues they agree on, like Iraq.

[Ediacara]

17. Gravel or Dodd

I don't think that Richardson will go that soon, he seems to the only one of the "lower tier" that has an upward movement. He's currently battling Edwards for third, and I honestly think Obama will be next. Not that I have any illusions that Richardson is going to take the nomination, it'll probably end up as Hillary, but I don't think that Obama or Edwards are going to last as long as most DUers do.

As for the others: Biden enjoys being on the national stage too much and has certainly learned how to be less of a loud mouth. Kucinich ran his losing campaign all the way to Boston last time around, so AFAIC he'll never quit.

That leaves Dodd and Gravel. Gravel has no serious chance of winning and he knows it. I think he may realize that he's just to old for this kind of endeavour. Dodd has good things to say, but he's getting no movement in the polls, and is too realistic to act like DK. It's either Dodd or Gravel out first, but I'm not sure which.

[flaminbats]

18. IMO either Biden or Dodd will drop out first

I selected Dodd because he'll have trouble beating HRC in his home state, but he'll dropout shortly after the New Hampshire primary..if not before. Biden has more name recognition than Dodd, and could still win in Delaware and possibly Maryland.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

20. I think they're just there to attack Obama for Hillary anyway.

So they'll stay in as long as she needs them.

Richardson will tire of telling that lame, 'I think all of these people would make an excellent vice president' joke in a few months. I hope so at least.

[ronnykmarshall]

21. Bette Midler

[The Sushi Bandit]

26. She is running again?

LOL

[goodgd_yall]

22. Dodd 1st, Biden 2nd

Upthread someone mentioned he's a realist and I agree. I think Biden will bow out next and tell his supporters to support Clinton.

[slick8790]

24. Dodd.

Biden likes being up there.
Kucinich truly believes he can win, and i can't see him quitting.
Edwards stands to benefit from any HRC or Obama mistakes.
Richardson's running for VP.
And what's gravel got to lose by staying in there?


Only Dodd seems to inspire tepid support everywhere. Everyone else has at least one rabid supporter, but i haven't seen any for him. Also, as a sitting senator, he has other things to get back to once he realizes he's out.

[Nimrod2005]

27. Flipity flopity flipity flopity Hillary

[The Sushi Bandit]

29. I wish she would!

[Myrina]

37. That would be a wet dream come true for me!

:applause:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

30. I'm intrigued to see that 6 people voted Clinton, 7 Obama, and 3 Edwards...

It's possible that one of the Big Three will be the first to drop out, technically, I suppose, but it doesn't seem a plausible thing to predict.

[The Sushi Bandit]

31. Scandal may be lurking behind one of the big 3

Hillary has the possibility of having the most skeletons in the closet.
Obama being a "mulatto" may also become an issue with "Black" voters.
Edwards my have to withdraw because of his wife's illness

[DutchLiberal]

32. I think Gravel. Why wasn't he in the debate at MSNBC???

[DrFunkenstein]

33. Anyone Looking to Become a VP Will Remain (Sadly)

Richardson is actually making a fairly strong run for such a relative unknown, an "ethnic," with little media support. He's got his eye on being VP for Clinton or Edwards (realistically, there's is little chance of a "black and tan" ticket with Obama). Like Clinton, I want to like him more than I do. Nevertheless, he's going to solidify his popularity enough to show his pull on a national ticket, but not rock the boat to jeapordize a slot on the November ballot.

Biden thinks he's also got a shot at VP, but - as usual - he has little grasp of how unpopular he remains outside of his home state. Perhaps Obama or Edwards would add him to the ticket for gravitas points, but I seriously doubt it. I wonder if the Obama camp still recalls the day Biden announced his candidacy.

Perhaps some of the lowest tier candidates will drop out if it becomes cost-prohibitive to remain in the race, but I doubt that Kucinich is going to fade anytime soon, perhaps barring Gore's entrance into the race (and maybe not even then).

Personally, I'm just hoping Sharpton gets INTO the race. Just kidding.

[DFW]

34. Pat Paulsen?????????

Someone here has a VERY long memory!!!!!!!!

[The Sushi Bandit]

38. I got one of his stickers when I was a kid!

It says "We Can Not Stand Pat"!
I think he was in the "Bull Moose" party

[terrya]

35. Huckabee for the Republicans, Dodd for the Democrats.

[LBJDemocrat]

36. Gravel won't drop out

He's running a low-budget campaign. He's not getting much money, but he doesn't need any either.

Richardson is Hillary's VP, and he's likely to stay for as long as possible so that anti-Hillary votes don't get too consolidated.

I'd say Dodd will drop out first. He's awful and going nowhere.