Who here really believes that McCain will be serious competition

[chemenger]

for Obama (or even HRC, for that matter) this November. The man is a senile, flip-flopping, pandering, mean-spirited old geezer. Hell, I believe that even Ralph Nader would have no problem soundly trouncing McCain if Nader were running against McCain this fall.

[TexasObserver]

1. Given the history of Republicans cheating and stealing states ...

Every national election must be considered a potential loss. They cheat, everywhere, all the time. They systematically suppress the vote. We have to beat them by five points to make sure we win.

[nradisic]

3. I don't think so....

Obama and the Dems will be so far ahead that the pukes won't be able to fudge it this time. If it is close, you may be able to steal it, but with a huge disparity in votes.....Nah.

[TexasObserver]

19. Believe. You don't believe so.

Think? That's a different word.

[cali]

6. golly, they did such a great job of

stealing the three Congressional special elections in heavily repuke districts this year, that were of vital importance to them. I believe that the GOP has a limited ability, at this point, to steal elections. This isn't the old GOP.

[msallied]

59. Exactly! This paranoia is ridiculous.

[chemenger]

10. I have to admit ... I did forget about their propensity for cheating.

nt.

[featherman]

39. How does the GOP steal OH, PA, MI this year with Dems in control of state gov?

[MarjorieG]

66. We can start a recount, unlike prohibitive law and admin in 2004, but ...

law still inadequate to determine to an outcome altering degree before the results are announced. Lots of little and big ways to steal, purge names, program the ballot badly, and more.

[PoliticalAmazon]

48. ITA. Good point, and one we need to remember and plan for....

There needs to be an organized national movement to have people with cameras outside of polling places to film any shenanigans. The video footage should be sent immediately to the local TV stations, and then to the national media outlets. This has to be front and center when it starts, immediately.

[nradisic]

2. It's Obama in a landslide....

It won't even be close. Obama's going to have coattails like we haven't seen. The Dems will pick up 5 or 6 senate seats and another 25 seats in the House. The Republicans will be relegated to being a regional-Southern party for the foreseeable future.

[Iceburg]

25. Much like the oft predicted Kerry landslide ...r--i--g--h--t !

[msallied]

61. Who in the hell predicted that??

The two were always neck and neck in the polls and after he fudged the handling of the Swiftboaters, he was never able to gain considerable momentum.

[MarjorieG]

69. He did fight back, but public-bottom line-were afraid of change. Fraud took care of rest.

[msallied]

71. Fraud would have been impossible if he'd been a more widely-appealing candidate.

People will turn out for someone who inspires them and no amount of fudging will stop a landslide.

[MarjorieG]

74. Media has a large hand in making a candidate unappealing.

Let's hope we still love Obama, and don't blame him for what the media deconstruction becomes.

[JuniperLea]

53. In a perfect world

I don't think the GOP will roll over and play dead so easily.

[ccharles000]

4. ...

We should not underestimate the repubs.

[JuniperLea]

55. The minute we do, we are sunk eom

[msallied]

63. It's time for us to get more confident and stand by our nominee without fail.

This hand-wringing BS has got to stop if we ever hope to prevail.

[NewJeffCT]

5. and how many said similar about George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and Reagan in 1980?

Bush was stupid, incurious, uninformed, intellectual lightweight, mean-spirited, phony, etc, etc.

and, he was close enough both times to steal the elections.

Reagan was a lightweight who practiced radical, non-mainstream politics, a phony actor, a lightweight, etc, etc.

[cali]

12. Not I. I remember when I knew bush was going to be president

it was during that infamous debate with Gore. I was only surprised that Gore won the election. And in 2004, I damned well knew that Kerry didn't stand a chance against a sitting prez in war time. I haven't been confident that dems would win the WH since 1996. I am now. Why? This isn't 2000 or 2004. The GOP is a burned out hulk. Obama is a very talented pol. He ran a superb primary campaign. Age is a big issue for Americans. Polls show it concerns the electorate more than race. McLame is a weak candidate who has serious probs with his base. Polls show that bush is more of a problem by far for McLame than Wright is for Obama. McLame has money problems. He also has a famed temper problem. He's actually a worse debater than bush, etc, etc, etc.

[papapi]

57. I remember the first time I knew Barack Obama would be POTUS...

It was in 2006 during Oprah's first interview with him. I told a friend who was watching with me that this man would be our next President. It had nothing much to do with the big O. And a lot to do with the inspirational feeling I got listening to him speak. Obama is an energetic and talented man who has conducted a blockbuster campaign and his competition in the GE flounders at every turn. A teleprompter does not a President make and McClueless is up against the best out of an impressive field of Democratic candidates.

Obama '08!

[msallied]

65. I felt it when I saw him speak at the convention in 04. That same palpable energy.

The man is a marvel, truly. He's going to take this nation by storm, and I wish we could all get on the ride and believe it!

[rpannier]

7. I thought that in 2000 and 1988

Many people did.

[MethuenProgressive]

8. Don't confuse the candidate with Party.

The GOP is our opposition, not McCain. And the GOP machine has had success in owning the Whitehouse in recent decades: Nixon, Nixon/Ford, Reagan, Reagan, Bush1, Bush2, Bush2 v Carter, Clinton, Clinton.

[cali]

14. The GOP of 2008 is weaker than at any time since 1976.

Don't confuse the GOP of today with the GOP of the recent past.

[MethuenProgressive]

17. Well, four years of another Jimmy Carter will fix that, won't it.

:eyes:

[cali]

27. LOL! When desperate, make silly desperate and

nonsensical comparisons between Obama and:

a) Jimmy Carter

b) His esrtwhile vp, Walter Mondale

c) McGovern

d) any other "failed" dem you can come up with.

Lame-o.

[MethuenProgressive]

42. You *did* bring up 1976, didn't you?

I voted for Carter twice. I've pounded nails with him. Good man, not "failed" as you suggest.

[msallied]

68. We could have that same success too. If we unite and stop wringing our hands.

Christ, but I feel so much of the ire against our candidate here is a bunch big talk against Obama here is masking a spineless lack of confidence that we can actually defeat the GOP assholes.

[NightWatcher]

9. I think that we should use Bob Barr to split the repuggy vote

I think if popular enough, he could strip McWarPig of 10% nationally especially if the "reich" still talks of McCrazy as "not repuggy enough" for the conservatives.

I think Obama could get 52-55%, leaving McCrazy and Barr to fight over 45-47%.

[NewJeffCT]

34. I know, everybody donate a $1 to Barr

with 100K users on DU, that's $100,000.

[Perry Logan]

11. Yo.

Now that the Obamites have split the party, it'll be easy.

[H2O Man]

13. While he can't,

the republican machine should never be taken for granted. We need to take this seriously, be well prepared, and win a landslide victory.

[NotThisTime]

15. He shouldn't be, but will be do to some voters who do not vote their economic issues

[hokies4ever]

16. McCain doesn't realize how much Bush is hated

and that will be one of the biggest reasons why he loses in November.

[papapi]

70. McCain doesn't realize much of anything if he thinks.....

.....this country is going to continue to support a war that has been incontrovertibly proven to be based in lies and innuendo. The best place for McCain right now is to support removing our troops from Iraq as quickly as possible and let the negotiations begin. Will he do this? Not. He'll continue to pick at it like a scab, i.e. four years or a hundred years, and his wavering will fester and burst on him in NOVEMBER.

[zbdent]

18. with the "liberal media" so biased toward the Democrats?

McCain could win in a landslide ...

:eyes:

[Cosmocat]

21. YEP !!!

I agree with all the above points about how the trends appear to be breaking greatly in favor of the Ds and Obama, and against the Rs and McCain ...

But, the MSM IS going to make this a horse race, they WILL prop up McCain, who they actually like more than the Idiot in Chief, just as they did the Idiot in Chief, they will be "balanced" in carrying water in parroting whatever nonsense the Rs throw at BO ...

And, DO NOT rule out an event ...

IF there is a domestic terror strike by Islamic radicals or if they start up on Iran, the Ds being soft on defense meme will be the predominant theme ...

I like BOs' chances, and McCain is a shell of a man ... I think BO is incredible ...

But, the ruthlessness of the Rs, and the corporate media are like having the refs working against you in a football or basketball game ...

[Tesha]

20. McCain, in isolation, would be no challenge at all. But McCain isn't running in isolation.

He's running in the context of the Great Right-Wing Noise
Machine and the corporate media, and they're both still
*VERY MUCH* alive. And even if the corporate media has
decided that, for the sake of their continued existance
and profitability, the Democrat should win this one,
they'll still want a highly-competitive race because
that's what sells the daily fish-wrap.

And a competitive race is close enough to steal. :(

Tesha

[Marrah_G]

22. I do- it would be a mistake to think this election will be easy.

[OneAmerica]

23. I can't help but feel a little nervous.

Anything can happen.

[bowens43]

24. I believe it.

McCain is a stronger candidate then Bush was, bush won twice. Don't make the mistake of underestimating his appeal or the stupidity of the American people.

[donheld]

26. WE'D BETTER STILL BE PREPARED TO FIGHT LIKE HELL

Sorry for yelling but we cannot afford to be over confident!

[racaulk]

46. I agree.

Although McCain appears that he won't be much competition (to me, at least), we can't afford to be complacent by making the assumption that we will win this one in a cakewalk. There's too much riding on this election for us to not take McCain seriously.

[Barack_America]

50. Agreed. The right choice of VP could make it a strong ticket.

This is still going to be a tremendous fight, particularly if Bush decides to start another war (with Iran) this summer.

[iamahaingttta]

28. In 2000...

I assumed that Gore would win handily.
It was stolen from him.
In 2004, I assumed that, barring theft, Kerry would win handily.
It was stolen from him.

I'm not falling for that shit again!

We have to assume that the Repugs are going to try to steal it for McCain, even if he is "a senile, flip-flopping, pandering, mean-spirited old geezer." We have to win by such a large margin, that there can be no doubt. You don't do that by asking "who here really believes that McCain will be serious competition," and assuming that "even Ralph Nader would have no problem soundly trouncing McCain." You win by being vigilant and acting like it is the most important election of your generation. Which it is!

[democrat_patriot]

29. McCain? No. RNC-Rightwing smear machine-527's? Yes.

Bush won twice with nothing more than "Uniter not divider", swiftboating & 9/11 (which happened on his 'watch').

Be prepared for anything.

Small gaffe on Dems side - huge story 24/7. Huge gaffe on Rep's side - complete silence.

[Jamastiene]

30. He'll have the support of the GOP. They are never at a loss for

underhanded tactics or money. I'd say he'll be enough competition that our side will start to get antsy and worried about the outcome of the GE. Even some of the overly confident ones will start to worry as the nasty, inhuman, disgusting Republican machine rolls out of the garage.

[nancyr]

31. They're capable of anything.

They won't give up power without a nasty battle. McCain might be a nut, but it doesn't matter in the scheme of things. He's merely the puppet.

[Bentcorner]

32. Not everyone judges people by their age like you do. Senile? I don't remember him every saying

that there were 57 states. If McCain is so bad, why did John Kerry want him to be his running mate four years ago?

[wellstone dem]

33. we need to campaign seriously.

[stray cat]

35. He is. The dems may also be fully capable of destroying each other and losing independently

[atufal1c]

36. Serious competition

The Republican candidates and their surrogates and their consultants and supporters are simply willing to flat-out lie to win.

When was the last time you saw an email attacking a Republican presidential candidate that was just a long list of easily proven flat-out lies that you KNEW there was no way that the people that wrote it, believed it?

I've never seen one.

Democrats rub their hands together when they think they've got the secret TRUTH about someone. Republicans cackle with glee when they have compiled a long-enough list of hot-button lies.

I'm no radical, but I really believe that.

Many of these arguments, flowing from the same source or even on the same list, will be directly contradictory: the candidate is both a fervent Muslim and extremist black radical Christian; both so stupid that he doesn't know that there are 50 states and so Ivory tower and intellectual that he can't relate to everyday people; both that he is a Muslim Manchurian Candidate and that he is a Muslim that has rejected Islam so the Muslims will *never* negotiate any peace with him.

The plan is to simply drown out the truth.

And we Democrats are almost ALWAYS against such tactics. We want to convince people with the truth. They want to trick people with lies.

And damning lies are easy to come by.

So don't tell me that it will be easy.

But by Golly, I believe it WILL be done!

[Arkansas Granny]

37. I think it could be a very close election and McCain has very little to do with it.

The Democratic nominiee will need to win my a large enough margin that the GOP can't steal the election. The Republicans are going to fight very hard to retain the White House and they will use any resources they have, and they have many. As an individual, McCain may not seem very imposing, but we will be running against the Republican party, not the individual.

[Zachstar]

38. It depends.

Now I have no doubt Obama will win. But McCain is no Bush. He is an idiot but has shown the ability to adapt. We will need to work long and HARD for victory in November.

[avenger64]

40. Against Obama, he'll have a shot.

Well, there's http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/roves-latest-el.html">geography to consider. Clinton would be more competitive in Florida and Ohio, which the dems can kiss goodbye if Obama is the nominee. On the other hand, he's doing very well in the midwest, might tip Colorado to blue, and will probably swing Virginia over. But if he loses Pennsylvania, OH, and FL, I think it's President McCain to you.

Dick Morris on strategy. McCain's main liability is his devotion to the mission in Iraq - which seems like a political killer. What Morris suggests is that he pose specific questions to Obama, who would have to clarify his position on the depth and pace of a withdrawal. That would put Obama in a tough spot, and might blur the actual differences between the candidates. Also, Morris says count on a big white Republican turnout. A lot of people on the right are convinced the country is going to turn into Zimbabwe if Obama gets the nomination. And of course, McCain is going to have to move to the center on domestic issues - but he has a history of doing that anyway (except on abortion). He has a track record of working with Democrats. He's actually stepped over the center on Climate Change.

There could also be a bombshell. Obama's wife can be off-the-chain - she's got a big mouth, and has said some things in the past that are now going to be held against her in the court of public opinion. She needs to shut her pie-hole about anything political. And there's Obama's ties to this Rezko.

I think Obama has the edge, though, because of the GOP malfeasance. I'd put his chances at 60 percent, if I was betting on this one.

[MethuenProgressive]

41. "senile... old geezer"

We can win without attacking the man because he's old. Please stop, we need voters to hold senior issues dear, we shouldn't throw them under the bus too.

[kentuck]

43. Unless he falls off the podium like Bob Dole did...

Poor old Bob Dole...

[wileedog]

44. I honestly can't remember a Candidate in my lifetime who

basically threw away almost each and every one of the positions he has supported throughout his entire career just to realign himself with the current President.

And a current Pres with a 28% approval rating at that.

Either they manage to really tag Obama with this Muslim/flag pin/hate America/talk to Iran thing and we as a country are complete morons, or this could be an absolute walloping in my opinion.

It really depends on how much of a pass the media, who loves McCain, gives him on this stuff as they have to this point. Just that you-tube vid floating around would be enough to skewer most candidates in this country.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

45. He won't be, with that glaring (R) plastered to his sorry ass.

Unless Obama strangles a puppy on national TV.

[QC]

47. "Old geezers" have the highest voter participation of any demographic.

Do you really think it's a good idea to run against McCain by talking about how old he is?

[IndependentDem]

51. good point. n/t

[RoadRage]

49. Who here seriously thought George W. would be serious competition

in either 2000 or 2004? Probably not many - because we don't look through the same lens that many other voters do.

The truth is - any candidate is just one smear campaign or rumor away from being written off. Americans are hard headed.. but not necessarily smart.

I think McCain poses a huge threat.. not because I think he's a good option or would make a great president - but because there are many people in this country who will vote for him for dumb reasons:

A) I am pissed at Obama for "stealing" Hillary's spot - so i'll vote for McCain
B) I always vote republican, so that's why i'll vote for McCain
C) I would never vote for a "black" guy
D) I would never vote for a Muslim or ever try to really get to know a candidates true background..

ETC. There are a zillion reasons why someone votes for or against anyone - and the reasons are not always logical.

[JuniperLea]

52. The whole thing is a farce

Of course he isn't a viable candidate... the issue is, the GOP will try every dirty trick in the book to get him in the White House in order to continue their pillaging.

If McCain is "elected" it's a sign they succeeded.

[Maine-ah]

54. I don't think McCain himself is serious competion

it's the republican machine that's gonna do the work for him.

[2rth2pwr]

56. McCain would beat Obama, Hillary is the answer for a victory this Nov.

[papapi]

58. Dream on Alice, wonderland is just around the corner.

[Texas Hill Country]

60. for Obama... its a toss up at this point.

[MarjorieG]

62. To dismiss is at our own peril. Think voter ability to believe what they want to, and election fraud

[sniffa]

64. Depends

How much of the anti-sexist vote goes to McCun-er-Cain?

[gcomeau]

67. McCain will be "significant" competition...

... probably stronger than any other candidate the Republican could have fielded this year. But Obama is going to stomp him.

[msallied]

72. I think if people would find their spines and rally behind our candidate

we'll kick their asses.

But if we keep in-fighting and doubting the person we've selected and quivering in fear of the GOP, then we'll be lost and it'll be our own damn fault. The Democrat snatching defeat from the jaws of victory meme didn't just pop out of thin air.

[Orsino]

73. Given that the MSM will be voting McCain...

...an Obama presidency is not quite a given. McCain will be a very hard sell, though.

[Freddie Stubbs]

75. Only twice in the past 50 years has a Democrat won a majority in the popular vote

Republicans winning the White House and Democrats winning Congress has been the norm for the past 50 years.