Nonpartisan Voters Only Please. (1 Viewer)

[NewGold]

I'm Canadian, but I have been following this process pretty closely.
We don't have "primaries" up here, the parties are free to choose their own leaders, and for the most part, it's done behind closed doors. I've found this whole "election before the election" fascinating, for whatever reason.

My personal politics mirror that of a large majority of young Canadians. Fiscally conservative and socially liberal. With those parameters in place, I'm really not sure I'm seeing a great fit amongst ANY of the candidates. If I had to rank them, I think it would go something like this.

Barack Obama (7)

Ron Paul (6) - At least he's got the fiscally conservative part down.

Mitt Romney (5) - I love his idea of running Government as a business, but what a sleazebag...

Rudy Guiliani (4) - I've heard scary things about his foreign policy.
John McCain (4) - Ditto.

Fred Thompson (3) - Don't know much about him and doesn't seem like a serious candidate.
Bill Richardson (3) - Ditto.

Hillary Clinton (2) - You can't honestly think going 20+ years with your senior leadership coming from only two familys is a good thing!
John Edwards (2) - Seems to be pandering to the unions to keep him afloat, which is a surefire way to lose my support.

Mike Huckabee (1) - Seems like my ideological polar opposite.

 

[johnnyd]

Like Pasty I am an unabashed liberal, but what he said is pretty much my line of thinking as well.
Obama - 1st choice.
Mac if Hillary gets the nod.

 

[mister pc]

Barack Obama (8)
Ron Paul (7)
John Edwards (7)
Rudy Guiliani (6)
Hillary Clinton (6)
Bill Richardson (5)
Mike Huckabee (5)
Fred Thompson (3)
Mitt Romney (1)


Barack has climbed up in my estimation as well, used to like Paul and Edwards above him. I like Rudy better than he has done in the primaries so far. Fred just doesnt have it IMO, his southern appeal is the only thing he is running on. Mitt Romney is my least favorite. Huckabee has some appeal but lately I get the feeling he is a much more Machiavellian character than his demeanor is showing. Too much double talk from Huckabee for me to trust him at this point. Im not as polarized as everyone else when it comes to Hillary. She's not my first or second choice but I dont think she would make a bad president though.

 

[DavidM]

Barack Obama (9)
John Edwards (6)
Rudy Guiliani (4)
John McCain (4)
Hillary Clinton (4)
Bill Richardson (2)
Fred Thompson (1)

At this point, I wouldn't consider voting for:

Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee

 

[Optimusaint]

Ron Paul

Barack Obama
John Edwards
Mike Huckabee

Rudy Guiliani
John McCain
Mitt Romney
Hillary Clinton

Bill Richardson
Fred Thompson


i changed my party affiliation from nonpartisan to Republican just to vote for Paul in the primaries. its the first time ive ever done that. as said before, his stance on the dollar and limited government were just so right for me that i felt like i had to. even if it was just to keep him in debates and get people to think about issues that other candidates wont touch.

the next three are grouped together because they havent really said anything to make me angry, and if Paul wasnt running id probably vote for one of them.

the next four are grouped together because they have either said something that scared me, angered me, or just flat out was BS. they definitely wouldnt get my vote.

the last two, i dont know enough about to form an opinion. ill be looking them up soon.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

1. Obama (8)

2. Romney (5)

Don't like the man. He's fake. Hillary's counterpart on the GOP side. And I can't believe I am listing him number 2. But I like him better than the other Republicans. I think he has the most executive ability and experience in the race--when talking about a record of achievement, he has done 10 times more than Hillary. Deep now, he is probably moderate on most social issues. He doesn't have Hillary's baggage.

(3) McCain (4)

Wrong on foreign policy. Is he still too much of a fighter jock and too willing to throw the dice?

(4) Edwards (3)

Too much the angry populist.

(5) Thompson (3)

(6) Guiliani (3)

Too much 9.11. Too much in-your-face New York for what we need.

(7) Richardson (3)

(8) Huckabee (3)

(9) Paul (1)

Could not govern.

(10) Clinton (1)

What about the 22nd amendment? If elected, what percentage of America's population will not be able to remember a president whose name was not Bush or Clinton?

 

[Saint77]

Truth is I don't like any of these people, and am completely undecided. However, based on what I know of them, which ain't much yet, admittedly, here goes.

Ron Paul
Fred Thompson
Mike Huckabee
John Edwards


Below are my bottom 6, and their position changes from day to day, but almost never do they get above the bottom 6 spot.

Barack Obama
Bill Richardson
Hillary Clinton
Rudy Guiliani
John McCain
Mitt Romney

Ask me in a month and this all changes.

 

[NewGold]

Romney (5)

Don't like the man. He's fake. Hillary's counterpart on the GOP side. And I can't believe I am listing him number 2. But I like him better than the other Republicans. I think he has the most executive ability and experience in the race--when talking about a record of achievement, he has done 10 times more than Hillary. Deep now, he is probably moderate on most social issues. He doesn't have Hillary's baggage.

My thoughts exactly, as I stated earlier!

Ideologically, he seems like my closest match... But the way he sidesteps questions in debates, the refusal to give concrete answers on his stance on issues... it's frustrating. By trying to appeal to everyone, he comes across as sleazy and fake.

He reminds me of a politician up here who briefly was the Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin. A successful business man, ideologically not too bad... but so afraid to tick anyone off that he would never give a straight answer. Couldn't stand him.

 

[Dre]

1._____________
2._____________
3._____________
4. F Thompson
5a. B Obama
5b. J McCain

.

hahaha
anyway...
Nice thread...I was going to start a similar one about which candidate from each party you would want as president and which candidates you would definitely not want (choosing one for eachgroupfrom each party)...your post is more encompassing and the data I wanted can be extrapolated easily

here is mine (this is just the ranking I would want them as prez):
1) Giuliani - tough on the bad, not a religious conservative

2) McCain - Not a rank and file Rep
3) Richardson

4) Thompson- I really have no reason to put him here, and if he ends up last I do not care.
5) Obama - I do not know about this. He really seems like a good man, and I'll bet he will be very competent. I also really respect the guy. We seem quite ideologically opposed, however (I do not know specifics of what he stands for...but he admits to being a "liberal," and I am certainly not a liberal). But as a man, I really respect the guy and that honestly might move him up... (If he is the next president I might actually come around and be excited about it)

6) Romney

7) Clinton - I like Bill, but that only gets you so far.
8) Paul

9) tie: Huckabee - I do not ike the religious right. I am a Christian...but the RR take it WAY too far.
9) tie: Edwards - One of the most gifted speakers I have ever seen. I sometimes feel charmed by him...and that bothers me (but that is my fault, not his). The Kerry staffer who related the story (in Time) about Edwards' dead son epitomizes my picture of Edwards.

 

[SaintsFan11]

The only two I care for at all:

Obama (10)
McCain (8)

The rest are fatally flawed candidates, IMO, and I would vote third party if I don't get to pick out of one of the above two candidates.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

Yeah, I can understand people giving Romney a low grade because any support for him is totally contrary to some of the personal attributes I think our next president must have. Romney is Harvard Business School taking over the White House, though he has much experience in both the business world and government.

But he is as poll-driven and calculating and ambitious as Hillary.

A race between Hillary and Romney would be the student body president contest from hell--two very bright, very articulate, very calculating, highly ambitious, highly egocentric, without a trace of modesty or humility, seeking the biggest prize with the most power around human beings because, well, it's the biggest prize with the most power around. The only difference is that Romney probably had a much better social life in school than Hillary and was likely a good athlete (which makes it even more difficult to like him).

Look, all of these people are, even by the standards of accomplished and ambitious people, incredibly ambitious. But in that category, Clinton and Romney are off the charts.

And regarding ambition, Obama supposedly had a US Supreme Court clerkship if he had wanted it and chose something else. Can anyone guess how many times Hillary, for a Supreme Court clerkship in the 1970's, would have stabbed Bill with a long and sharp blade-- in the back, hoping for contact with a vital organ?

 

[Brandon13]

Paul (9) - The newsletter thing is killing me, though.
Obama (6) - Probably won't vote for.
Edwards (6) - Probably won't vote for.
Thompson (5) - 99.99% sure I would not vote for.
Huckabee (5) - 99.99% sure I would not vote for.
Clinton (2) - Would not vote for.
McCain (2) - Would not vote for.
Romney (1) - Would not vote for.
Giuliani (1) - Would not vote for.

 

[DMaestro]

1. Obama (8)

2. McCain (6)

3. Edwards (6)

4. Richardson (3)

5. Huckabee (2)

6. Thompson (2)

7. Romney, Giuliani, and Paul comprise the morass of (1)s
.
.
.
x-1. Ahmadinejad (0.000000001)

x. Clinton (0)

 

[Saint by the Bay]

Have to redo mine because I didn't read the instructions.

Barack Obama (9)
John McCain (7) - would be 9 if I could get over him exempting his biggest donors from McCain - Feingold
Mitt Romney (4)
Bill Richardson (4)
Rudy Guiliani (2) - Reminds me of a squinting wish troll and if I have to hear 9-11 come out of his mouth one more time....
John Edwards (4) - Fidel Edwards as I like to call him. Would have made a great South American populist.
Fred Thompson (2) - I'd vote for his wife though


Would shoot myself before pulling the lever:

Mike Huckabee (1) - Can't vote for creationists
Hillary Clinton (1) - The dynasty must end

Ron Paul (10000... 10 just isn't enough)

 

[mister pc]

I believe Romney is a smart businessman but that is the only positive attribute I can see in him. I think he is the least honest politician out of all the 18 candidates. It makes me want to throw up when I listen to him pandering and playing politics with every debate answer, instead of just speaking like someone who has a real belief in something.

Just realized I forgot to include McCain in my rankings. I'll put him at the middle of the pack for now. He is one of the more honest and straightforward candidates, and I agree with him on many things. In many respects he could make a good president. I would still be hard pressed to vote for him though for a couple reasons. He believes we should have our troops in Iraq for the next hundred years. This is not the direction I want our country taken in. Also he seems to have changed his position on "trickle down" economics. McCain used to be critical of it but now has sided with the supply siders who claim that cutting taxes increases federal revenue. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of fiscal policy that is very unattractive to me.