I believe the Democratic candidate is likely to thrash John McCain, no matter who it is. Hillary Clinton would beat Senator McCain handily, mainly because of Senator McCain. He has tied himself to this Iraq War and is telling anyone who'll listen that he plans to stay in Iraq for another hundred years. It's hard to imagine a more unpopular position to base your campaign on in the general election.
Though Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would score easy points against McCain on this count, Obama has an advantage here. Sen. McCain can turn around and accuse Sen. Clinton of being just as complicit in the drive to war because she also voted for the resolution that authorized the Iraq War. Whereas, Obama can say McCain showed poor judgment in going into Iraq in the first place and McCain has no defense to that. He could argue that the Iraq War has gone great, and I hope he does. Good luck with that strategy.
Why would Democrats want to neutralize this obvious advantage they have by picking a candidate that also voted for the war?
Secondly, the right-wing base is very displeased with John McCain. Conservative talk show hosts, pundits and bloggers have spent the last couple of months pummeling McCain. The only thing that can re-energize them to back his candidacy is -- Hillary Clinton.
Now, this is a little unfair to Sen. Clinton because I don't think she has done anything to earn that animus. She's polarizing only because they have spent the better part of two decades attacking her and her husband, and trying to turn the American people against them. Barack Obama might seem polarizing after eight straight years of right-wing attacks, too.
However, fair or unfair, the right-wing can't wait to go to war against Hillary. On the other hand, if it's Obama versus McCain, I think they might dislike McCain more. This has got to be a major liability when you are trying to rally your own side in a general election.
Finally, according to the polls, voters are overwhelmingly in favor of change this election cycle. If Obama is running, he is clearly the candidate of change. If Clinton is running, McCain could almost make an argument that you would get more change from his presidency than you would under another Clinton administration. I think that argument would be wrong, but why open the door?
Overall, Democrats can make it easier or harder on themselves this year by picking one of the two remaining candidates. I'm confident they'll win either way, but why take the risk? Obama is the better candidate to run against McCain, who looks like he is going to be the Republican candidate in the fall. By picking Obama the Democrats can make a strong and persuasive case that there is only one candidate who can bring real change to Washington -- Barack Obama.
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Obama More Likely to Beat McCain
Posted Feb 5th 2008 12:02PM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Young Turks, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama
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Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 47)
16. ""CLINTON SLEEZE FATIGUE WILL INVIGORATE GOP, DISPIRIT DEMOCRATS AND SINK DEMOCRATIC TICKET""
""OBAMA/EDWARDS TO WIN""
It is possible that Senator Clinton is the best candidate. However, even though many may like the policies that Senator Clinton proposes, they should also consider her record, just as Senator Clinton insists.
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The last Clinton Administration, when faced with the fact that protection rackets where assaulting, torturing and murdering people with poison and radiation, chose to avoid its responsibilities to incarcerate the criminals and to protect the citizenry.
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Instead, they made a deal with the criminal gang stalker protection rackets to leave them alone and to consequently abandon the citizenry.
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Do we want a President who sells out the citizenry for votes?
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Do we want a President who sends a "crime does pay" message to society?
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Would you vote for a President who signed nonaggression deals with the KKKlan or the Nazi party? Gangs that torture with poison and radiation are much like the KKKlan and Nazi Party.
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We do not need a sellout President. We need a principled leader President.
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If you are one of the few who do not know what the above refers to, do a web search for "gang stalking" to see the tip of the dirtberg. Please do it before you decide to reply to my post. Here let me make it easy for you :
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22gang+stalking%22
avraam jack at 2:50PM on Feb 2nd 2008
17. The Dems (any of them) have NO experience and pretty much ANY Republican could beat them hands down. Republicans are more responsible and more likely to vote and will easily over power either HillBill or Osama (I mean Obama). It's a no brainer if you value experience and leadership.
Debbie at 3:26PM on Feb 2nd 2008
18. Not one candidate demo or Republican is going to be able to "get" us out of Iraq so "get" that out of your heads right now. The issue here is who will raise taxes, spending, and keeping illegals here. We all know the candidates that will do this.
jlep56 at 3:26PM on Feb 2nd 2008
19. muslims or stupid woman
steve at 3:28PM on Feb 2nd 2008
20. Neither can win.
hitlary rotten bin clinton and osama obama are so far left wing and anti American that even the left wing Mc Cain will easily beat them.
It's hard to believe that Americans are so stupid not to see what will happen if our taxes are jacked up, the borders are opened, our healthcare system is ruined and we surrender the war on terror.
The only way Mc Cain is better than the muslim osama obama or the comunist hitlary rotten bin clinton is he has military experience and would better handle the real war on terror.
Jon at 3:29PM on Feb 2nd 2008
21. I would like a Democrat to respond to this thread. What has Clinton or Obama done that QUALILIES them to lead this country? They both say "we need change", What kind of Change & How are they going to go about it?
Ed at 3:33PM on Feb 2nd 2008
22. Change is just a word. In order for this to be viable BO must say exactly what the changes will be, how they will be accomplished, and what the variables are when they take place. Without this it is only a word to stir the people - nothing more.
Rcass at 3:48PM on Feb 2nd 2008
23. WITH HIS "100 MORE YEARS IN IRAQ" PLATFORM, DONALD DUCK COULD BEAT McCAIN. I CAN'T BELIEVE THE REPUBLICANS WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE HIM THE NOMINATION; IT THEY DO, YIPPEE, YIPPEE, YIPPEE........
Dave at 3:34PM on Feb 2nd 2008
24. Re:George#5 comment at 12;19 pm,
You speak of experience, but you do
not know how to spell the word. Interesting.
DONALD at 3:41PM on Feb 2nd 2008
25. Hillary will beat McCain. It's time for a woman to be President. Look what Margaret Thatcher did for England! The men have screwed this country up in the last administration. I'm voting for Hillary and not Oprah. I'm a X-Marine and a Male. I'm voting for Hillary!
MD at 3:38PM on Feb 2nd 2008
26. I think it is a sad day in this country that out of all the bright minded peolpe in this country this is all we have to vote for. As a registered republican and a staunch conservative i will not be voting for Mcain. With all the people up in arms about that amnesty bill they were tring to shove down our throats(Mcain sponsered) it blows my mind he would even be the nominee.If it is between hillary and Mcain iI believe Ill sit home Obama and Mcain ill probably vote for Obama
kevin gibson at 3:39PM on Feb 2nd 2008
27. I took a Mn public Radio Survey and found out that my concerns were closer to Hillary Clinton's than Barack Obama's the difference was 2 percentage points. So either one,but this time around on Historical firsts I'll go for First Women,remember Black men could vote before women(it wasn't exactly available he could end up lynched if he tried to Vote,)but the law was there. So lets do the woman first and than a man of color and be assured he won't need to worry about a lynch mob(Corp Media lynching)The woman will have taken all the hits and sorted it out.
My dream team Clinton/ Obama for 8 than Obama/? for 8 more . You all know it will take 16 years to clean this mess up and get on track for the 21st century!!
Nana at 2:05AM on Feb 3rd 2008
28. Reference Michel's comments #10
Call to action draft John Edwards.
An unorganized Democratic Party is about to risk their big chance to redirect our country. They appear ready to choose as their "best" leader a charismatic black amateur who was raised a Muslin or a charming white female with a vast conspiracy to enemies ready in position to attack.
Neither of these leading candidates for nomination by the media will be able to defeat a battle harden warrior who has shown his ability to be all things to any and all potential voters in the coming elections.
We, the silent majority, need to get off our TV couch and draft the (recently) available mature white male statesman who can lead our country through the "King Bush" disaster into again a position of world power and leadership.
By next November's election the current euphoria over either a woman or black male choice for leader will have abated with a dose of recession reality. More of our present financial debt morass will make an old battled scarred warrior the clear choice by a voting mob. We can produce a reasonable alternative with an energetic mature lawyer who has sensible solutions to the yawning abyss of disaster created by a born again "divine right" charlatan.
We MUST draft John Edwards to REALLY run for president. PLEASE HELP
Ralph at 3:43PM on Feb 2nd 2008
29. Read Obama's book you lazy dumb people then you will know what he thinks and the change he wants to make. No wonder we are in so much trouble we have the most ignorant lazy voters in the world. Our freedome will be lost one day because the voters are so lazy and ignorant.
Reading all these stupid responses make my blood pressure soar. We have had way too many years of politicians catering to special interests and forgetting the common man. Obama wants to energize Americans to take back the country and the government. His idea is the government is only there as help to make the changes. Americans need to get off their lazy butts and make this happen.
There should be no red and blue states during this election just a map of red, white, and blue with the stars and stripes.
Wake up and educate yourself instead of relying on the media and the internet to pollute your mind. READ HIS BOOK. If you don't like what he has to say then don't vote for him but at least find out what he thinks and what he wants to change.
Also, I want to know how you think we can send home millions of people who WE have let come here and make this their home. Americans need to put pressure to make these people legal so they can pay for the services they get here. Can you just imagine what would happen to our economy if all these people left? Americans are too damn good and too lazy to do the work these people do for the wages they are paid.
My .02. Now lets here how some of you know it alls plan to get these people back to their country.
Dean at 3:43PM on Feb 2nd 2008
30. I couldn't agree with you more. Obama is the least polarizing figure and has the best chance of carrying the huge nomination momentum with him to the fall elections - possibly drawing all the independents and moderate Republicans along the way.
That in the debates preceding the elections Obama will obliterate the speech impaired Lazarus, McCain, and offer the biggest contrast in the future direction of the country; change versus maintaining status quo.
Fearing they might loose the Democratic ticket The Clinton camp has quietly been exploring the possibility of running on an independent ticket. Sources close to Hillary suggest that she believes that she can count on her core supporters, the women baby boomers to come out for her in November and tilt the scales in her favor.
Sources pointed out that she was raised a Republican and switched parties later in life and would not mind switching again if the move would help her better serve the country she so loves.
The GOP will go after the Clintons with everything they have, from her gay relationships to her bloody past. Karl Rove does not subscribe to clean and fair campaigning, just like the Clintons he always goes for the jugular, and the Clinton's is as exposed as a snail without a shell. They are very vulnerable.
http://www.capitolpoliticking.com
upperhilltales at 3:44PM on Feb 2nd 2008