Blogtrek

My Choice after the Debates

Well, it looks like the Democrats are at it again. They debated each other in Iowa over the weekend, with Lieberman absent, and Kerry and Edwards in Washington, ready to vote anytime on the Medicare bill. I watched the replay of the debates to determine which I like best. There were some good moments.

Ramsey Clark named incident after incident where George Dubya Bush turned off people both in this country and out and concluded that "He has not learned how to get along with others."

Dennis Kucinich emphasized that if it was illegal to go in there in the first place then it is illegal to stay there, and he pulled up a Washington Times (a Republican-leaning newspaper!) and showed four whole pages of pictures of servicemen that have lost their lives in Iraq.

Howard Dean said it was time to slow the tempo of the debates after Kerry kept hammering him on the Medicare theme and how Dean pushed through cuts in the Vermont legislature when he was governor.

Carol Moseley Brown said it was time to take the "Men Only" sign off the White House Door.

So which ones do I like now? Keep in mind that I would prefer even last place on this list to Bush and that if it came to a last-place to Bush contest for the Presidency, I would vote for last place easily. With that in mind, here is my preference:

1. Dick Gephardt. He is one of the older candidates, and it shows. He shows the best experience of any of the candidates. He has been through it all and apparently knows how to use that knowledge to help improve the lot of us all.

2. Tom Kucinich. He looks like one of these scrappy young candidates, but I like what he has to say. He voted against the war in Iraq, even while other Democrats were voting for it, and he expresses a world view rather than a parochial American view.

3. Howard Dean. I have seen some flaws in him, but he may be the best chance to defeat Bush next November. He was my choice earlier, and clearly expresses a choice separate from the President.

4. Joe Lieberman. He, like Gephardt, shows a lot of experience with the government. However, his being Jewish may be a liability. He will need to be careful not to show any favoritism for Israel and to show to Arabs that he is on their side as well as the side of Israel - a hard act to pull off. From what I have seen, he will be able to do this.

5. Al Sharpton. This candidate gets points for being more expressive with his beliefs, more so than with the other candidates. He expresses the same points as the others, which I mostly agree with, but he does it more forcefully. I think if he gets elected he will get things done but may have to tone down some of his passion.

6. Ramsey Clark. He expressed a belief in God in these talks, making me think he may not support such issues as taking "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance before allowing it in the schools. His initial waffling on the Iraq war concerns me a little. His background is that of a military general, which may not go well as the chief executive of a civilian government. He may have some charisma but not enough to topple the challenger-charisma Lichtman key.

7. Tom Edwards. He does not seem to offer anything unique that the other candidates don't have, and so as President he may be more cautious than some and let his Cabinet and Congress have more of a say than they would with a stronger President. He is said to have charisma, but in my opinion not enough to topple the challenger-charisma key.

8. John Kerry. I didn't care for his pressing Dean on the Medicare issues, and his initial support for attacking Iraq concerns me.

9. Carol Moseley Braun. She alone of the candidates would keep the soldiers in Iraq simply because we have them there. Al Sharpton offered a contrasting viewpoint.

And so there it is. I hope that Dean or Gephardt gets it, and that whoever it is will defeat Bush next November.