ATTN: D2bets

[FloydGondolli]

Have you seen the latest national Gallup Poll of the Democratic candidates?

The headline reads:

Dean Takes Front-Runner Status Nationally for First Time

Link to the complete story/poll:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr031209.asp

Please spin this for me how it is good news for Clark (seeing as you have been ignoring his freefall of the past few months).

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[lander]

Is anyone else getting the feeling that the General will end getting the VP nod?

 

[D2bets]

Obviously it's not all good news, but the good part is he's 2nd and I'd hardly call it a "freefall" as the last 3 poll numbers have gone from 13 to 16 to 17. How is that a freefall? I like that he leads among moderates. That may a vote that is underrepresented by a poll like this. It also tells me why he'd do best in a matchup with Bush. The moderate vote is where the general election fight really is.

Listen, obviously Dean is the clear frontrunner right now and his chances are good. Still, there's months left and you just never know what could happen or develop or come up that could shake up the race. I do believe among the rest of the group that Clark is best positioned to challenge Dean. I do not agree that he is in a freefall. Since some very early stumbles he has caught his traction and found his voice very nicely . Outside of Dean he also easily has the most money to fight with. What Clark really needs is some dropouts from the others to pick up some votes. I'd like to see Lieberman, Kerry, Edwards ad Sharpton dropout.

 

[FloydGondolli]

Lander I doubt Dean will choose any of the other 8 candidates as VP, especially after last night's debate.

The question was put to the group "Please raise your hand if you think Howard Dean has a chance of defeating Bush in the general election". Only Dean raised his hand.

That would be a hard one for Clark to explain if he became the VP for Dean.

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[FloydGondolli]

D2,

Based on the trending, it looks like Clark's rise from 13 to 17 during the past month were at Lieberman's expense. I guess it would be more accurate to view Lieberman in a freefall and Clark as stuck in the mud. Dean is the only soaring right now.

Lieberman is sinking among Democrats because of his support for the war. The same reason that Dean is climbing.

Because the economy is improving in nearly every measurable way, Iraq is the only issue in play for the Democrats and Clark really needs to definitively state and maintain his position on Iraq.

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[lander]

Good catch Floyd. I watched the rerun, but hadn't really read into that.

I had assumed a military VP would give Dean's dove persona a little toughness. Who do you think he'd choose? Not endorser extrordinaire, could he??

 

[FloydGondolli]

I don't think it will be Gore. I would think it will be a yet un-named Member of the House (from the South if Dean is as shrewd as I think) who voted against the war resolution in Oct. 2002. There is no way Dean can choose a VP who supported the war in any way, and that certainly narrows his choices.

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[Igetp2s]

Maybe it'll be a white southerner who has flies a Confederate flag on his car. It'll help him get the vote from that demographic, which he clearly wants.

 

[PatPatriot]

He should get that guy Zed from pulp fiction to be his mate for the southern vote..and the gimp for the gays.

 

[GrandSlam+]

I'm looking at Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, to have a lead in the VP race. He is Hispanic, pretty good on TV, and cut taxes as a governor. A month ago he pissed off the other candidates by saying that his "organization endorsed Dean". Richardson is too sharp and ambitious to burn his bridges without having a pretty solid idea that he is on the short list of a VP for Dean.

Lots of things on his record for the GOP though. He was a hawk on Iraq in the Clinton administration...insisted they had weapons of mass destruction and threatened force if Iraq didn't cooperate. In the end Clinton decided to starve Sadaam rather than fight him, but his comments may come back to haunt him with the Dean kooks.

Bill Nelson of Florida is also a pretty good choice.

 

[D2bets]

Floyd, I agree on theat first question of the debate about Dean beating Bush...I think they all fumbled the ball on that question. I think Clark should have raised his hand and then explained something like..."I think that any of the 9 of us on this stage could possible beat GWB...after the people take a hard look at the mess that GWB has gotten us into and the lack of vision that he has on both foreign and domestic issues that they will conclude that the a change is needed. However, I would also say that I am best suited to stand toe-to-toe with GWB on the key issues of foreign policy and national security and reclaim the flag back from the Republican Party." Something like that. Don't acknowledge that Dean would do particularly well against Bush, just say that any of us can beat that goofball, but I could beat him best.

 

[ChuckSims]

Clark will be Dean's VP nominee. This is why Clark is refusing to rip Dean in the debates or any interviews like the other clowns have done.

 

[D2bets]

Clark hasn't ripped anybody (other than Dubya of course), it's just not his style. If Dean wins, he may be his nominee, not sure, I would say it's maybe 30% possible. If not, I think he would make a good choice for Sec of State in a Dean Admin.