> As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it's very hard
> for me to imagine Hillary with Obama as her VP
> because, a) there seems to be too much bad blood
> between them, and b) from an "electability" standpoint
> -- and maybe I am overly pessimistic -- a white woman
> and black man as symbolic figureheads of the US in
> 2008 doesn't seem likely. Methinks a white male hetero
> must be in the mix somewhere on the Dem ticket, and
> that for purely tactical reasons thatd o not reflect
> well on US public attitudes. Obviously, this is a
> shame.
I think that Obama's race and Clinton's gender are less of an issue for white male hetero voters than the media and pundits would have you believe. White male voters aren't so two-dimensional that they'll vote for McCain just because he is a white guy. Many of them will be pissed off in November about the economy and the war. The Republicans won't be seen as a credible source for a new direction, so these guys will vote for Clinton or Obama.
I think you are generally right about U.S. public attitudes, but I'll bet that this election will be one where people are voting their pocketbook for "change" even if it is the same old bullshit headed up by the Clintons.
> Of course, I am bad at predicting horse race stuff. I
> thought Lieberman would be the Dem nominee for
> president in '04. Instead, Kerry got it, which, i must
> admit, Chuck0 did predict accurately early on, citing
> Kerry's money and Skull & Bones connections, among
> other things. (Kerry has endorsed Obama now.) I
> thought it'd be Lieberman for the Dems in '04 because
> Kerry was a Mass. liberal, and Lieberman was very
> hawkish, a warrior-like dude like Wesley Clark, and in
> '04 the US public seemed much more out for blood than
> they do now.
Obama is making things interesting at this point and he may be able to make it a contested convention. But I think that the ruling class will put their weight behind Clinton enough to help her overcome Obama's populist surge.
The Republican side of the race is fucking hilarious right now. I was perplexed that McCain had been doing poorly several months ago, but his recent resurgence confirms my theories about how the system picks safe candidates that reflect the interests of the ruling class. What's funny is that the conservatives are at war against McCain. Rush Limbaugh has been attacking McCain for weeks. Ann Coulter says that she'll vote for Clinton, which makes you wonder if she writes those books just to make money.
My parents listen to lots of Limbaugh, so I wonder who they support right now. Probably Huckabee, because he is the religious right candidate. I can't see my parents supporting Romney, as he is a Mormon, something which evangelical Lutherans see as being akin to devil-worshiping.
I'm kind of hoping that Ron Paul is forced out of the race soon. His fanatics are annoying.
Chuck0