Excerpt:

Nicholas Johnson wrote an Op Ed in the Iowa City Press Citizen on Saturday that provides an analysis of the candidates. Johnson discusses the qualities he is looking for and then looks at how each candidate stacks up.

So here are the qualities I’m looking for — followed by my opinion of who ranks highest.

• Experience administering large institutions (state or large city governments, corporations) — Gov. Bill Richardson (governor; Secretary of Energy), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (mayor of Cleveland).

• A “people person” with charisma or down-home manner, sense of humor (including self-deprecation), or what Molly Ivins called “Elvis” — Obama (charisma and “Elvis”), Richardson (down-home; humor).

• The understanding and credibility earned by working inside both Washington’s executive and legislative branches — Richardson (cabinet (Energy), Congress). (Legislative: Clinton, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama, Richardson and Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd).

• A willingness to put forward courageous, “best policy” proposals, rather than “starting off backing up” –Kucinich (only one to organize and vote against the war, and propose universal single-payer health care rather than for-profit insurance).

• Experience working inside international organizations (e.g., U.N., World Bank) — Richardson (UN ambassador).

• Understanding of the elements and process of citizen empowerment — Obama (community organizer).

• An understanding of foreign policy (as distinguished from administering it) — Biden, Dodd (plus, of course, Richardson).

• An ability to work with, but an independence from, special interest money and influence (the “Washington Establishment”) — My guess is that all have, can (and will have to) work with Washington’s real power centers.

However, Clinton’s strength in this department is her weakness. She and Bill could probably name all of their 4,000 presidential appointees in one evening without notes. But part of the reason for their millions from corporate lobbyists and PACs is the Washington Establishment’s expectation of another pro-corporate, business-as-usual Clinton administration.

• Experience negotiating with foreign leaders — Richardson (North Korea, Iraq, Sudan; U.N.; return of hostages); Biden and Dodd.

• Champion of the underdog — Edwards, Kucinich.

You may have a different list of qualities and evaluation of candidates. But I hope this kind of approach may be helpful to you in a year when we are blessed with a very tough choice from among excellent candidates.

I am not sure which candidate Johnson is supporting, but it seems Richardson is mentioned often in his analysis. As I have been thinking more about which candidate to support, I have been considering Richardson more and more. Though, I am not fully committed, Richardson’s stance on getting rid of NCLB, his vast experience, his energy policy, and, most importantly, his position on bringing all of the troops home from Iraq put him ahead of other candidates on those issues.

Check out Still Undecided Part 1 and Part 2.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

As I posted earlier, I was unable to attend the Heartland Presidential Forum due to the winter weather that is hitting the area. So I am sitting comfortably at home and will be blogging from my couch.

Dennis Kucinich takes the stage. He is really stressing his plan for a single payer, not for profit health care system. The crowd is on board with the idea.

The first question is from a woman from Marshalltown, who is asking about the immigration raids that took place almost a year ago. The woman tells the story about a man with 5 kids ,whose wife never came home that day. Kucinich answers the question in Spanish. He says there is no illegal human beings. We need a president who understands that when NAFTA was passed, wages collapsed and people began to cross the border. Says we need to provide a path for citizenship, so people can be reunited with their families. He supports the Dream Act and providing a living wage.

Kucinich is asked about the economy. He lays out his economic plan that includes full employment, a not-for-profit health care system, education for all from age 3 to college, renegotiate all our trade agreements, support the rights of workers to organize, protect the environment. These trade agreements were made to make it a race to the bottom in terms of environmental standards, wages, and worker safety.

The next group of community leaders ask about pollution from factory farms in Iowa and from oil and gas companies in Wyoming. Kucinich says he never understands why oil, gas, and mining companies even get the right to drill on federal land. If they aren’t responsible citizens, then take the rights away. We need to get off of foreign oil. He would have a Transportation Dept. that focuses on mass transit. We can create millions of jobs by focusing on new technologies that use less energy and lowers our carbon footprint.

A former teacher from Des Moines says she would teach her students about a government for the people, by the people. Now she feels that has been stolen by big money interests. She asks about public funding for elections. Kucinich says we need a constitutional ammendment that overturns Buckley v. Veleo. If we want public elections then we need public funding, if we want private elections then we need private elections.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

The Des Moines Register has a story about how much money candidates have raised from Iowans.

Here’s the info on the Democratic candidates…

Among the Democratic candidates, Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, is in first place, taking in more than $126,000 to date.

Her top contributors include prominent Democratic activists in Des Moines such as Ed and Bonnie Campbell; lawyer Jerry Crawford; former Gov. Tom Vilsack; and Andrea McGuire.

More than 70 percent of Clinton’s money has come from Des Moines and its western suburbs.

Closely trailing Clinton with nearly $117,000 from Iowans is U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, while former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is in third place with more than $105,000.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has collected close to $42,000 from Iowans, and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware about $26,000. Iowans have given U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio about $10,000 each. Former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska has collected $415.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Last week, I wrote about a quote by Seymour Hersch that said…

The fuel that keeps the war going is us.

Then yesterday, I found this article written by Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland called Only a U.S. Withdrawal Will Stop Al Qaeda in Iraq.

One of the last justifications for continuing the U.S. occupation of Iraq despite overwhelming opposition from Iraqis, Americans and the rest of humanity has come down to this: U.S. forces must remain in order to battle “al Qaeda in Iraq.”

Like so many of the arguments presented in the United States, the idea is not only intellectually bankrupt, it’s also the 180-degree opposite of reality. The truth of the matter is that only the presence of U.S. forces allows the group called “al Qaeda in Iraq” (AQI) to survive and function, and setting a timetable for the occupation to end is the best way to beat them. You won’t hear that perspective in Washington, but according to Iraqis with whom we spoke, it is the conventional wisdom in much of the country.

The Bush administration has made much of what it calls “progress” in the Sunni-dominated provinces of central Iraq. But when we spoke to leaders there, the message we got was very different from what supporters of a long-term occupation claim: Many Sunnis are, indeed, lined up against groups like AQI, but that doesn’t mean they are “joining” with coalition forces or throwing their support behind the Iraqi government.

Several sources we reached in the Sunni community agreed that AQI, a predominantly Sunni insurgent group that did not exist prior to the U.S. invasion — it started in 2005 — will not exist for long after coalition forces depart. AQI is universally detested by large majorities of Iraqis of all ethnic and sectarian backgrounds because of its fundamentalist interpretation of religious law and efforts to set up a separate Sunni state, and its only support — and it obviously does enjoy some support — is based solely on its opposition to the deeply unpopular U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

And they sum it up by saying…

One of the central tenets of counter-insurgency is that a small group of active fighters can be a powerful force of opposition, but only if they have at least the passive support of the populace. The second the United States commits to a complete withdrawal of its forces, Al Qaeda in Iraq will become a pariah organization and its members will be killed, if they’re lucky, or captured if they’re not.

The only Presidential candidates that seem to completely understand this is Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich. I remember hearing Joe Biden touch on some aspects of this, but was unable to find any references to it.

By answering at the last debate in New Hampshire that they are uncertain if we will have troops out of Iraq by 2013, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards fail to see this.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

I have had a very busy week (parent-teacher conferences until 8 pm for 2 nights), so I am just going to jot down some notes as the Democratic debate in New Hampshire takes place.

• I teach 2nd grade and we work on raising our hand to get someone’s attention and to show respect by letting other people finish. I think Hillary Clinton failed to learn this because in every debate she blurts out at some point and interrupts someone else.
• Mike Gravel needs to be a TV show. He is out there, but his point about voting for cloture for 40 straight days and grab the Republicans by the scruff and make them end this war is right on.
• I have been supportive of John Edwards’ leadership on Iraq since he apologized for voting for the war over a year ago and then saying to support the troops and end the war. However, his message on Iraq is beginning to be overshadowed by Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd. It isn’t that Edwards’s message has changed, it is just the others are making stronger arguments.
• The question about having all the troops out of Iraq by 2013 is very telling. Richardson, Biden, and Dodd all make strong case that this needs to be done. Clinton and Edwards were unable to do that. For some reason, Obama was the only one not asked this question.
• I take back that comment about Gravel having a TV show after his answer to the question about him filing for bankruptcy.
• Richardson’s wearing the pie chart pin from Iowans for Sensible Priorities.
• Clinton blurts out again… however, her point about the importance of fiscal responsibility is a very strong argument.
• National Law banning smoking in public places? I am all for a smoking ban in public places, but Clinton and Obama are right when they said the decision should be made locally.
• Clinton: “I thought Bill was a good President.” But then she insists that she is running on her own merits.
• Kucinich lays it on the line and gets lots of laughs by saying you can vote for a President who support a not for profit health care system, etc or for a President who is tall.
• Obama tells Richardson that it is time to tell the truth about how long it will take to get troops out of Iraq and about solving Social Security by growing the economy. Does this mean Richardson isn’t on Obama’s list of possible VP candidates?
• Edwards says he won’t expand nuclear power, but misses out on a chance to say we should put a halt on coal-fired power plants until there is carbon sequestration technology available.
• Hillary, when told a quote about torture was made by her husband, says “well, he isn’t standing here.” Line gets laughs and some applause. Then Hillary says “well, I will take to him later.” This line lost any positive and strength she gained from the previous statement.

Winners: Biden, Dodd, and Richardson
Losers: Clinton, Edwards, and Obama
Thanks for Participating: Gravel and Kucinich

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Tonight’s AARP debate in Davenport just ended and it turned out to be a great event. To start with there were only 5 candidates there (Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, and Richardson) and that allowed a lot of back and forth and more in depth discussions. Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel weren’t invited to the event because they are not campaigning in Iowa and Barack Obama declined the invitation because he thinks there are too many debates scheduled.

The candidates played it safe until Joe Biden took off the gloves and told Bill Richardson that being a Governor of small state and saying you can do the same things as president is like saying you can play in the NFL because you played running in high school. Biden also questioned Hillary Clinton’s and John Edwards’s ability to bring people together to get health care legislation passed. Biden was able to make these comments without seeming like he was attacking the others. Biden kept in line with his reputation of telling like it is when he brought up campaign finance reform as the best way to limit the influence of special interests.

John Edwards was very well received, gaining applause after many of his lines. I think he made a strong contrast between him and Hillary Clinton. However, there were a couple times I thought he could have been stronger though. When talking about lobbyists and health care, Edwards could have mentioned Clinton’s fundraiser she held this week that auctioned off access to special interests and he did not. On one question, Edwards started the line about trying to compromise with the insurance and drug companies, but didn’t say the line about them eating all the food. Overall, I think Edwards fared very well in this event.

Biden and Edwards were the big winners of the event. The other candidate all had their good moments (Dodd on the Subprime mortgage issue, Richardson on global warming, Clinton on the solvency of Medicare and Social Security), but were not as consistent and well received as Biden and Edwards were.

The biggest loser of the night was Barack Obama, who blew off the event because events like these are “too time consuming.” Obama could lose support from likely Iowa caucus goers by skipping the AARP debate in Iowa.

And as it happens, people over 50 — AARP’s membership — made up more than half of the voters in 2004 in the Iowa caucuses.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

About a month ago, I posted a poll asking who do you support to be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008.

In the past, these polls have been somewhat of a decent showing of what readers of this blog thought. However, this poll caught on with supporters from the Dodd, Richardson, and Edwards campaigns and the results are skewed in that direction. The interesting thing however, is that many of the people who voted for Chris Dodd seemed to come to the site from Facebook. The poll was posted on a Richardson blog and that drove much of his votes. I couldn’t find any pattern that showed where the Edwards supporters came from. There was 905 votes in the poll.

Here are the results…

1. Chris Dodd 43%
2. John Edwards 30%
3. Bill Richardson 11%
4. Barack Obama 7%
5. Hillary Clinton 2%
6. Joe Biden 2%
7. Dennis Kucinich 1%
8. Mike Gravel 0%

You can see results from past polls here.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

I haven’t posted a presidential poll since March, so I thought it was about time to post a new one.

The poll question is who do you support for the Democratic Nominee for President in 2008? The poll is located at the top of the left hand column and will run for 4 weeks.

Here is a look at the results back in March…

1. John Edwards 40%
2. Barack Obama 31%
3. Bill Richardson 10%
4. Hillary Clinton 8%
5. Joe Biden 5%
6. Dennis Kucinich 3%
7. Chris Dodd 3%
8. Mike Gravel 1%

It is also interesting to look at the results from August of 06 to see how things were a year ago.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Throughout the Iowa State Fair people could cast their kernel for their candidate for choice at the WHO Channel 13 booth. A total of 35,448 kernels were cast in the poll.

The fair ended yesterday and the results are in…

Democrats
Hillary Clinton 33%
John Edwards 28%
Barack Obama 22%
Bill Richardson 13%
Joe Biden 2%
Chris Doddd 1%
Dennis Kucinich 1%
Mike Gravel 0%

Republicans
Romney 36%
Huckabee 17%
Giuliani 14%
Fred Thompson 13%
Tancredo 5%
Brownback 4%
Paul 4%
McCain 3%

The results pretty much fall in line with recent polls. Huckabee got the bounce from the straw poll to be a legit contender. McCain is shockingly low.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

The Hawkeye Labor Council Democratic Presidential Forum is this Saturday in Cedar Rapids and there are still a few tickets left. Here is a previous post about the event.These Presidential Candidates are committed to appear:Joe BidenHillary ClintonChri…

Related Posts: