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onehandle

(51,122 posts)
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 09:10 AM Jul 2014

If Bill Richardson had won the Democratic nomination in 2008, would he have beaten John McCain?


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Yes
5 (100%)
No
0 (0%)
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If Bill Richardson had won the Democratic nomination in 2008, would he have beaten John McCain? (Original Post) onehandle Jul 2014 OP
Yes I think he would won. hrmjustin Jul 2014 #1
He certainly could have turned out the Latino vote. muntrv Jul 2014 #2
He was my first choice back then. Xyzse Jul 2014 #3
Likewise zipplewrath Jul 2014 #6
It is possible. Xyzse Jul 2014 #9
Me too. I generally think that ex-governors make better presidents. bklyncowgirl Jul 2014 #8
I was not impressed with his oratory skills or charisma in regards to Obama. Xyzse Jul 2014 #11
Quite probably. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Jul 2014 #4
Historically, YarnAddict Jul 2014 #5
In 2008 a turnip would have won if it had a "D" after its name. Beacool Jul 2014 #7
Probably MohRokTah Jul 2014 #10

zipplewrath

(16,688 posts)
6. Likewise
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:46 AM
Jul 2014

Although the bogus "pay for play" scandal may have followed him in much like Whitewater.

But I strongly suspect we would have been better off. He would have likely arranged for more help of state level governments in the bailout than Obama did. Obama gave much of that away trying to compromise with the GOP and public sector employment crashed.

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)
9. It is possible.
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:50 AM
Jul 2014

I did feel that Obama compromised and gave waaaay too much away at the beginning, where it allowed the GOP to regain their footing and ask for unreasonable demands.

As their demands have been met, they quickly learned that they could ask for more, and if nothing goes through, people would just blame the President. That should have been nipped in the bud.

Still, it was a hard time, and Obama has accomplished more than I thought he would. So, I can not completely complain either since I had such low expectations as is.

bklyncowgirl

(7,960 posts)
8. Me too. I generally think that ex-governors make better presidents.
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:48 AM
Jul 2014

All right--there was Reagan--then Shrub--maybe I'd better amend that to DEMOCRATIC governors.

At any rate, I think some of the problems Obama's been having are due to the fact that while he's a great orator and an inspirational figure, he's never actually had to run anything. It's a whole different skill set. Successful governors, the ones who would be re-elected in a landslide if they weren't term limited out, know how to get stuff done.

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)
11. I was not impressed with his oratory skills or charisma in regards to Obama.
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:58 AM
Jul 2014

That has never been what I look for.

It is why he was my last choice, even less so that Hillary. I equated them as similar in regards to positions and everything else. In regards to foreign wars, Obama did mention being for interventionist approaches, but in all honesty, I basically considered all foreign affairs as a positive for any Democrat as they do not have to deal with the Bush/Republican stigma throughout the world. I generally considered that every single one of them will do something comparable to each other as everything is dependent on the situation on the ground... at that time. The reason being, at that time, Iraq was still at the forefront of the public's mind, and anything that happens will mostly be due to public opinion and how things are.

So, at the moment, I do try to not really look at 2016 yet, as I think this year's election is very important and what we really should concentrate on. ((Problem being, is that many are actually in safe Blue areas, so it limits what we can do. I for one help out in VA which is still purple, even if I live in MD, I don't see a rule against canvassing or manning the phones for them))

However, stating that, my current pick for 2016 is my governor Martin O'Malley.

I agree with your assessment in regards to governors.

Erich Bloodaxe BSN

(14,733 posts)
4. Quite probably.
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 09:34 AM
Jul 2014

But I don't know from 'yes' or 'no'. If he truly did turn out the Hispanic vote, he not only could have gotten us the WH, but also a lot more seats in Congress.

 

YarnAddict

(1,850 posts)
5. Historically,
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 10:09 AM
Jul 2014

the opposite party has usually taken the WH following a 2-term president, so I think any Dem would have won in 2008. And given that the Dem would have been running against the Bush legacy, it would have been a cakewalk.

Beacool

(30,310 posts)
7. In 2008 a turnip would have won if it had a "D" after its name.
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:48 AM
Jul 2014

The country was ready for a change of party after the economic collapse and Bush's two wars.

Let's just hope they are not in the same mood in 2016.......

 

MohRokTah

(15,429 posts)
10. Probably
Wed Jul 9, 2014, 11:54 AM
Jul 2014

He may not have won Indiana or North Carolina without a team as strong ans Obama's and a few other stars would have been iffy, but he probably could have pulled it off in a squeaker.

People starting these threads forget the biggest reason Obama won so handily in 2008 was due to the extraordinary campaign team he had. Defeating Hillary Clinton in the primaries by a hair's breadth was no small feat.

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