Deans' great but I still feel that Clark is the only electable democrat.

Most people that i know here in SoCal view Howard Dean as a "liberal", like its a dirty word. They express that he is too far to the left and dodged the draft in the 60's. Plus with the corporate/state run media, Dean has much to be attacked for.
Clark, on the other hand is a true american hero to most,even to some repugs I know. He may have a little skeleton in his closet but not like that of Dean.

I like Dean, dont get me wrong, but IMHO Clark is much more electable.

Dean/Clark would have a fairly good shot also.

He didn't dodge the draft----he was turned down. Dean has 529,000 supporters, and raised over $510,000 in three days. That to me proves that he is electable. Dean also has 155,000 supporters on Meetup compared to Clark's 49,000 supporters on Meet-up. That proves to me that Dean's grassroots army will help us win the GE.

Perception will be Rove's biggest ally.

Slink, you had a golden opportunity to plug the virtues of your candidate and you're talking numbers. I really don't get this. I see this a lot among Dean supporters. How is it that what matters is the campaign? Sure, a good campaign is important, but when selling your candidate, why is it that you aren't selling the CANDIDATE? Good grief, none of the candidates are going to be able to touch the Bush campaign as far as numbers go, and he's the biggest idiot ever to occupy high office. I swear sometimes I wonder if some Dean supporters would prefer Trippi as the candidate.

It's bizzare that I even know who Trippi is considering I'm not a Dean supporter and I couldn't name any of the other candidate's campaign managers if my life depended on it other then my own.

Oh good grief, there's another one talking numbers. Why is there no Dean supporter here yet that has anything positive to say about the CANDIDATE???

did my own research. But it still mystifies me.

Trust me on this one, ost of those I associate with are blue collar types and most of them say that Dean is too much of the tree-hugger type. Or too liberal. I know that he's not but the misinformed blue collar masses, who watch network news, Foxnews included view him in that light.

I think more independents and more disaffected Republicans would vote for Clark than for Dean. I also think Clark can win more states in the Midwest and South (like Arkansas and Louisiana) than Dean could win.

The sad fact is that large numbers of voters simply aren't open to voting for a Democrat, period. But I think that Wesley Clark, because of his unique background, might be able to reach these people -- people who probably disagree with Bush on economic policy, but have convinced themselves that the Democrats hate America.

And I wish people would stop basing their choices for candidate based on a flawed logic that we have to fight Bush on his own turf.

I was really happy when he first announced he was running, but his campaign kinda derailed and he needs to gain some momentum to compete with the Dean jugernaut.

:hi: I think Clark's gotten some momentum but time will tell in the primaries if that's enough to overtake Dean.

To me it seems like its only getting bigger and better. He's running a great campaign. Care to tell me why he's "derailed"?

Okay, that headline was just there to grab your attention. All the canidates have a good shot at winning the presidency if they had a shot at going head-to-head with George W. Bush.

Having said that, I think Dean is our best shot. Here's why:

For all intents and purposes, Bush has an infinite amount of money. Furthermore, since the Republican national convention is in September this year, Rove will not need to spend a whole lot of money on advertisements to keep the Bush Campaign in the spot-light. (Remember, that this September is going to be particularly expensive with the Olympics and football money flooding the advertising slots.)

With this in mind, whoever is running against Bush must have a grassroots campaign that does not depend on control of the media or purchasing power. Whoever wins the nomination must be able diffuse disinformation quickly, disseminate information even faster and create crowds of people for the camera at the drop of a hat.

Of all the candidates, Howard Dean does all three most effectively overall. He is the man to beat and the Bushistas know it.

:hi:

:D

The grassroots effort you describe would involve "sales persons" believing in their product. They won't succeed by being on the defensive.

They all have a shot, especially if Bush keeps screwing things up.

I agree that Clark has the fewest negatives and the highest crossover appeal. If Dean's the nominee, there are a lot of Republican fencesitters who will be more motivated to vote for Bush. Dean frightens them somehow...they think of hordes with signs, lol. On the plus side, Dean can rally the base pretty well and raise money effectively.

However, if Clark is the nominee, those (R) fencesitters will gladly vote Democratic. That's like getting two new votes for each one, since we'll be subtracting from Bush's total.

Plus, who better to criticize Bush's policy of preventive war with credibility, than someone who has served in such an exemplary career?

Im almost positive the Dems will win in a landslide whether Dean or Clark would win. I am sure from all the people I meet and talk to, that the Dems are going to win big. The recurring theme seems to be the need to get the cockroach out before he does anymore damage.

he has no experience in governing & has never previously served in some sort of an elected office. He'd make a great VP though.

I've even put his avatar up recently...

based on who the Republicans would vote for.

Otherwise we should just let the Republicans pick the President and set the agenda.
What we SHOULD be doing is picking the REAL Democrats who best represent our ideals, and offer a TRUE alternative!
Then we would win because the People would be behind us.

We won't beat the Republicans by running one ourselves.

Only half the People even bother voting, because people are so tired of choosing between two Corporate sponsored Republicans. We need to be consentating on the half that have given up!
They will come out to support a true Democrat like Sharpton or Kucinich.

except for the ones who are sick of Bush, that is...