November 27, 2006

Should Obama run?

The DesMoines Register reports:
Democrat Barack Obama has sought the advice of top campaign workers in Iowa and has established a seedling support network in this state as he prepares to decide whether to seek the 2008 presidential nomination.
The new Inside Dope poll asks a two part question, will Sen. Obama run, and should he run for president in 2008. Go look over the choices and cast your vote.

If you really want Barack to run, check out this draft Obama site.

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The respondents to the previous Inside Dope poll on John Kerry and his presidential ambitions left no doubt that they felt Kerry should go do something else and not continue a doomed presidential campaign effort.

The poll asked, "What do you think of John Kerry"

Answers and results as follows:
Total votes: 32

-John who? : 2 votes 6%
-In a primary, I'd consider voting for him over other Democrats : 3 9%
-Someone get the hook! Kerry is damaged goods and is delusional for running. : 18 56%
-He's still a viable presidential candidate. : 6 19%
-I think he's horrible, always have, always will. Wish he'd just go away for good. 3 9%

Breaking it down in general, 23 or 72% voted in the negative, 9 or about 3% in the positive.

14 Comments:

At 11/28/2006 8:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

These informal blog polls usually turn out the opposite from what the truth is. I think that John is the favorite to win the Presidency again.

 
At 11/28/2006 2:29 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

Yep, sounds about right for you. Your job is to bitch and object to every single thing on this blog. At least you have a hobby I guess.

But I think my readers are pretty smart and reflect the larger national mood fairly well.

MSNBC reported this morning that Quinnipiac did a poll asking respondents to rate various candidates using a temperature scale to indicate how "warm" or "cold" they felt towards them.

Amazingly, Giuliani came in highest, with Obama second.

The guy you think is going to win the presidency came in dead last out of 13 candidates listed.

America doesn't like John Kerry. Deal with it.

 
At 11/28/2006 3:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

They used to like Bush also. You can see how fickle the public is.

 
At 11/28/2006 6:04 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

Not to sully a thread about Obama by talking about Bush, but it's demonstrably clear that at least half the country DID NOT like Bush.

In 2000, a half million fewer people voted for him than Gore.

I've never liked him and never fell for all his BS. Sadly, this utter disaster he's leaving our country with is no surprise as many have seen it coming for years and have tried to warn people, only to be called "ultra-left" or traitors, un-American, and all the other idiotic labels.

Wonder where all these Bush war cheerleaders are now?

 
At 11/29/2006 9:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Obama talk just seems so terribly premature to me.

 
At 11/29/2006 2:09 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

Calypso, I can see why you'd feel that way, and I'm sure many share that feeling.

Part of the reason Obama was thrust up so early was his book release and subsequent book tour, which the media and public went gaa-gaa over. He was on TV and in print so much even he began to joke about it, even saying how his wife was saying she was sick of seeing him everywhere all the time.

And it IS very early in some respects, but the way campaigns are evolving, it's almost never too early to start the effort, and for the media, the speculation.

Much like the commercial orgy of Christmas has moved earlier and nearly taken over Thanksgiving and might someday start before Haloween, the process of fund-raising and setting up the huge organization required for a run is starting earlier and earlier.

There's a finite pool of poliical hacks and consultants for hire, and if a candidate can get them to commit early they lock them up. And it's never too early to start raising all the obscene amounts of cash that has become nearly the end-all and be-all of campaign strength. Not only that, but it's the barometer by which politican hacks judge the viability of a campaign.

Forget the merits of a candidate, did they rake in the cash? If not, it's like rats leaving a sinking ship.

Obama can avoid a lot of the problems which face mere mortal candidates due to his star power though, and he has no problem attracting huge amounts of campaign cash.

For me, Obama is a white-knuckle candidate. He's never made any serious mis-steps yet, has made a concious effort to both develop and put out serious foreign policy positions and ideas on a wide variety of issues which are sound and attractive.

Perhaps most importantly, he projects hope, which I believe the American public would flock to like moths to a flame after the selfish, shallow, divisive creeps we've suffered under for so long.

But is the often repeated threat by the right correct? That they'll eat him alive on his inexperience? Would it take? How big a role would the very real racism in the Republican south and elsewhere play? How will other establishment Dem types treat him in a primary?

And his lack of long-term experience in office. How will that play?

On the one hand, it's a simple matter to bang on him for this, especially in such dicey times with a massive conflagration looming in the mid-east and around the world.

But in a more calculating angle, his lack of a voting record would give opponents less material to hang him with.

It's all a real nail-biter, as he's such an attractive candidate for many reasons, but there are nearly equal factors to argue against a run, at least in '08.

I really can't come down on one side or the other.

Anyone else have firmer opinions one way or the other? Why?

 
At 12/03/2006 9:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It would be great with Denny Jacobs being such good friends with Obama it would truely help this area. I heard Obama give a great intro to Mike Jacobs where he stated that his friend would do great things for us. This would be a great coup for the QC and Illinois as a whole.

 
At 12/03/2006 10:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHAT exactly would be a great coup?

Obama gave an obligatory intro to Jacobs and now all of a suddent they're tight pals? Obama said the same thing about 392 candidates this last time campaign. I guess he has a lot of close friends.

 
At 12/03/2006 9:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jacobs was mentioned by Obama in both of his books. Are you mentioned Anon 3/12/06 10:55?
If you don't see how having a president that has ties to the area is important and beneficial to the area then you are either a sour grape Republican or a Democrat that doesn't know how the system works. Get a clue and tell me what page you are mentioned in Obama's book.

 
At 12/03/2006 10:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tell me what page Jacobs is mentioned. What is the quote?

Otherwise, you're leaving us in the dark.

I bet George Bush is mentioned in Obama's book too. So what?

 
At 12/04/2006 5:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are so stipiud!

 
At 12/04/2006 5:42 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

Yes I are. And you are so intellejunt.

 
At 12/05/2006 8:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This expereinemt reflects nothing but self-selcted attitudes. Anyone with half a brain can see that the results are skewed towards the left! Why don't you go wind sailing Dope?

 
At 12/05/2006 9:57 PM, Blogger The Inside Dope said...

You know, I really hate to use strong words, but you're an absolute idiot.

The poll is what it is, and no one has suggested that it's a scientific poll. The fact that you feel the need to point this out is well, idiotic.

It's not skewed to the left either. It's open to anyone who happens to visit the site and vote. Not too complicated, and you can't try to catagorize how those vistors stand on the political spectrum.

 

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