Hillary v McCain or Obama v McCain?

[EarlsJims]

Which general election race would you rather see?

Which one would be better for America? Which one would be better for late-night comics and SNL?

(If only Donald Trump would do a "Presidential Apprentice" this fall.)

:eek:

[EarlsJims]

What if we throw Ron Paul, Mike Gravel, and Ralph Nader into the mix?

[afronaut]

I think the Republicans will have a field day if they run against Hillary. I almost want her to be president, because America electing another Clinton would be a huge slap in the face to the republicans. Key word almost, I'm still backing blackie.

I hope that Obama vs McCain will make for a cleaner election, void of much mudslinging. I highly doubt it though. I still think that a Clinton vs any republican will make for a highly messy election.

[saz]

the republicans would love nothing more than to run against hillary. mccain certainly does not click with the nutty gop base, however nothing would motivate them more to make the trip to their polling stations than to vote against hilllary clinton. a hillary nomination would really motivate and energize the gop and its base, but still that's not to say that the gop slime machine won't be let loose on obama. regardless, if a democrat is elected president this november, and there's a good chance that will happen, watch for sean hannity's and rush limbaugh's head to explode.

[EarlsJims]

I hope that Obama vs McCain will make for a cleaner election, void of much mudslinging. I highly doubt it though. I still think that a Clinton vs any republican will make for a highly messy election.

That's because with Billary we get two for one.

[QueenAdrock]

I'd like to see Obama v. McCain, due to the fact that Obama is just so well-spoken and keeps his cool and is able to deflect anything that comes his way with grace and poise. McCain is quite the hot-head with a terrible temper (I believe news reports have confirmed this, but I heard this back in '06 when I was with a friend of a friend, who worked for him, she said that talking to him made her day miserable because of his bouts of anger), so the combination of the two would be interesting to see. Kinda like Kerry and Bush, where Kerry would say something inflammatory about Bush, and Bush would just clench his jaw and interrupt and sigh and pout and look pissed off. That was amusing to me, to see a democrat get under a republican's skin so badly that he just loses it. So debate wise, I'd like to see McCain vs. Obama.

[RobMoney$]

I think Kerry v. Bush showed us that in the end, debates mean very little.
Kerry owned him in the debates, coming off much more prepared, intelligent, and his responses were well thought out, yet Bush still won.

People aren't impressed by who the smoother talker is.
Most Americans are complete idiots and will vote for who will give them their guns, or some other completely irrelevant issue.

I'd like to see the Clinton v. McCain because they're both whiteys.

[Whatitis]

I'm still backing blackie.

This makes me wonder why you really are backing him.

[QueenAdrock]

Yeah, but the voters went for Bush based on the fact that he was an incumbent president during wartime - "If he got us into this ditch, he'll drive us back out" mentality. Since then, his approval rating has dropped to an all-time low of 28%, and recent polls have shown that 70% of the people are against the Iraq war. I honestly can't think of one person in real life that is still for the war and against scaling back troops, and I'm friends with both Republicans and Democrats.

In 2006, it came down to the Iraq war, that's what people at the exit polls were saying they were voting on. And the Democrats took the house and senate. Two years later, the war is even more unpopular and people are sick of this "Oh, just give it 6 more months" bullshit. Therefore, if people's biggest issue in 2004 was who can win the war and Bush won, and people's biggest issues nowadays are who can get us out...I honestly think no matter who the Democrats pick, they'll win. McCain is the same old Bush rhetoric. Give it time, the surge is working, yadda yadda. The people ain't buyin' it anymore.

[DroppinScience]

Debates mean very little?

May I refer you to Kennedy vs. Nixon (1960), Ford vs. Carter (1976), Carter vs. Reagan (1980), and even Bush vs. Clinton vs. Perot (1992). All of them played a key role in determining the winner.

[funk63]

This makes me wonder why you really are backing him.

dont you mean blacking him?

[Dorothy Wood]

no, he meant baracking him.



I like obama. hillary kinda seems like a robot to me. I want someone who seems like a real person who can respond to people in an intelligent and easygoing manner. hillary's awesome for all she's accomplished, but I don't really like her so much.

I actually like McCain too, but damn, he's old and I really think it's starting to show in his personality. there's a certain lack of awareness, like he's tired and not focused all the time.

[Documad]

I agree with Rob (except for the faux racial comment).

DS: I'm working off just my memory but the only one of those debates that I've heard described as having a big impact was the Kennedy Nixon one and that was just because Nixon didn't have a tan and didn't shave so he looked shifty. I think it was the fake missile gap that got him elected, but it's just a personal opinion. I believe that Carter won because of watergate and the Nixon pardon and the oil crisis, Reagan won because Carter was a completely ineffectual president who couldn't even stand up to his own party and because we had to watch the nightly countdown of how many days the hostages had been held in Iran (which also gave us Ted Koppel as TV star). I don't remember being impressed with Clinton during the debates. I remember the Phil Donahue moment in the one debate, but I really believe that people would have voted for any democrat at that point. I think the comparison of the two conventions that year was a big deal (Pat Buchanan's storm trooperesque speech vs. a town called Hope). Maybe that's just my perspective because of where I was living at the time though. I wasn't a Clinton fan but I was ready for a break from 12 years of Reaganites.

[afronaut]

This makes me wonder why you really are backing him.
Because I gots to support my brothamen. Get off my back, cracka.

[DroppinScience]

I agree with Rob (except for the faux racial comment).

DS: I'm working off just my memory but the only one of those debates that I've heard described as having a big impact was the Kennedy Nixon one and that was just because Nixon didn't have a tan and didn't shave so he looked shifty. I think it was the fake missile gap that got him elected, but it's just a personal opinion. I believe that Carter won because of watergate and the Nixon pardon and the oil crisis, Reagan won because Carter was a completely ineffectual president who couldn't even stand up to his own party and because we had to watch the nightly countdown of how many days the hostages had been held in Iran (which also gave us Ted Koppel as TV star). I don't remember being impressed with Clinton during the debates. I remember the Phil Donahue moment in the one debate, but I really believe that people would have voted for any democrat at that point. I think the comparison of the two conventions that year was a big deal (Pat Buchanan's storm trooperesque speech vs. a town called Hope). Maybe that's just my perspective because of where I was living at the time though. I wasn't a Clinton fan but I was ready for a break from 12 years of Reaganites.

Well, I said a "key" role, but certainly not the only role. For the Ford-Carter debates, Ford did a gaffe that Poland wasn't in the Iron Curtain that he got a lot of flack over. Yeah, he probably lost more because of Watergate/Nixon pardon, but the debate didn't help either.

For the Carter-Reagan debate, Reagan was noted for his "Are you better off now than you were four years before?" and "there you go again" (or was that with Mondale? I can't tell which), which endeared him greatly to voters.

For Clinton-Bush-Perot, I was actually talking about Ross Perot. The guy was charismatic enough to split the conservative vote and help get Clinton in. I don't know whether Bush or Clinton were impressive (or embarrassing) enough to win it or lose it for them going by the debates.

[EarlsJims]

I'd like to see Obama v. McCain, due to the fact that Obama is just so well-spoken and keeps his cool and is able to deflect anything that comes his way with grace and poise.

That didn't seem to be the case if you watched last night's debate on ABC.


Barack Obama stumbles in hostile TV debate

4/17/08

A fatigued and hesitant Barack Obama appeared badly rattled when peppered with almost relentlessly hostile questions combined with strident attacks from his rival Hillary Clinton during a televised debate (last night).

He was taken aback by the succession of questions about his recent comments that voters were clinging to religion and guns because they were "bitter", his association with a former member of the 1960s terrorist Weather Underground group, his controversial pastor the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and even why he didn't wear a flag lapel pin.

The more uncomfortable Mr Obama seemed in the Philadelphia debate, the more pointed Mrs Clinton's jabs became.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/17/wuspolls117.xml

[afronaut]

Once, just once, I would like to see the issues take center stage. Debates aren't about the newest sensational news story, debates are about the issues.

[QueenAdrock]

When Americans truly care about the issues versus caring about the pointless mudslinging and gossip that pundits and media stations dish out is the day that hell freezes over and the devil gives out free sleigh rides. I mean, I'd love to see issues be a focal point during debates too...but the media cares about sensationalism, and thus, the people are forced to care about it too, so it takes precedence over the real stories. Sigh.

[EarlsJims]

Once, just once, I would like to see the issues take center stage. Debates aren't about the newest sensational news story, debates are about the issues.

If you're ABC News, flag pins are an issue.