Following last night's debate, which Repub do you LEAST want to face next year?

Both haver the potential to pull the wool over the eyes of semi-informed voters.

Hell, even I like the guy. Despise his politics though. I can separate the two. The folks who voted for Chimpy based on the "drink a beer with him" factor CAN'T.

the most difficult to deal with

He also, as the Rude Pundit pointed out, came off as the "true badass" when he talked about carrying a .45 when he flew bombing missions, but doesn't own a gun now.

I lean more toward Huckabee as being the toughest to beat, but I agree that McCain would be very difficult as well.

There was absolutely no question that he was the more qualified candidate then. The Republican party machine - which has been at least partially controlled by the Bush Crime Family since WWII - isn't going to take any chances on McCain getting elected.

I'm not sure exactly why they have a problem with him, but it's obvious they do.

nice-nice schtick. People WILL fall for that. Just like they did when young george came along.

And every "presidential" event will be nothing more than a frickin' revival meeting. :eyes:

Theocracy, here we come, if huckabee gets in. And he has me VERY worried.

Huckabee is too easily identified
with by many voters. The weight
loss, he plays in a band, he presents
himself as the 'gee whiz' modest guy
from down the street.
He is a 'rature ready' fundie in my
opinion. We don't need another person
in the White House listening to imaginary
voices for direction.

To the question about Jesus and the death penalty that Jesus was too smart to run for public office? It was a good comeback and great line, but sure didn't answer the question.

I like him as a person/personality as well, but can't stand his politics.

I do not have cable
and was not able to
watch the debate.
Huckabee is very likeable
as a person. That makes
him very dangerous. Bush
is the prime example of
'voting for someone you
would drink a beer with'.
Some people do not vote
by the issues, they vote
for who they 'like' as a
person.

And yes, he did not answer the question. Fie on Anderson Cooper for not pressing the issue.

But could America in today's day and age really elect a pure bred creationist who does NOT believe in evolution?

i.e. dinosaurs did not roam the earth millions of years ago, adam and eve did their thing and the earth was created in 6 days stuff???

So much for the separation of Church/state! Gawd, it just does not seem possible!? But then again, I don't watch reality TV - so I'm outta the loop. :shrug:

the American sucker - er - I mean - voter.

Even my son, on the way home from school today, pointed out how most people just don't even care that much. They're far too busy at their jobs (assuming they HAVE jobs) and getting home and having dinner and flopping down in front of the TV for awhile to anesthetize themselves before bedtime. They don't care.

There are also PLENTY of those who say (and mean it): "I know what I know." That tends to be one of the responses when they're presented with a critical mass of evidence that puts their predispositions at risk. It flicks on their "TILT!" button. It doesn't fit any of the gaps in their unfinished puzzle of deceitful propaganda and bullshit, and in fact puts the kibosh on the entire construct of that puzzle. Or maybe you've heard the one about the neighbor or fellow "soccer mom" or "NASCAR dad" who, when confronted with lots of inconvenient truth, will walk away mumbling "... well, I don't know..."

I had a friend in the neighborhood who was just ROCK-SOLID sure that cheney had served in the military and that the war was just and all that rot. She'd evidently gotten it from her brother-in-law or some relative, because she was busy raising her kid and doing carpool and Mothers' Club and school volunteer stuff and making her spinning classes. It took a second mom who was having coffee with her to verify things I was telling her - like how cheney NEVER served squat (except maybe on some tennis court). I was on my way to an anti-war rally when I ran into them at the neighborhood coffee bar. And she finally sputtered - "well, I'm getting wrong information. I'm getting wrong information." And the other mom and I agreed and tried to enlighten her. That was awhile ago. I ran into her just the other day elsewhere in the neighborhood, and when it got to "that" subject, she was still so pro-war - our conversation that earlier day hadn't opened her eyes AT ALL. She doesn't hang out with my type of crowd anyway - STAUNCH republi-CONS they are, and so are all their friends, so I'm sure there was little in the way of verification of what the other mom that day OR I had told her.

There were thousands and thousands of people along the campaign trail in 2004 who heard bush say, repeatedly, "you may not agree with me but you know where I stand." And that, to many of them, was all they needed to hear. He was firm and sure of where he stood. NEVER MIND that it was as wrong as sin! At least he knew where he stood, and what he believed in (not like that OTHER guy who voted for the 87 billion before he voted against it). It was the same with reagan. People voted for him because they liked him. They liked his schtick. They liked his certitude. WAY more often than not, if you talked to them, or polled them, or got them in focus groups, their views on the issues were 180-degrees opposite where reagan stood. And many of them knew it. But they were favorably predisposed toward him anyway, even knowing they disagreed with his views - like all the pro-choicers who disregarded the fact that they knew he opposed Roe v Wade, and voted for him anyway. They LIKED him. They felt inclined to overlook their "differences" and give him the benefit of the doubt. Because he was just so darned nice and aw-shucks and a reg'lar guy - and if he'd been a beer drinker they would have loved to go have a beer with him, too. Even though his policies eventually screwed vast majorities of them. They STILL supported him and embraced him and sang his praises.

And I'm afraid we're looking at the same thing with huckabee. He creeps me out. Because he's "nicer" than bush or even reagan ever could pretend or hope to be, and he has the inside scoop on JEEEEEEEZUSSS anyway since he was a minister. He worries me TERRIBLY. He will probably wind up in second position ON the ticket, and will add luster and cover to whichever of these jackasses is at the top of the ticket. He'll make the bad guys' ticket all that more appealing especially to the "Buy-bull" crowd. And when they get activated, it usually means big trouble for our side.

And YES there are many more like him and the other Flat-Earthers. MANY more. The "Buy-bull" Belt is full of them. They don't want to think. They've had it reinforced that higher education, especially colleges and universities, are infested with "libruls" and "pointy-headed" academics and people who actually do believe that dinosaurs and the rest of the earth date back much farther in time than six-thousand years, and thus lead you away from God. It's either/or with these people. Their thinking and reasoning has either been trained or bred out of them. limbaugh and others for years have told them, literally (I have actually heard this statement) that they "don't even have to think. I'LL do the thinking FOR you!" I swear, I actually heard limbaugh say that one time. It's far easier to sit there and eat Twinkies and watch their NASCAR or soap operas or "Survival" or "American Idol" and read the Old Testament where the extreme, severe, punishing God lives, and hand over all the rest of their cerebrums above the level of lizard brain to these smarmy, scheming snake-oil salesmen and their traveling revival tent schtick. It's just too much work to try and read a little extra on their own. And why dig for the truth when you're being told repeatedly that it's being handed to you for free, no muss, no fuss? Besides, in with this distressing mentality is the presumption that "well, they couldn't say that on TV (on the radio) if it weren't true."

Believe it. Do what you can to head it off NOW. I'd say it's time for some MAJOR LEAGUE oppositional research on this guy. Everyone has an Achilles Heel, and he surely has one, too. It needs to be found and brought out. NOW. Before it's too late.

I think huckabee is the biggest danger the other guys can throw at us.

That voting blind for an idiot in Shrub has done them no good.

Alas, there is that 20% crowd who have their head so far up that they would vote for Cheney if he ran for pres. They march in lock-step.

The rethug establishment elite (Mitt/Rudy) actually have quite a list of bad deeds that Mike did while gov of AK --- something about raising tobacco taxes. The Huckster as a former minister knows how to preach, and preach he does to folks that seek to be told how to think. I still think he is way too far right to ever have a real chance.

I will say I do admire that the dude lost 100 pounds! That is very impressive regardless of one's politics.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments calimary. :hi:

I must admit I am impressed with his weight loss. But I wouldn't vote for Kirstie Alley or Valerie Bertinelli, either, and I admire their weight loss, too.

I just think huckabee is a stealth bomber. If you like those big hand-raising, swaying, hyperventilating revival meetings then prepare for the scent of them at EVERY presidential appearance, speech, and press conference. The so-called Office of Faith-Based Initiatives will be a frickin' cabinet-level position. We'll be turned into a theocracy, only our ayatollas and mullas will be smiling and clean-shaven and speak gently and kindly and play rock music to throw bones to the masses while, in the back rooms, they'll be finishing off what's left of the Constitution from the shards and splinters that remain after the bush era. It'll be "WHAT separation of Church and state? I don't know WHAT you're talking about! It's NEVER been that way! Praise the Lord!"

Scares (pardon the pun) the bejeezuss out of me. And I'm a lifelong Catholic. huckabee is a DANGEROUS man.

Hell, even my husband's disgusted and suspicious, and he's a more devout, practicing Christian than I am. He still goes to a non-denominational service every Sunday. And he got pissed off while watching the debate the other night. When huckabee took that question (Do You Believe This BOOK????!?!?!?!?!?!?!) and stated that the only true Christian was Jesus Christ, my guy went ballistic. "Jesus WASN'T a Christian!!! He was a Jewish man!!!! Christians didn't even EXIST when Jesus walked the earth!!!" And it's true. To say that Jesus Christ was a Christian means, I guess, that Jesus was busy following Himself all day. To be a Christian means to be a follower of Christ. And for heaven's sakes, huckabee of all people should know the difference and not make that mistake, especially one given such high marks for eloquence when talking about religion. He sells himself in his campaign commercials as being a "Christian leader," and then denies he's pandering that way when asked about it (I think it was Chris Matthews who did). He never hesitates to wear his minister's credentials like a neon-lit sandwich board all over the map. He's a real whore that way! Okay, mike - WE GET IT. WE KNOW. WE KNOW YOU CAME STRAIGHT OUTTA DIVINITY SCHOOL. ENOUGH already! Last I looked, I was voting for PRESIDENT, not Pope or Archbishop.

candidates HRC will beat em all. Obama will have trouble with 2 but just based on a gut feeling, our dem candidates tower above em all.

Giulliani is the most dangerous. This was the first GOP debate I watched.

He also seemed more liberal and smarter than the rest. If Clinton goes against him it will be a fight for the center.

Edwards would have no prayer against Giulliani. An "ambulance chasing" lawyer against a DA fighting against the mob would be a really bad matchup.

Romney looks the part, he's a governor, he's got money. He's no more on the wrong side of some issues (for Republicans) than any of the others. But Giuliani is pretty much a lock in NY, NJ, FL, and CA. That's a big head start.

I hope Huckabee gets it. That guy will be sooo beatable in the general.

and I know a LOT of people who like Romney.

Here's Huckabee addressing God, and evolution....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BFEhkIujA

I think Ron Paul handled the NAU question very well. He showed the people who care about that issue that he’s on their side, but he came across as reasonable and intelligent — not kooky.

Am I the lone soldier here? Please tell me my fellow DUer's is the NAU real?

The thing about the Trilateral Commission and spp.gov is that it’s the executive bypassing Senate’s approval of all treaties. They’re unconstitutional. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Doesn't he remember the 2006 election? Do the repubs think supporting keeping troops in Iraq is a winning stand to take?

That "realness" scares me. I find myself liking the guy even as I despise most of his positions.

By landslide we fear Huckabee? That guy would get thumped in a general election setting. He's already had Chris Matthews laughing at him for simpleton remarks and there's tons of ammo like the evolution theory and thinking he can do away with the IRS. Apparently the Arkansas press is amazed his record as governor has not come under further scrutiny.

Huckabee would be a political cartoon by mid September, if not earlier.

Giuliani is the threat. He changes the dynamic in vital states and with key demographics. I have him at 10/1 to win the GOP nomination but I'm rooting for him to fail.

Huckabee has an easy charm and a populist streak that could win over moderates. Wouldn't it be a mess if the Republican candidate turns out to be the anti-big business guy and the Democrat is tied to corporate America up to his/her eyeballs. Huckabee, from what I've heard of his record may actually be the "Compassionate Conservative" that Bush pretended to be in order to get elected.

McCain has credentials, he's considered a moderate and deep down moderates and liberals can still occaisionally summon up a little love for the old boy such as during the last debate when he denounced the other candidates for supporting waterboarding. I found myself yelling "Go John! Shove it down their throats". Will people forgive him for the hug with Bush--you and I won't but the swing voter types most likely will.

The right wing fundie vote has been indispensable for the rethuglicans in winning any of their elections the past 20 years. He is the only candidate that is even mildly appealing to the religious reich. McCain has no principles. Ghouliani, enough said. Romney is not even considered a "christian" by the vast majority of other christian denominations. Thompson is a laughably incompetent campaigner. Ron Paul is a libertarian--no religious appeal at all.

A weak dem candidate will have major problems against Huckabee.