Who will be on the Democratic ticket for 2008?

It's not in my intention to minimize Mrs Clinton.

But Barack Obama seems to bring hope.

He is a clever man, pragmatic and very determines to change the

statu quo.

Pragmatic?The junior Senator of Illinois is certainly a clever man ,but I doubt very much that he will be on the ticket for the democratic party next year.I say that for two reasons:First of all he needs a lot of money to campaign ,and I doubt very much that the rich people of the United States will contribute to his endeavor.Secondly ,despite all his appearances, he is not a well known politician in the South,which by the way ,is very important to be elected President of the United States.

I wish him succes but a pragmatic man should know that the United States of America is not ready yet to elect a black man,son of an immigrant,President of the United States.I hope I am wrong,but that is the way I see it.For me the best man for the job of President of the United Sates is Albert Gore.I am not saying this just because of his stand ont the environnment, but I think Mr. Gore has more experiences than Mrs. Clinton,and he has a better chance to win some red states.

I beg to differ.
You really don't need any red states to be elected president of the United States,you just need one or two of the "pink ones".
Remember ,Al Gore didn't carry any Southern States in 2000,nevertheless he outpolled Bush in the popular vote.

Even ,if Florida is the southernmost state of the Union,geography wise;you can still put it among the "pink states" .
And also,if KERREY had won OHIO in 2004,today we would be talking about a Kerrey administration.

As far as OBAMA is concerned,I don't know if the country is ready or not for a "black" president;only time will tell.
One thing for sure ,that won't be due to his capacity to raise money.
The "money machine"that is Hollywood is solidly behind Obama.He is siphoning the money that people think would be Hillary's.
Like the Chinese say,we are living in interesting times.

"The money machine that is hollywood is solidly behind Obama."

Are you joking?Did you watch the Oscars?Have you heard the comment made by Bill Cosby?Yes Stephen Spielberg is encouraging Obama to run ;are you sure he is going to put his money where his mouth is?Remember the jews are very pragmatic people,and they have a stake in the politics of the United Sates,that is the reason Libierman is still a Senator of the United States.The jews will not vote for Obama;that is the reason I said that I doubt he is a pragmatic man.Don't misestimate the xenophobie of some Americans.What do you consider "pink states"?Is new York a pink states?There is a great probability that Rudolph Giulianni might be the candidate for the Republican party,and that New York will vote for him,;remember how many times New Yorkers had voted for a republican governor.I am not even sure that the blue states will vote for Obama.I wish I were wrong,but only some liberal states like Massachussets and California will vote for him. Even Pensylvania and Illinois might vote Republican if the democrats present Senator Obama as their candidate.

I wish the people will vote for Senator Obama if he were the choice of the democratic party,but I doubt very much that he will win the nomination.,and if he does I don't think he will be elected.The democrats should not take the chance of presenting a black man against a candidate like Senator Mc Cain or Rudolph Giuliani next year while the country is at war ;it would be suicidal to do so.

In my opinion the american society is not ready to elect neither a black man nor a woman as president of the United States. Maybe we are still waiting for THE MAN to come.

And my dear Genevieve he is Albert Gore.the right man at the right time.I was watching an interview given by President Carter to the reporter who animates the program "this week".Carter said that he wants Al gore to run so much that he is annoying him.Jimmy Carter ,despite of his failures during his presidency represents the moderates of the South .Bill Clinton was elected president because he represents the center of the democartic party.I do not think Senator Obama or Hilary Clinton has that distinction.

I am not saying that I am for Obama representing the Democratic party in the next election.
Who knows where Obama truly stands?
As far as the Hollywood crowd is concerned,Obama has some serious money men in his corner.
The chief of whom,is DAVID GEFFEN.The same Geffen who has raised more than 18 million dollars for the CLINTONS.We also have to mention GEORGE CLOONEY,JENNIFER ANISTON ,yes SPIELBERG etc.
Last week this crowd ,in one sitting,raised more than 1 million dollars for the candidacy of OBAMA.
That's one of the reasons,I say that money won't be a major problem for him.
You mention New York.
Yes ,New York is a blue state and New York City elected Giuliani mayor,but that does not mean that the state would elect him president.The dynamics are different.
I believe that New yorkers would not want a Giuliani who would rule the country ,like he did the City of new York.

In my heart of hearts,I believe that Obama will not get the nomination.
I don't know if it's a good thing or not,but I believe that a strong ,credible candidacy by Obama would be a good thing for the country ,for himself even.
It will probably be easier for himself or somebody else ,in the next go around.

I agree that it would be a good thing for Obama to run for presidency. But that does not mean he is ready to win. One thing is to run another is to win. The time has not come yet for the " land of opportunities" to allow such an event:a black man at the white house. I do think Obama has to shake a lot more hands.

Joel

Why do you think Georges Pataki was elected Governor of new York twice.I rather categorize New York as a pink state.

Obama needs a lots more money than a few millions dollars to run an effective campaign.

Genevieve

Could you explain to me why it is such a good thing for Senator Obama to run for the Presidency of the United States .I do not like this exercice in futility.Senator Obama is not going to win the nomination of the democratic party,therefore why waste the time, the money, and above all the risk of splitting the electorate?

Well, That's a point of view. It won't be an exercice in futility.People in that country need to get used to the idea to have a black in the running. That will pave the way for the years to come for a much more prepared candidate.

You remember this slogan:"run Jessie ,Run "I think the talented young black politicians should concentrate more on the state level or the city level where they can make really a difference.What has Senator Obama done in the Senate for black americans so far or for the people of the United States in general to justify the enthousiasm of the electorate?Anybody can talk about proverty .the environment,prejudices etc.that does not mean he has the experience necessary to govern the country.We know what an inexperience President in foreign affairs can cost the country,and I think it is for this reason that Bill Cosby said :Nobody is going to vote for a candidate for the stupid reason of color or race.

I think a Mayor Obama in Chicago would have been more beneficial to the poor people of that city than a Senator Obama.Do not think that I have anything against the Senator; nothing would make me prouder than the presence of a black man in the white house, but I do not think the time has come yet.

But his seduction spread all over. The race will be tight, is america ready for a black in the whitehouse i have no objection.

Nevertheless, i acknowledge that this man is a lot more different to a Jessie. A politician doesn't need to be a racial or civil rights activist. Being an civil rights activist looks partisan and secular.

Regarding Al Gore, i strongly beleive that he is the right man at the right time. But he needs to start shaking his legs.

It is a little early;Albert Gore is an intelligent man,he knows he can not escape his destiny.

"His seduction spread all over"

Where?Not in the South of the United States.This time and the presidency of the United Sates are too important for us to minimize the experiences of the politicians who want to occupy the White house.Last night I was watching the pains and sufferings of the young men and women who are paying the consequences of the mistake made by Georges Bush.Senator Liberman had warned us that Georges Bush was not prepared to lead the country in these difficult times;he was right.I do not want the people of the United Sates to make the same mistake:Senator Obama does not have enough experience to lead the country at this time.Period

I am with the same mind than Sans Malice. I believe those reflexions on Mrs. Clinton, Obama and Al Gore, made by Rodlam are well founded. Although President Clinton will campain for his wife. The stakes of the whole American People and of the whole world need to be at the hands and mind of a man. Second, a black democrat is not a Colin Powell. To have lived in this USA for 23 years tell me that America is far from to accept either a woman or a black man as Their Commander in Chief. These are sound judgements.

"The stakes of the whole American People and of the whole world need to be at the hands and mind of a man"?
What?
I have absolutely no problem with an Hillary Clinton Commander in Chief.
The woman is able ,tough,competent and all these good things.
What happened to India when Indira Ghandi was Commander in Chief of this nation of 1 billion people?
From what I remember,India won the war against Pakistan,under her watch.
What about Israel under Golda Meir?
Israel won the 73 war and became the preeminent power in the Middle East.
Hoping that GORE would be the Democratic nominee is wishful thinking;it's not going to happen,barring a miracle.

Lionel ,I have been in this country since the 60s,when the U.S was still semi-segregated.
When I came ,if somebody told me that a black woman would be Secretary of State,I would have told that person that he was dreaming.
I think Hillary Clinton is the ablest of the candidates present on the scene and by the way didn't more than 80% of the population say in the last survey ,that they were ready to vote for a woman?
I rest my case!

I do not agree with Lionel's statement in regard to the ability of a woman to govern the Country.However ,in politics one has to be pragmatic.Does Senator Clinton have a chance against Senator Mc Cain or Mayor Giulliani in 2008 while the country is still at war?I doubt it very much.I do not doubt her capacity to govern the country, but to say that she is the ablest of the candidates is absent-minded.

Before becoming Senator of New York what elective function does Mrs Clinton perform?Whereas Vice President Albert Gore was a Senator and Vice president for eight years.If one compares the curriculum vitae of these two candidates ,there is no doubt who has more experiences.Moreover, Vice President Al Gore has the reputation to be a moderate ,which is a reason for the moderate republicans to cross-over to the democratic party.For me an Albert Gore and Hilary Clinton ticket would be ideal.

Let's give the Junior Senator of Illinois a few more years in the Senate to show his skills before we give the election to Rudolph Giullianni on a silver plate.

Blacks Shift To Obama, Poll Finds
Washington Post | February 28, 2007
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen

The opening stages of the campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination have produced a noticeable shift in sentiment among African American voters, who little more than a month ago heavily supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton but now favor the candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama.

Clinton, of New York, continues to lead Obama and other rivals in the Democratic contest, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. But her once-sizable margin over the freshman senator from Illinois was sliced in half during the past month largely because of Obama's growing support among black voters.

In the Republican race, former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who recently made clear his intentions to seek the presidency, has expanded his lead over Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Giuliani holds a 2 to 1 advantage over McCain among Republicans, according to the poll, more than tripling his margin of a month ago.

The principal reason was a shift among white evangelical Protestants, who now clearly favor Giuliani over McCain. Giuliani is doing well among this group of Americans despite his support of abortion rights and gay rights, two issues of great importance to religious conservatives. McCain opposes abortion rights.

Among Democrats, Clinton still enjoys many of the advantages of a traditional front-runner. Pitted against Obama and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, she was seen by Democrats as the candidate with the best experience to be president, as the strongest leader, as having the best chance to get elected, as the closest to voters on the issues and as the candidate who best understands the problems "of people like you." Obama was seen as the most inspirational.

The Post-ABC News poll was completed days after aides to the two leading Democrats engaged in a testy exchange over comments critical of Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, by Hollywood mogul David Geffen, a former friend and financial backer of the Clintons who held a fundraiser for Obama last week in Los Angeles.

Early national polls are not always good predictors for presidential campaigns, but the Post-ABC poll offers clues to the competition ahead.

On the January weekend when she announced her candidacy, Clinton led the Democratic field with 41 percent. Obama was second at 17 percent, Edwards was third at 11 percent and former vice president Al Gore, who has said he has no plans to run, was fourth at 10 percent.

The latest poll put Clinton at 36 percent, Obama at 24 percent, Gore at 14 percent and Edwards at 12 percent. None of the other Democrats running received more than 3 percent. With Gore removed from the field, Clinton would gain ground on Obama, leading the Illinois senator 43 percent to 27 percent. Edwards ran third at 14 percent. The poll was completed the night Gore's documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Academy Award.

Clinton's and Obama's support among white voters changed little since December, but the shifts among black Democrats were dramatic. In December and January Post-ABC News polls, Clinton led Obama among African Americans by 60 percent to 20 percent. In the new poll, Obama held a narrow advantage among blacks, 44 percent to 33 percent. The shift came despite four in five blacks having a favorable impression of the New York senator.

African Americans view Clinton even more positively than they see Obama, but in the time since he began his campaign, his favorability rating rose significantly among blacks. In the latest poll, 70 percent of African Americans said they had a favorable impression of Obama, compared with 54 percent in December and January.

Overall, Clinton's favorability ratings dipped slightly from January, with 49 percent of Americans having a favorable impression and 48 percent an unfavorable impression. Obama's ratings among all Americans improved over the past month, with 53 percent saying they have a favorable impression and 30 percent saying they have an unfavorable impression.

Her position on the war in Iraq does not appear to be hurting Clinton among Democrats, even though she has faced hostile questioning from some voters about her 2002 vote authorizing President Bush to go to war. Some Democrats have demanded that she apologize for the vote, which she has declined to do.

The Post-ABC News poll found that 52 percent of Democrats said her vote was the right thing to do at the time, while 47 percent said it was a mistake. Of those who called it a mistake, however, 31 percent said she should apologize. Among Democrats who called the war the most important issue in deciding their 2008 candidate preference, Clinton led Obama 40 to 26 percent.

In the Republican contest, McCain was once seen as the early, if fragile, front-runner for his party's nomination, but Giuliani's surge adds a new dimension to the race. In the latest poll, the former New York mayor led among Republicans with 44 percent to McCain's 21 percent. Last month, Giuliani led with 34 percent to McCain's 27 percent.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia ran third in the latest poll with 15 percent, while former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was fourth with 4 percent. Gingrich has not said he definitely plans to run, and without him, Giuliani's lead would increase even more, to 53 percent compared with McCain's 23 percent.

When Republicans were asked to rate Giuliani, McCain and Romney on a series of attributes, Giuliani was seen as the strongest leader, the most inspiring, the candidate with the best chance of winning the general election, the most honest and trustworthy and the one closest to them on the issues. McCain was seen as having the best experience to be president, but only by a narrow margin.

Giuliani faces potential problems because of his views on abortion and gay rights. More than four in 10 Republicans said they were less likely to support him because of those views. More than two in 10 Republicans said there was "no chance" they would vote for him.

With Clinton and Obama as possible barrier-breakers in this presidential campaign, Americans were asked how a candidate's race or sex would affect their vote. What the poll showed is that Americans indicated they were less likely to support a candidate older than 72 or a candidate who is a Mormon than a female or black candidate.

Those findings could affect McCain, who is 70, and Romney, who is a Mormon. Nearly six in 10 said they would be less likely to vote for someone older than 72, while three in 10 said they would be less likely to support a Mormon.

The Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone Feb. 22-25 among a random sample of 1,082 adults, including an oversample of African-Americans, for a total of 157 black respondents. The margin of sampling error for the poll was plus or minus three percentage points; it is higher for the sub-samples.

Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Click here to read the story at WashingtonPost.com

This is the danger of Senator Obama's candidacy.If the afro americans and other minorities are disatisfied because he did not win the nomination of the democratic party ,which is probable, they might boycott the election by staying home.Therefore Rudolph Giullianni will win the election by default.

The vote for the war by Senator Clinton was a mistake no matter how one views it.Whereas the Senator vote for an illegal and immoral act, Vice president Albert Gore has said if he were elected President , the United Sates would not have invaded a sovereign country ;ignoring international laws.The Corean and even the Iran crisis prove that the conflict with Iraq could have been resolved diplomatically.Senator Clinton can not say that she did not know that there was doubt about the existence of arms of mass destruction in Iraq.Her vote shows her immaturity in foreign policy.Give me Albert Gore for President of the United States;the World needs him

It would be a tragedy if the democrats by their amateurism give Rudolph Giullianni the presidency of the United States.The world is on the brink of a nucelar war ,we better be careful whom we choose to lead the country; the experiences of the past eight years prove the importance of the presidency of the United States for the stability of the world. We better think twice before we elect an apprentice who is in the process of learning his(her) trade.

Before we start clapping like monkeys because an hollywood actor endorses a candidate ,we better think twice and remember that Ronald Reagan was once a democrat.