Do you think anyone will come from behind?

[mamab]

I saw a report about the "underdogs" that are currently on the list of White House hopefuls. Do you think that the current "front runners" are a shoe-in for their party's nominations? Do you think someone could come from out of nowhere and gain their party's nomination?

 

[Andy D]

I think it is way to early to be even trying to guess who will get the nomination in either party. There is still a lot of time left.

 

[mtatum4496]

I think until there is a more or less final set of who is going to run, there is much hope to speculate. There are more folks out there who are expected to toss their hats into the ring. Once that is done, we can see if any of those might have enough pull to emerge from the shadows and pull the nomination.

 

[mamab]

Someone told me yesterday that they thought Obama was going to get the nomination and he'd choose Hillary as his running mate. They said they just didn't think Hillary would be the nomination. What do you think of that combo?

 

[tater03]

I can see this combo happening. I am not to sure yet on whether it will be Hillary or Obama who will get the nomination though. I think Obama might be to new to win it. Not really sure though how it will all pan out yet.

 

[Andy D]

Again, it really is too early to even guess. I think John Edwards has a lot of potential on the DNC side. I haven't found the magic Republican that I am excited about yet.

 

[mtatum4496]

The last poll I saw had Hillary way ahed of Obama, so if that ends up being a combo, I suspect it would be Hillary/Obama instead of the other way around. But who knows? A lot will be happening over the next few months.

 

[Andy D]

I just heard some new numbers this morning. I think Gallop did the survey, but the information had the following stats:

If the election was held today, Rudy Guliani would win. Hillary is polling higher than Obama. Newt Gingrich is polling second on the Republican side. Most people surveyed believed the DNC would nominate a white guy (thereby excluding Hillary or Obama).

Again, that is what the survey reported, and not my thoughts

 

[mamab]

Is Guliani actually on the Republican "ticket"? I didn't think he had put his hat into the ring. Now if Guliani and Gingrich were running mates, that might be interesting. I can see THAT happening. What about Condi? Does anyone see her throwing in her hat?

 

[tater03]

I had not heard that either Guliani or Gingrich was running yet for sure. I know that I remember reading that Guliani was selling of some business of his or something and people were speculating that he was trying to raise money for his campaign.

 

[Andy D]

Guliani has created an exploratory committee. Gingrich has said he won't make a decission one way or the other until fall of '07. Condi has said she will not run. I wish she would reconsider.

 

[tater03]

I am really surprised in a way that Condi is not running. I just thought that she would have decided to. Has anyone heard why she chose not to run?

 

[dong]

I intuited that it would be a bad time for her to run. Everybody knows that part of her ruthlessness is due to ambition and to take a whack at the hot seat now given the climate is simply going to create a first impression that will be impossible to shake, plus it will place her at a huge disadvantage for the election.

 

[Andy D]

I don’t think it is appropriate to label Condi as ruthless. There is a piece in Time online today about here that is very interesting. I hardly consider Time a bastion for the right wing, so I would encourage everyone to read it. You have challenged me plenty of times on here, I am going to challenge you to back up your “ruthless” claim.

I think now is the perfect time for her to run. She is 52, she is currently well respected by people on the right and left, as well as our allies in Europe and the Middle East. Very few people can claim that. According to the Time piece, her approval rating is approximately 20 points higher the Bush’s right now.

I am a conservative and am really not excited about any of the Republicans right now. If Condi were to declare, she could quite easily capture the hearts of a lot of Republicans and conservatives.

She claims she is not interested in pursuing politics after Bush’s term ends, but I really hope she reconsiders.

 

[mamab]

I'm with you, Andy. I wish she would run. Besides, then she could fill the "firsts" - first female and first negro, should she win the presidency. I can tell you, I'd much rather have HER in as president over Hillary any day!!