It is highly likely that Sen. Joe Lieberman will announce his candidacy for President soon.
Of all the Democratic candidates, Lieberman is one of the most attractive. Lieberman has enough appeal across party lines to present a serious challenge on George W. Bush. Especially if Lieberman decides to paint himself as someone who would be stronger on homeland defense than the Bush Administration, he could provide a real challenge.
However, he’s going to have an uphill battle to face. Lieberman has to ingratiate himself with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party to have any chance of success. Unfortunately for Lieberman, that liberal wing is also the dominant wing of the Democratic Party, and any primary is going to see some contentious battles that may force him to tack to the left. Such a tack can easily reduce his appeal to swing voters in 2004.
Even if Lieberman were to make it past the primary, that liberal wing will also likely keep him from the Presidency. The reason is that many of the left-wing extremists that are part of the current Democratic coalition may well peel away from the DNC and vote Green. These defections would likely increase if Lieberman were not able to mount a very close campaign against Bush.
No matter who runs on the Democratic ticket, they’re going to face a challenge. If the Democratic Party can attract centrist voters and have a candidate with real plans on key issues such as the economy and homeland security, they have a chance. If not, 2004 could very well be much like 2002.
Of course YOU are going to say Lieberman has a good chance. You want him to run knowing full well that as a New England Democrat he has no chance in hell of winning any of the south, therefore assuming a nice even split as usual everywhere else he’ll lose.
Edwards may be our only hope.
No Democrat is going to win the South at this point, not even Edwards. (Any more than any Republican is going to win California or Massachusetts…) The Dems have to maximize their chances elsewhere, and Lieberman could do well in the Midwest and the West if he plays his cards right.
I meant to include the Midwest there too. My mistake. You need to get an edit post option here!
I do think that a Democrat has a legitimate chance of winning at least part of the South, provided Bush seriously flubs the next two years. On the other hand, a moderate Dem might have trouble keeping states with a strong Green presence (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon) in line- considering that these represent a pretty nice chunk of electoral votes, these left-leaning, populist states could become key in 2004.
These arguments are, well, out of touch. A competitive Democratic candidate will draw on the desire of Americans for a vision beyond interminable war and a consumption-based economy that has meant a loss of livelihood for countless Americans. One such hopeful is Dennis Kucinich from Ohio. We Americans just may surprise ourselves by finally reconnecting with the tremendous history of vision and wealth of human ingenuity and resources we possess…we might just decide to go for someone who hasn’t lost sight of the goal that this nation could be a light, not a threat, to the world and a place where every citizen’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are valued and supported.