how optimistic are you about a Kerry presidency?

n/t

I know that he will be a better than average, progressive President. And I think that there is a good chance that he will be a great president. I respect the fact that he does change his position -- that his positions are nuanced -- something the Rethugs are saying is a bad thing ... it shows his legal training. He looks at the details and considers an argument for each side. He's a well-trained experienced thinker and a liberal at heart. He's taken very courageous stands in the past. I will back him wholeheartedly in November (and until then).

His anti-war work bodes well, for an independent mind and a
conscience. He wasn't my first choice, but what have we got
to lose?

This is not a place I can be honest.

so much for democracy.

Kanary

..always the most negative?
You guys are really reactionary. Wow.

Reactionary, spiteful (don't forget that one), and constantly on the attack.

You're ever so right.

Dont' you think we should all be kicked out of the damned party?

Take all your sniping and shove it.

Kanary, fed up with crap

Fed up with the crap too... yep, they can shove it...

many blessings.

;-) :P

would rank as one of the very greatest Presidents in the history of the Republic.

Will he be given the opportunity? I'm doing my part to make sure he is. You all do yours.

I think he'll rank around 13-15th out of 41 rankable presidents(at the time he will be president there will be 41 rankable) which is pretty good for modern presidents.

Which three aren't rankable?

William Henry Harrison, fine, and...?

he will have SO doggone much to undo, and to fix, and to clean up, and he may not have the congressional cooperation that he needs. He'll DEFINITELY not have the Limbags of the world, ranting against him 24/7 to try and drum up their dittoheads' opposition to him. He may be a little hobbled, but not completely. It'll depend on what the numbers are. If he wins narrowly, it won't be as easy as if he wins by a larger margin and then can claim a mandate, and hopefully use that to imtimidate and arm-twist the opposition. That, and WE would all have to be hammering at our congresspeople and senators to shut up and help him. Or quit fighting him. Or get out of his way. Or to help him more aggressively. Depending on who it is. Note my sig line.

but, as with Clinton, I think he would suffer from non-stop right-wing attacks. It isn't as though they've ever needed facts to attack with, so I don't know why they wouldn't set up the same ceaseless howling they did through most of the 90s.

What a Kerry Presidency could actually accomplish would be dependant on a lot of factors out of his control:
a. leadership in the houses of Congress
b. willingness of the national media to let his ideas/plans get to the public vs their willingness to drown it out in the din of Cons screeching
c. willingness of the public to pressure a hostile Congress, assuming that the ideas were given voice (see b.)
d. capacity of government to effectively function with the $7+ trillion debt he would inherit - that is effected by Congressional spending authorizations, as well as the raw fact of the debt.

he's already suffering from non-stop left wing attacks right here.

Bring on the right wingers!

More war, more outsourcing, caving to insurance companies on health care.

But on the other hand, he'll be way better on the environment, he'll block a lot of assinine Repuke initiatives, and appoint judges who aren't whackjobs.

All in all, I'll take it.

would make it all worth it,two would be even better.O'Connor was talking about leaving,yet she hasn't done so,perhaps she's regretful now of going along with Scalia?

We're currently with this:
Nazis - Scalia, Thomas, & Rehnquist.
"Moderates" - Kennedy & O'Connor.
Relatively Liberals - Ginsburg, Stevens, Breyer, & Souter.

Imagine that Stevens leaves (he is, after all, 86).
And that O'Connor leaves.. finally.
And then Ginsburg lapses back into cancer.
And Rehnquist finally quits after more than 32 years.

And imagine that Kerry names the replacements. We'd be with:
Nazis - Scalia & Thomas.
"Moderate" - Kennedy.
Relatively Liberals - Breyer, Souter, Appointee 1, Appointee 2, Appointee 3, & Appointee 4.

And imagine that the average age of these appointees is around 40. And that they're healthy - they could live for another 40 years each. That's an entire generation of liberal court decisions. Incredible.

Or imagine that Bush gets back into the White House and makes these replacements. We'd be with:
Nazis - Scalia, Thomas, Appointee 1, Appointee 2, Appointee 3, & Appointee 4.
"Moderate" - Kennedy.
Relatively Liberals - Breyer & Souter.

An entire generation where Scalia basically controls each and every decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. If this doesn't give someone nightmares, they're not of sound mind.

So yes, I do think Kerry can be a great president. He could end-up being the best we've had in a long time, particularly if we re-capture the Senate and get a lot of good, healthy, young nominees up on the court.

Energy independence with clean, renewable energy. Untold ramifications for the environment for generations. Also changes the dynamics of our relations all over the world.

Respect for other cultures and religions and building bridges between cultures will change the attitudes about Americans and western culture and set the world on a new course.

We'll have a rational approach to fighting terrorism, the willingness to write the correct laws aimed at the money that funds terrorism, directing the CIA correctly and stopping the interference into other countries affairs. We could have an honest foreign policy again and begin reducing our military around the world as a result.

Taking on pork projects, with John McCain, will change our entire budget for generations. And with John McCain, they can take on the military budget as well.

A president who wants music and art in schools again. How long has it been since we had a President who thought music and art was critical for a child's development?

A president who is against mandatory sentencing. Who is rational about drugs and knows we've got it all backwards, from pot pipe and medical marijuana prosecutions to a lack of treatment in prisons to a locking up pot smokers. We've been waiting for somebody with a half a brain on this for 30 years.

This is the kind of progressive I've waited for my entire life. And we can really get him elected. If we all work together to do it. We won't have this chance again. Hillary isn't anywhere near the kind of liberal that John Kerry is. If America is the last best place, John Kerry is our last best chance to make this place as great as it can be.

He wasn't my first choice, but I don't recall being this enthused by our nominee in many years. Actually, not since the first JFK and I was just a kid and didn't know why I was excited then. There is a lot to undo and the damage done by this administration will surely make it a lot harder to make an impact, no question. He'll be fought tooth and nail by the RW which is clinging to power with everything they've got and we all know that. So does he, of course. He'll need the help of the people, though.

When the RW blocks a plan that's good or tries to force something regressive down our throats we all need to make our voices heard. Moveon.org, DU and other such sites can actually be very instrumental in helping JK to be successful and to accomplish the goals we'd most like to see. First job is to get him elected, of course.

He will have to *lead*, and prove to everyone (especially liberal Democrats) that he's earned their trust. He will have to engage, communicate, be energetic and passionate. Obviously this is a tall order for Kerry, but he could be up to it.

Kerry can also ease tensions around the globe, and can return some of the international respect lost via the fascistic behavior of the * regime.

He will have his hands more than full, however, with trying to clean up the major *mess* that W* has left the U.S. deeply in.