Current or modern politics in the United States

[scoundrel]

Vice President Biden will be 73 when the 2016 Presidential votes are counted. I reckon that's too old for a job which might last 8 years and will be extremely stressful. Even Ronnie was 69, pushing 70, when he assumed office. I don't think Ronnie lasted the course all that well. I am afraid I would vote against Mr Biden on the grounds of age.

[blueballsdc]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

Vice President Biden will be 73 when the 2016 Presidential votes are counted. I reckon that's too old for a job which might last 8 years and will be extremely stressful. Even Ronnie was 69, pushing 70, when he assumed office. I don't think Ronnie lasted the course all that well. I am afraid I would vote against Mr Biden on the grounds of age.

From what I am hearing around town, I think it is a low probability of Biden running for President in 2016. His age is one factor. Another is that he doesn't seem to be enjoying being Vice-President as much as he did being a Senator. He also is suffering from Dan Quayle syndrome. Fox News and all of the right-wing pundits/hitmen have been calling him an idiot since 2008 so many people around the country are beginning to believe it (including members of his own party). I think it is more likely that he will go on the speaking circuit and make some money so he can enjoy his old age better.

There are a number of other potential candidates being bandied about.

Andrew Coumo, current Governor of New York State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cuomo
I think this is also a low probability for 2016. He has a well known name but he is divorced and has taken some blame from the right for the sub-prime mortgage crisis. If he does well in New York look for him to run in 2020 or 2024.

Martin O'Malley, current Governor of Maryland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_O%27Malley
Good possibility if not in 2016 then certainly in 2020, should the Democrats lose the 2016 election. Very telegenic and has national ambitions. Not well known outside of the Mid-Atlantic region but he is a very good politician.

Tim Kaine, former Governor of Virginia and current junior Senator from Virginia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Kaine
Very high probability of him running in 2016. He has been setting this up for himself for several years. He was also head of the Democratic National Committee for a couple of years.

Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana and currently looking for a job
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schweitzer
Very high probability of him running in 2016. A Democrat elected twice for Governor of a Republican state. Former head of the Democratic Governors Association and is well known in the mountain west region.

[9876543210]

Scoundrel,

Here's one list I found:

Joe Biden – Vice President
Andrew Cuomo – Governor of New York
Martin O’Malley – Governor of Maryland
Cory Booker – Mayor of Newark, NJ
Rahm Emmanuel – Mayor of Chicago, IL

from here:

http://www.2012presidentialelectionn...al-candidates/

I haven't seen a lot of talk on the election yet (its still too early) but I'd say Hillary is certainly the leading candidate followed by Biden. After that prognosticators seem to think its Andrew Cuomo.

Here's another list which seems to have everyone listed thats ever been mentioned as having an interest by anyone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...election,_2016

I think I like Jesse Ventura.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by blueballsdc

From what I am hearing around town, I think it is a low probability of Biden running for President in 2016. His age is one factor. Another is that he doesn't seem to be enjoying being Vice-President as much as he did being a Senator. He also is suffering from Dan Quayle syndrome. Fox News and all of the right-wing pundits/hitmen have been calling him an idiot since 2008 so many people around the country are beginning to believe it (including members of his own party). I think it is more likely that he will go on the speaking circuit and make some money so he can enjoy his old age better.

But Dan Quayle actually was an idiot. He was almost as stupid as Rick Perry.

Originally Posted by blueballsdc

There are a number of other potential candidates being bandied about.

Andrew Coumo, current Governor of New York State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cuomo
I think this is also a low probability for 2016. He has a well known name but he is divorced and has taken some blame from the right for the sub-prime mortgage crisis. If he does well in New York look for him to run in 2020 or 2024.

Martin O'Malley, current Governor of Maryland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_O%27Malley
Good possibility if not in 2016 then certainly in 2020, should the Democrats lose the 2016 election. Very telegenic and has national ambitions. Not well known outside of the Mid-Atlantic region but he is a very good politician.

Tim Kaine, former Governor of Virginia and current junior Senator from Virginia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Kaine
Very high probability of him running in 2016. He has been setting this up for himself for several years. He was also head of the Democratic National Committee for a couple of years.

Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana and currently looking for a job
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schweitzer
Very high probability of him running in 2016. A Democrat elected twice for Governor of a Republican state. Former head of the Democratic Governors Association and is well known in the mountain west region.

Some interesting names here, but American members are better placed than I am to assess their chances. However, no one had really heard much about Mr Obama before about 2006. Someone will need to raise a much greater profile if they are to seriously challenge Hillary for the nomination. I hope they do.

The question of who will compete against Jeb Bush for the Republican ticket is also one to contemplate. Mitt Romney was hamstrung, even after winning the Republican primaries, by the need to seem sufficiently radical-right to please his own party. Stuff like his very ill-received sneers against the economically inactive 47% was caused by his need to keep the Fox News types onside. I have not seen any evidence that the more influential Republican elements, such as Fox News, have accepted the point that the party alienated large sections of its own natural base with the hardline rhetoric against welfare and with the positively fascist anti-abortion crap. I look for a lot of pressure being exerted to make Republicans in the primaries pledge themselves: "I will repeal Obamacare". We might even get Rick Perry pledging to abolish federal government departments because that's clever, and Rick Santorum telling crowds on the stumps that state education is an outdated concept. Jeb Bush will be up against the same dead head of social conservatism that Mitt Romney was up against. That is likely to be the strongest card the Democrats can play, unless something changes.

[9876543210]

Scoundrel,

From what I can tell the Republicans have learned nothing from their last defeat. They keep saying that they just didn't get their message across correctly. I would argue that they did get their message across and most people didn't like it (think 47%).

Just yesterday Paul Ryan reintroduced his same old budget. It has minor modifications but is essentially the same. Ryan was on Faux Noise last weekend saying they have to get rid of Obamacare where the host said that wasn't going to happen. Ryan says just because you lose doesn't mean you change your values or ideas.

Rachel Maddow had an interesting graphic on her show last night about CPAC. It showed how they are giving the new Texas Senator, Ted Cruz, 33 minutes for his speech and that moron from Alaska 16 minutes for her speech; nobody gets more time than these two. I think Paul Ryan get either 4 or 7 minutes. Chris Christie (probably the most popular Republican in the country) wasn't even invited to the conference because he criticized other Republicans after hurricane Sandy and worked with Obama to get his state the help it needed. I don't think there are any "moderate" Republicans speaking for any longer than about 4 minutes.

So that would pretty much indicate where the Republicans priorities are.

And Republican State legislators continue on with their war on women. Indiana and Arkansas just passed more anti-abortion laws and other states have them on the docket.

One race to keep an eye on will be in the Kentucky Senate. The turtle (Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader) is up for re-election and there's all kinds of speculation that Ashley Judd is going to run against him. McConnell appears to be worried about her as he's already run an ad against her. She is an unabashed liberal and he's the one who said four years ago that he had no higher priority than making sure Obama was a one term President. I saw someone a few days ago saying they have a drawer full of "evidence" against her. When asked about that he said they have "nekkid" pictures of her.

So I don't see the Republicans changing even a little bit. Same old, same old. I guess they're hoping 2014 will somehow be different.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by 9876543210

...
So I don't see the Republicans changing even a little bit. Same old, same old...

Republicans weren't always like they seem today. As scoundrel says, Eisenhower was a Republican, and he understood much more than many (especially in the military). And he was ... imho ... wiser than most

I see the Republican downturn with Reagan, even though they thought it was an upturn (and still do). Their morals were corrupted

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

I see the Republican downturn with Reagan, even though they thought it was an upturn (and still do). Their morals were corrupted

What an irony that the party of Richard Nixon could be corrupted; but its true. Tricky Dicky was a terrible man and a very good president, who made many far-sighted decisions in the US national interest and who sincerely cared about his duty to serve. Gerald Ford was a mediocrity compared with Nixon but IMHO a lot better than Reagan and infinitely better than either of the Bush presidents. Ford did not let the tail of the religio-fascist Republican ultra right wing wag the government dog. He was a pragmatist and a common sense leader.

Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time.

Unfortunately, Reagan and his California circle did not cut a reassuring figure in Bible Belt Republican circles and he gained a short tern advantage by pandering to the likes of the Reverend Pat Robertson and the Moral Majority. The baleful legacy of these odious people is seen today in Paul Ryan, who is so proud of his voting record on abortion: how much of his Congressional time must have been devoted to supporting anti-abortion and anti-contraception laws which could never get past the Senate or the President? It's a political equivalent of titty-dancing; all show and no delivery. But it plays well with his constituents, or else he wouldn't do it.

[richardoe]

How old will Mrs Clinton be at the next Presidential election? As has been said someone of stature from the Democrats must challenge her, Ive never met her but I dont like her.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by qwerty007

Is there any chance that Romney runs again? How about Gingrich?

If Mr Romney runs again, as a bare minimum he should guarantee his female campaign workers a free, safe taxi ride home at the end of election night, regardless of who wins. Last time his campaign workers had to pay for the journey home out of their own resources, and after all the footslogging they did on his behalf, I thought that was pretty mean.

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

If Mr Romney runs again, as a bare minimum he should guarantee his female campaign workers a free, safe taxi ride home at the end of election night, regardless of who wins. Last time his campaign workers had to pay for the journey home out of their own resources, and after all the footslogging they did on his behalf, I though that was pretty mean.

This lets get a deep insight into his character, IMHO. .
Used and useless any more....