Thursday, June 22, 2006

Contenders with high negatives

From CNN:

Regarding potential Democratic candidates, 47 percent of respondents said they would "definitely not vote for" both Clinton, the junior senator from New York who is running for re-election this year, and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party's candidate in 2004. (Poll) Forty-eight percent said the same of former Vice President Al Gore, who has repeatedly denied he intends to run again for president.

Of three Republicans, John McCain had 34% saying they would "definitely not vote for" him, and 30% said that they would "definitely not vote for" Rudy Giuliani. Any presidential ambitions Florida Governor Jeb Bush might have were probably dampened by 63% saying they won't vote for him. It is interesting that CNN did not lead with that. Governor Bush's high negative numbers are probably the result of low approval ratings for his brother, President George W. Bush.

I would not vote for either or Giuliani or McCain. Giuliani is "pro-choice", which disqualifies him from consideration. A Republican candidate for President must be pro-life in order to get my vote. McCain was the driving force behind the unconstitutional, un-American, and anti-freedom "campaign finance reform" law that actually regulates the content of political speech. Someone with that little respect for fundamental Constitutional freedoms should not be in the White House while we are fighting a global War on Terror against Islamists who declared war on us because they hate freedom.

The 2008 Presidential race will not really start in earnest until the second half of 2007, and the primaries do not start until after the first of the year. A lot can happen between now and then, and the political landscape can change quite a bit in a year. Governor Bush's political fortunes are tied directly to how well President Bush is doing, and if President Bush's approval ratings go up it will be a good sign for Governor Bush. However, I am not sure the American people are ready to elect the brother of a sitting President.