What about Ed Rendell in 2008? He was the head of DNC prior to becoming

Governer of Pennsylvania. He has a fatherly charm. Has done very well by Penn. Just a thought after looking at all the chooses. He's out of the blue and may suprise the GOP. Strong and will not back down.

NT

I love Fast Eddie Rendell. I have followed his career ever since he was District Attorney of Philadelphia. I can't say enough good things about him.

He will never be elected and should not waste time running for president in this country so long as close to half the country is bigoted as it is. He is Jewish and they would destroy him with subtle and not-so-subtle innuendo. I would hate for him and for us to have to endure that.

On the one hand, it would be nice to see a fellow Jew become President. On the other hand, I'm afraid that whatever problems people might have with a Jewish Prez would be directed at Jews in general. I don't want to hear people say "well he only did such and such because of his religion".

All these politicans that I didn't know were Jewish keep popping up all over the place. It makes me proud.

I'm not willing to believe that. People are so underestimated in the country. It's time for us, the media, everybody, to start expecting more from the American people. Not less.

His religion only matters to those pukes that believe that their Jay-Zeus is the only way to please GAWD.

There is no better progressive.

Name anyone from Lieberman to Nader - we don't get to vote anyway.

Rendell is one of my favorites. He's got a presence about him!

But I heard that if he ran, there'd be a lot of 'bimbo eruptions' and that is the last thing we need as a party.

Don't know about "bimbo eruptions" but I think he would have plenty of crook eruptions.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

out there.

Although if he runs he really has to something about his back hair. It was frightening when he opened the pools in center city. :)

but seriously he would be very popular with minorities and might help a lot with Ohio voters.

He gave a good rally speech in Lancaster. I'm open to the suggestion.

when he, as head of the DNC, told Al Gore to concede, EVEN BEFORE the SCOTUS decision! No, NO, No, and No again!

and I remember people spinning it for him as a positive in Philly (ie., "Rendell always speaks his mind, even when it's not a popular opinion.")

But he really is charasmatic and has a sort of teflon quality. There were a bunch of stories about his temper in Philly (he got particularly aggressive with a reporter) and everyone loved him, anyway. He would, at the very least, dispel the "wimp" notion that dogs Dems.

right for them. Just as Kerry did this year. He didn't want to have all go thru it again. That is a lot of people. I don't think you understand, consession doesn't mean I quit, it only means I'm not making a BFD about it publically. If one thing makes you hate someone I hope you friends and family don't piss you off. I guess you never piss anyone off either or they weren't like you. Very shallow of you.

I LOVE "fast Eddie" - wore out a lot of sneaker rubber canvassing for him for governor, and I'd do it again. He's funny, charasmatic, smart - the works. He's got the vision thing in spades, and really inspires people. Finally made people in Philadelphia feel good about themselves.

But he's got WAY too much baggage to run for President - bimbo eruptions and Big-City-Mayor type shady dealings (a girlfriend worked for one of his cronies, and her stories would whiten your hair). I'm not going to elaborate on the bimbo or the shady dealings thing and give his nasty Republican opponents any ammunition, but trust me.

In addition he has a vicious temper AND thin skin. Buzz Bissinger ("Friday Night Lights") wrote a 95% complimentary book ("A Prayer for the City") about him, and when Bissinger appeared on a local radio program, Rendell called in frothing at the mouth about the 5% that was less-than-flattering. Love ya, Eddie, but come on now.

I don't know that the Jewish thing would hurt him, but it wouldn't help in the red states.

From ESPN.com:
In 1989, Jimmy Johnson brought his fledgling Dallas Cowboys' team into the Vet for a game in December against Buddy Ryan's Eagles, a game played two days after one of the worst ice and snow storms in recent Philadelphia history.

The city workers had done their usual bang-up job clearing the white stuff and by the fourth quarter of a lopsided game, the only thing keeping fans amused were snowballs.

Up in the 700 level, a very prominent attorney was taking bets that nobody could throw a snowball and hit the Cowboys bench from that distance. By the fourth quarter, the police were involved, and after the game Jimmy Johnson needed an escort through a hail of white projectiles.

Of course, the snowball throwing contest became bigger news than the game itself. And, the next day, that famous attorney's name was revealed in the Philadelphia Inquirer. His name is Edward G. Rendell. Two years later, he was elected mayor of Philadelphia.

I recommend it highly

First off, he is received luke-warm at best in PA as of now. I think there were high hopes for him when he came in, and as a result people are a little dissapointed.

Big setback for him is that he is anti-union to the core. He balanced the Philly budget at the expense of the city workers. He attempted to do it, and may have succeeded doing it to the state workers. The unions will not like this guy.

He is very charismatic, but he will reek of city slicker northeasterner in a national election.

As far as being Jewish, I hear he is a secular Jew, so I don't know if that will help or hurt him....could hurt him with practicing Jews.

He came up with the idea to sue gun manufacturers because criminals use guns in crimes...that will hurt us in a lot of areas, except in big cities where we don't need anymore help.

I think he has a lot of baggage, and won't make a good Pres candidate. However, let me add that if the next 4 years are awful, any Dem will get elected.

some carisma, but not a black sheep. LOL

... a real "regular guy" (he does color commentary after the Philadelphia Eagles games on one of the area cable stations). Really good speaker -- a born politician. I've heard him speak at Democratic rallies three times this season -- he's great.

His wife, Midge, wouldn't be able to campaign for him because she's a federal judge. But she'd be a hell of a First Lady.

I do like Fast Eddie ... but he's an old-fashioned political-machine-type guy ... so I don't doubt what previous posters have said about crook eruptions. And I've been hearing about the bimbo eruptions for years. He really could have been a guy people connected with, but his past bad behavior isn't going to get up anywhere.

Too bad.

We need to be thinking about ways to get the Senate, and he seems like he could take that bastard Santorum down. If he did, he'd be a hero to Dems and position himself to run later (although he seems a bit old).

and a total hypocrite. I have it on good authority that Mr. "Family Values" had an affair with a college coed when he was married, back when he was just starting his political career.

and ain't exactly doing a bang up job as Governor of my state. I'll pass, thanks very much. I mean, if he will agree not to campaign against republicans who will sign his budget, what else will he give up? He was the first to call for Gore to give up. The day before John Edwards was picked, he said out loud and to the media that he hoped Kerry wouldn't pick Edwards. He did almost nothing to help Kerry. He is a disaster. The only way I'll vote for him again is if my ONLY other choice is a repug. Not in any primary, no way.