MR

i would like hillary clinton as president and john edwards as her vice president.i think we can get this country back on the right track with these two in office.things are going to be very different once we get the dictator we have now out of office.i think this is going to be another close election like the one in 2000 but this time the dems will come out on the winning end.......

I agree with you completely, Mike.
Hillary and Edwards. good choice.

Peace,
Anne

(AP) Barack Obama is walking a tricky racial line, trying to excite black support in the South without getting tagged as "the black candidate" and scaring off anybody else.

At a spaghetti dinner in the basement of a black church this week, he told a cheering crowd the civil rights movement started from the bottom up, with marches and boycotts. "That's how change comes," he said, linking black civil rights to his own campaign slogan.

But here in South Carolina, which has its Democratic primary Saturday, he also says over and over that color doesn't matter.

The same day as the church dinner, he told an audience at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, "If I came to you and I had polka dots but you were convinced that I was going to put more money in your pockets and help you pay for college and keep America safe, you'd say, 'OK, I wish he didn't have polka dots, but I'm still voting for him."'

A new McClatchy/MSNBC poll holds warning signs for Obama. He leads Hillary Rodham Clinton in South Carolina, but his support among white Democrats fell in one week from 20 percent to a mere 10 percent after race became more of an issue in the campaign.

Blacks comprise large portions of the Democratic electorate in Deep South states, and they could help Obama win a handful of primaries, including South Carolina's. Indeed, after the results are in Saturday night, he's heading to Macon, Ga., and then on to Alabama on Sunday for campaigning.

But the more Obama is seen through a racial lens, the more it might hamper him in other, bigger states, especially those where voters might be unaccustomed or unwilling to support black candidates.

Clinton's campaign isn't interested in helping him resolve that situation.

Her strategists deny any effort to stir the racial debate, but they say they believe the fallout has had the effect of marking Obama as "the black candidate," something he has worked to avoid.

Bill Clinton reminded a South Carolina audience this week, even as he linked Obama and Hillary Clinton as historic candidates.

"They are getting votes, to be sure, because of their race or gender," he said. "That's why people tell me Hillary doesn't have a chance of winning here."

Taking a softer tone, he said Friday in Spartanburg that "we have the largest percentage of Americans we've ever had who are literally aching to live in a post-racial future." People's backgrounds are important, he said, and we "celebrate them but believe that our common humanity matters more."

Obama was asked Thursday if he thought the Clintons were trying, to his detriment, to depict him as the black candidate.

"I'll let the Clintons speak to what their strategy is going to be," he said coolly.

As for his own campaign, he said his public career has been "based on the idea that we're all in it together, and that black, white, Hispanic, Asian, all of us share common dreams, common fears, and common concerns."

That approach, he said, won him votes "across the board" in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, and will elsewhere.

Still, former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, who is supporting Obama, said he believes the Illinois senator will win Saturday in part because "black turnout will be higher than people expect." It might hit 55 percent of eligible black voters, he said, strikingly impressive for a primary election.

Obama, the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, must juggle race-related matters that sometimes seem to conflict. He must convince blacks that America is ready to elect someone like him, so their votes for him will not be wasted and their hopes dashed. At the same time, he says voters can embrace him without regard to color.

The racial minefields haven't kept him from having fun with heavily black audiences in South Carolina this week.

The Harvard Law School graduate sometimes playfully breaks into vernacular, which seems to amuse him and his audiences greatly.

"I need you to grab Cousin Pookie to vote," he told a crowd in Kingstree on Thursday. "I need you to get Ray-Ray to vote."

At a similar rally in Dillon, Obama said Hillary Clinton was ducking the need to shore up Social Security. "There are some things that aren't right," he said, "and some things that just ain't right. And that ain't right!"

James Thrower, a federal employee from Sumter, was among the black voters charmed by Obama this week.

"In the beginning of this campaign, I didn't think America was ready" to elect a black president, Thrower, 50, said after one rally. "Now I do."

"This country needs some fresh blood," he said.

Both Clintons, campaigning separately, have wooed black and white supporters in South Carolina this week. An event Wednesday in Kingstree underscored the tension and suspicions animating the rivalry.

After fielding questions from an audience of about 200, Bill Clinton called on a black man standing near the stage. The man said he was a pastor and told Clinton that "black America is voting for Obama because he's black." He said Democrats are in a dangerous position because if Obama wins the nomination, voters will elect a Republican in November. "They're not ready for a black president," he said.

Several black audience members nodded and said, "That's right."

"I have to tell you I hope you're not right," Clinton responded.

He said that despite the "mean things" said about him "in the Obama camp this week," he would support the Illinois senator if he is nominated.

FLORISSANT, Mo. — Momentum moving her way, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton must change focus to the tough battle in South Carolina where rival Barack Obama hopes to rejuvenate his candidacy.

Black voters in the state are shifting to Obama, polls have found, despite a longtime loyalty to both Hillary and Bill Clinton, once nicknamed the first black president.

In capturing Nevada's caucuses, she beat Obama among women and showed significant strength among Hispanics, an important and growing segment. Obama won decisively among blacks, who could account for more than 50 percent of the voters in South Carolina's primary this coming Saturday.

Heading into South Carolina, Clinton wants to be in position to gain a major advantage in the more than 20 state contests set for Feb. 5. After Nevada, she touched down in Missouri, one of the most competitive states.

"Now we're back here in the Midwest, where I'm from. I'm so happy to see all of you," Clinton, a Chicago native, said to cheers at a campaign rally in this St. Louis suburb.

Clinton's immediate goal, however, is to hold her own in South Carolina.

Obama is now under greater pressure to win there. The Nevada results spelled trouble for Obama, whose stunning victory in the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3 has begun to fade amid evidence of his vulnerability among important demographic groups, especially white, working-class Democrats and women.

He tried to remedy that problem in Nevada, holding economic roundtables with women voters and bringing in his popular wife, Michelle, to campaign with him. But women outnumbered men among caucus-goers, and a sizable majority went with Clinton.

With her Nevada triumph, campaign officials say she will campaign hard in South Carolina and hope for a strong enough showing to pick up sizable number of delegates.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler, a South Carolinian who recently endorsed Clinton, said he was optimistic.

"I think she's doing very well," Fowler said. "I'm confident with the kind of campaign we're running, next week we're going to win."

Clinton planned to attend a prayer service in South Carolina Monday honoring Martin Luther King's birthday before attending an NAACP rally at the state Capitol and a nationally televised debate in Myrtle Beach. Edwards and Obama also were scheduled to participate in the King Day rally.

Ferrell Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics at the University of North Carolina, said the former first lady needs to compete hard in South Carolina in part to address lingering questions of electability.

"Part of her political challenge is to overcome, if she can, the sense that she is a polarizing figure in the country, particularly in the South," Guillory said.

Obama faces a different challenge.

While he is running to be the first black president, he rarely talks about race while pledging to unite people across the ideological and demographic spectrum. He needs to win South Carolina to restore co-front-runner status without narrowcasting his appeal only to black voters.

If Obama does win South Carolina, both campaigns say they envision a grueling war of attrition for delegates that could potentially extend into early March.

Here's my amended Dream Team '08 ticket -- very presidential!



We'll keep Rambo on as either Secretary of Defense, or Chief of Foreign Affairs (he does like the Oriental girls, as seen in "Rambo II"). Heck, make him our new U.N. Ambassador...

It will not be a for a guy tht refuses to salute the flag. Great, so lets vote in a guy that won't put his hand on his heart and has a middle name of Hussein !

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp

watch the video at bottom of page, his hands aredown the whole time

Rip where do you come up with these pics...lmfao

Perrydise wrote:Rip where do you come up with these pics...lmfao

ALL from the deepest, most complex inner regions of my noodle, and then if I'm lucky, I can find something online that represents them fairly accurately. That's what I've been sayin'... God help all of you if anyone ever teaches me how to use Photoshop.

Hillary Clinton and John Edwards would be my ideal choice, but I don't think Edwards would do it. I don't think he'd want to even under the best of circumstances, but with Elizabeth's health being what it is I don't think he'd take that time away from her and theirs kids for the vice presidency.

My second VP choice would be Joe Biden.

ohsherrie wrote:Hillary Clinton and John Edwards would be my ideal choice, but I don't think Edwards would do it. I don't think he'd want to even under the best of circumstances, but with Elizabeth's health being what it is I don't think he'd take that time away from her and theirs kids for the vice presidency.

My second VP choice would be Joe Biden.

I totally agree.

I'd like to see Romney and Giuliani. Romney as president. I'm not thrilled with any of the Republican candidates, but those 2 would be the strongest on the economy and national security, IMO.

Huckabee gives me the creeps and Ron Paul is a bit of a weirdo.

HUCKABEE or ROMNEY for Prez

VP choices:
LEIBERMANN
MCCAIN
J.C. WATTS
MICHAEL STEELE
MEL MARTINEZ
GUILIANI
DUNCAN HUNTER
DAVID DREIER

I could change my mind after seeing how they handle themselves debating the other party, but:

Pres- Obama
VP- anyone but Hilary or Edwards

or

Pres-Juliani
VP-Huckabee

or

Pres-McCain
VP-Huckabee

This presidential election is less about idealogical bent and more about restoring confidence in the office. I voted for Bush in '04 and he's let me down, for a lot of reasons I don't need to rehash here.

Obama is very appealing. I probably disagree with him stridently on many issues... But I liken that to Democrats who voted for Reagan in the 80s. They were (wisely) looking at the bigger picture at the time (the return of sorley needed optimism coupled with the exact right attitude on how to handle the USSR at the time). Could you imagine Bush, or Kerry or Edwards or Hilary, etc etc meeting and charming Gorbachez, while still projecting tough conviction?)

Hilary will absolutely not win. She's #1, too unlikable, and #2 just "Bush in a pants-suit" anyway. Meaning you're going to end up with another incredibly polarizing figure for 4-8 years. And THAT, above all else, we do not need.

Who do I WANT for president / VP

How about Reagan - president and Eisenhower VP with Teddy Roosevelt as Secretary of State.

Sadly that cant happen , so I ll settle for McCain- president ,

for VP - On my short list -if I were McCain would be Ileana Ros Lethinen of Florida, Bobby Jihndal of Louisana, Gov Mitch Daniels of Indiana, Tommy THompson (wisc) TIm Pawlenty , Minn , George Pataki NY, Fred Thompson, Mel Martinez of Florida, and Tom Ridge of Pennsyvania, Rick Perry of Texas.

when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

Hillary in a landslide if it's between them two. Half the republicans will sit out. I think I'd puke if I voted for McCain.

RedWingFan wrote:

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

Hillary in a landslide if it's between them two. Half the republicans will sit out. I think I'd puke if I voted for McCain.

We do agree on politics.

Rick wrote:

RedWingFan wrote:

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

Hillary in a landslide if it's between them two. Half the republicans will sit out. I think I'd puke if I voted for McCain.

We do agree on politics.

I'm not saying I'd be happy about it. But I'm a realist. You'd get the same result with Huckibee who used to fry squirrels in a popcorn maker. True story!

RedWingFan wrote:

Rick wrote:

RedWingFan wrote:

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

Hillary in a landslide if it's between them two. Half the republicans will sit out. I think I'd puke if I voted for McCain.

We do agree on politics.

I'm not saying I'd be happy about it. But I'm a realist. You'd get the same result with Huckibee who used to fry squirrels in a popcorn maker. True story!

President Mitt Romney and Vice President Fred Thompson.

weatherman90 wrote:President Mitt Romney and Vice President Fred Thompson.

Is that your dream team?

Moose wrote:

That one has been Photoshopped -- I've seen the original, and the thumb was up his a**!

Rip Rokken wrote:

Moose wrote:

That one has been Photoshopped -- I've seen the original, and the thumb was up his a**!

Easy there pilgrim. I took a plane ride with Mr. Gore from Dallas down to New Orleans. It was a plane ride on an American Airlines plane that he chartered to help evacuate Katrina victims. We carried many tons of relief supplies down that he worked side by side with all of us to unload and carry into the terminal building. He worked and acted just like the rest of us. While I don't always agree with his politics, he sure won my favor that day. He was a very hard working, friendly, genuine dude. He chartered many more, but I was lucky enough to go on that one.

Rip Rokken wrote:

Moose wrote:

That one has been Photoshopped -- I've seen the original, and the thumb was up his a**!

Rip, Mr. Gore has more integrity than all of these candidates put together. Whether he would make a good president or not is another question. (Jimmy Carter - good man, terrible president)

Moose wrote:Rip, Mr. Gore has more integrity than all of these candidates put together. Whether he would make a good president or not is another question. (Jimmy Carter - good man, terrible president)

Gore is just as bad if not worse than most of the rest of them.

Rick wrote:Easy there pilgrim. I took a plane ride with Mr. Gore from Dallas down to New Orleans. It was a plane ride on an American Airlines plane that he chartered to help evacuate Katrina victims. We carried many tons of relief supplies down that he worked side by side with all of us to unload and carry into the terminal building. He worked and acted just like the rest of us. While I don't always agree with his politics, he sure won my favor that day. He was a very hard working, friendly, genuine dude. He chartered many more, but I was lucky enough to go on that one.

I'm almost always skeptical when politicians do things like this. Gore has always seemed like a publicity hound to me.

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

hillary wins.

mikemarrs wrote:

Rick wrote:

mikemarrs wrote:when the dust settles i wonder who will be the final democrat facing the final republican when november hits. i say hillary clinton vs. john mccain

Who wins?

hillary wins.

Should be an interesting election.

Save your post, it may very well be right.

conversationpc wrote:

Moose wrote:Rip, Mr. Gore has more integrity than all of these candidates put together. Whether he would make a good president or not is another question. (Jimmy Carter - good man, terrible president)

Gore is just as bad if not worse than most of the rest of them.

Rick wrote:Easy there pilgrim. I took a plane ride with Mr. Gore from Dallas down to New Orleans. It was a plane ride on an American Airlines plane that he chartered to help evacuate Katrina victims. We carried many tons of relief supplies down that he worked side by side with all of us to unload and carry into the terminal building. He worked and acted just like the rest of us. While I don't always agree with his politics, he sure won my favor that day. He was a very hard working, friendly, genuine dude. He chartered many more, but I was lucky enough to go on that one.

I'm almost always skeptical when politicians do things like this. Gore has always seemed like a publicity hound to me.

Hey, Rick -- no disrespect... that's super cool that you had a great experience with him, but there are way too many other stories about Gore to the contrary for me to accept that as the "real" Al Gore (he's the king of "reinventing" himself when it serves him politically). I'll lay off of him, but I pretty much agree with CPC...