Simple poll: Is Obama electable?

I'm not really interested in hearing reasons -why- he is or is not, since we all recognize that race will be an issue
whether it's articulated or not... just whether DUers believe he could actually BE elected in the 08 General election.

To me he is not a secure sale to the older people. He represents the next generation.

...

and also a first (Catholic president).

I am unsure about this term "electable". And Kennedy was even younger than Obama when he got elected.

Just like Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, Bill Clinton, JFK, and Teddy Roosevely were all too young when they were elected.

Ah yes, our first Italian-American president!

I could edit that. But I think your reply's cute.

He does look a little like Chef Boyardee.

:rofl:

Same generation, just the other end of it. All the top Democrats running are baby boomers.

Nor would many of them vote for a woman...for the same kinds of idiotic reasons. But Oklahoma isn't the USA which is why I put up the poll since DU isn't stuck in yesteryear, mostly. ;-)

us have some neighbors like that.

But Obama will be super-charged and well-organized. If he wins the nomination I think Democrats will support him with enthusiasm. Some Thugs will be appalled, but they aren't voting blue anyway.

The public addresses Obama has given -- particularly in Boston at our convention and in Springfield for his announcement speech -- have been breath-taking. They have been show-stopping addresses. This guy is the real deal.

and I always thought how damned stupid was that? But Obama really does come off as a guy that most anyone would be comfortable with. He has an ineffable "genuine" quality that Shrub wouldn't recognize if it bit him on the butt.

The blooms are falling off that bush by the hour.

This feels to me like a presidency that's already over. The interim appointment of Sam Fox today as Ambassador to Belgium was one more disgraceful end-run around the will of the Congress. It's all Bush has left. A president in a better position wouldn't have had to do that, and a better president wouldn't have nominated Sam Fox to begin with.

What are the odds of them voting for a Democrat of any race or gender?

I ask because I too have neighbors like that, but I wouldn't expect them to support any Democratic candidate.

mostly Democratic state elected officials including our Governor but for some perverse reason the state began to overwhelmingly go for Repugs the last few national elections. They rant and rave against Clinton because of Monica during the day and cheat on their wives in the evening. :eyes:

However, in Texas the success of their gerrymandering removed any hope of the former.

Locally, for the large part, the Democrats here like Obama which I feel is a good sign if he were to win the nomination. His reception in Austin was overwhelmingly supportive to say the least.

It tells me that Dems are not reaching our voters in a meaningful way on the national level.

of the rest of it than the coastal blue states.

That's my point further down this thread.

at least that's the impression I've gotten.

Not being situated in Washington for decades is a BIG PLUS for his independence and objective thought when making critical decisions as our President.

I am 100% in support of this intelligent man of good character. :patriot:

There has been talk that his community service work is insufficient for the presidency, but I think the opposite is true - that the Constitution itself should be changed to insist that any presidential candidate have the sort of community service work Obama has had.

He would have seen suffering in his contacts and experiences during those years and I believe that awareness is more likely to produce a compassionate mind and heart in the White House than say, the son of an oil man who spends his weekends snorting cocaine up his nose because his rich daddy can get him cushy jobs at the drop of a hat.

Senator Obama can win.

John Edwards can win.

Bill Richardson could win.

Al Gore would win the easiest because he already won.

Hillary has 50% of the nation that can't stand her. That's a pretty bad place to start from. If she's the nominee, I'll support her, but it will really be an uphill battle.

...she is in it to win!

Gotta wonder about candidates who find it necessary to inform us that they want to win. Like this is news? And in her announcement speech?

No, Hillary CAN'T WIN!

Blame that on what yu want. But a vote for Hillary in the primaries is two votes for the Republican nominee in the general election.

We shall see.

this will be it.

Oh how soon we forget

The world can't wait.

Probably a fan of Marlon Brando at the time.

my rural, republican parents told me last week that they really like Obama and would vote for him in the general election.

He hasn't been in DC long enough to pick up too many bad habits, either.

Being clean and articulate doesn't hurt, either. :evilgrin:

Yes.
Therefore, he is electable. All the other crap people talk about doesn't really matter.

If the answers aren't honest, they're worthless. Welcome to DU.
:-)

DUers reside.

I know the damn country's too racist to elect him.

...

I believe he will make a great president, but I don't know if he can get elected, and its the same with Hillary. America still has a long way to go.

watching CNN while they were talking about the amount of $$ each candidate collected so far. He looked at me and said "Ya know, the Dems would be able to win the Presidency in 08without even trying, and what the hell do they do...put up a Woman and a Black guy! Neither of them can ever get elected, and you know it! There's way too many people who would vote for anyone rather than give up their prejudice!" I HATE having to admit it, but I'm very afraid he's right.

just to produce the -appearance- of color/gender-blindness (politically correctness?) but in the anonymity of the voting booth...?

I know lots of people who say one thing and do the opposite.

then on election night we get the shock of our political lives. And not just in the Southern red states.

Neither of them, IMO, can get the swing voters; in fairness, neither could Kucinich. It would be like Mondale or McGovern losses.

:eyes:

I don't think we have to go for their vote.

I don't think that is a reasonable assumption, sadly.

...he was her state senator in IL. She thought he was exceptional then, and from what I see, I have to agree. He seems to have the ability to trancend a lot of the divisions that normally hamper candidates. I'm impressed that he has raised so much money with little or no corporate sponsorship...unlike others in this race who will remain nameless. I envy my friends who got to see him launch his campaign at the old capitol, almost made me wish I had my crappy deli job across the street back so I could have been there too:).

This country is too backward and racist to ever allow a non-white person to occupy the White House. Why do you think they call it the "White House"? My prediction: if Obama even gets close to the nomination, some RW nutjob will take him out. Better he get into postiion on Al's coattails... that way, Gore will have protection against assassination.

Unconscionable as the fact may be, vehemently no - it will not happen for 100 years.

that is a terribly myopic and hopeles view of the american electorat andyou have not offered any evidence to back it up

come on...

If only I had a dollar for every time I heard that.

2 "questionable" sources, but still...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_house#Naming_conventions
The building was originally referred to variously as the "President's Palace," "Presidential Mansion," or "President's House." Dolley Madison called it the "President's Castle." There is a common misconception that the term "The White House" wasn't used until after the War of 1812, when the mansion was burned and re-painted. However, the earliest evidence of the public calling it the "White House" was recorded in 1811, three years before the House was set on fire. The name "Executive Mansion" was used in official contexts until President Theodore Roosevelt established the formal name by having the de facto name "White House–Washington" engraved on the stationery in 1901. President Franklin Roosevelt changed his letterhead to "The White House" with the word "Washington" centered beneath. That convention remains today.

Here is from the White House webpage:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/interactive/
Q: Colleen Sullivan, from New York, NY:
Why was the White House originally named "The White House"?

Bill Allman A: Bill Allman, White House Curator:
The executive residence has been white since 1798. Scottish stonemasons were hired to build and carve the sandstone walls. Painters then covered the walls in 1798 with a whitewash to keep water and ice from seeping inside the walls and breaking them apart. The names "President's House" and "Executive Mansion" were used to refer to the building formally, such as for stationery and engraved silver serving pieces, but newspapers began referring to the building as the "White House" as early as 1809. President Theodore Roosevelt made the "White House" the official name of the president's home and office in 1901.

He is completely mainstream liberal. Young articulate hopeful, genuine and likable.


He is a sea change politician not seen since JFK.

He provides the perfect atonement for the burden southern white have been carrying around since the Birth of the Civil rights movement and what certain black americans have been exploiting for about as long.


He is not Hillary. He absolutely can win the nomnination....


Most white americans don't give a rip about his race and if the GOP tries to exploit it they will be vilified.

It is obviously going to depend on his running mate. Richardson makes the most sense at the moment. and it depends on who the GOP settles on... If it is McCain they Lose. If it is Rudy, Barrack wins because the white vite in the south will split two ways and the black vote will be huge

If it is Romney. I think we win on Gravitas but it will be closer.


Hagel and Fred Thompson are the only real concerns I would have.

We should give in to the minority of us who are racists and vote for somebody who will not offend their sentiments.

:sarcasm:

Let's stop playing the electable game. It got old with Kennedy. All of the major Democratic candidates are electable. Let's give each other a break and focus on the Republicans, none of whom in my mind are electable. Why? Because the Republicans anti-immigrant stance led to 70% of the Latino vote going to Democrats in 2006. Contrast that with 55% in 2004. If these numbers hold, a Republican will be unelectable for the next generation.

However, it is highly unlikely that I will vote for him in the primaries -- because of what I see as his concerted effort to appear centrist.

Maybe that's unfair of me, since I do believe that his race is a disadvantage to him in presidential politics, and it is my belief that, because of his race, his move to the center was necessary in order to make him electable. But still, I don't like it.

This country is too racist and sexist to elect Obama or Hillary. Which sucks. I would vote for either of them, preferring Obama but please, don't be naive. This country is so full of right-wing fundie religionists, bigots, xenophobes, racists, homophobes, sexists, etc. This country is FULL OF FUCKING BIGOTS.
Lee

and the money he's raising. But this is the stage of the race where it's like going down a mountain grade with an eighteen wheeler. There's nothing in his way and he's flying. No hard questions, no fightback, no nothing.

He is going to be on the stage with seasoned and savvy competitors pelting him with counterpoint positions and scoring dramatic points left and right. In my opinion, this meteoric new rock star popularity will quickly give way to reality and people will realize we can't roll the dice in this election.

There are two easy things I can think of right off the top of my head that will confront him:

:bluebox: I'm quite sure he voted to confirm Alito. I don't know how he voted on cloture. But that sellout wasn't very popular with us here. Look back at the posts.

And this one I can see the republic ads blaring across the televisions nationwide already if he is the nominee

:bluebox: He sat in front of the television cameras and stated firmly and unequivocally to Tim on Meet the Press that he would NOT run for president. That he would fulfill his obligation to the State of Illinois and serve his full term. As I remember it, Tim questioned him several times and unlike Hillary Clinton who knew to avoid the question, he left no gray area that he was going to be faithful to the commitment in Illinois.

Republics will play this ad infinitum that he can't even tell the truth about the fact that he was going to run. And pointing it out to independents saying can you imagine the lies he will tell when he's in office? And this is the man you're going to elect as our new President?

I can see it now.

Al...Oh A-a-a-al???? Please grab this golden ring.

They all like him! REPUBLICANS!!!

He seems honest and like someone I would like to hang out with as a friend.