If Kerry Wins...

[Endangered Specie]

Poll question: If Kerry Wins...

Will he be a one term or two term president do you think?


I'd have to say the odds are one term... I suspect that a good deal of him winning this time around will be not because people like him, but they like Bush even less.

But then again... alot of people said the same thing about Clinton in 1992.

[Goldmund]

1. On the one hand,

whoever the next president is will enherit the mess of these 4 years and the inevitable political handicap it represents.

But on the other, the GOP may adopt the term "the Bush whiplash".

[Endangered Specie]

2. I imagine that in 2008...

theyd throw Guiliani at us, or Der Gropenfuhrer, if they can get it legalized.

[Catch22Dem]

6. I bet you're right

I don't think enough of the country is interested in Ahnold though. My repuke co-worker can't stand his ass.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

9. As long as Kerry doesn't F it up like Bushie, he should win in 08'!

My Repug neighbors dispise Arnie Boy. So I do not know how well he would fair. Not to well, hopefully.

[union_maid]

29. He'll have the toughest job any president ever had

Inheriting a mess like W'll be leaving behind won't be easy. OTOH, doing better than W won't be hard. The main thing, I think, is that people like Kerry better as they get to know him. He's not the glad-handing, used car salesman type of politician. He grows on people. So, I voted two terms.

[leyton]

3. There might be a challenge from the left.

Many people here are of the opinion that Kerry will be a centrist. If he is, and if his is not wildly successful, I think he could see a primary challenge, just like LBJ and Carter before him. Someone like Dean or Feingold.

[Catch22Dem]

5. It's possible, but I think it would fail

The majority of the country are centrists. That's why Clinton was so popular and so successful. That's why Bush got so much support, because MOST people thought he'd be a centrist too.

[leyton]

16. Yeah, it would fail.

But I think it would weaken Kerry.

[Catch22Dem]

4. I think the odds are in his favor

He's really got no where to go but up. Basically anything he does will be an improvement.

[MasonJar]

7. John Kerry is a very intelligent and serious man. He has dedi-

cated his life to our country. He will be a fine president; he is a direct opposite of the unimaginative malaprop we now suffer with. He deserves to be a two term president.

[JI7]

8. Many people like him that's why he did well in the primary

in the primary people voted FOR someone. andin that round he won. there will be many people who vote FOR him. some will be voting more against bush. but he has already shown he can get people to vote FOR him.

[Radical Activist]

11. People voted for who they thought could beat Bush

Kerry ran a primary campaign based on his biography and exit polls showed people supported Kerry because they thought he could beat Bush, not because they agreed with him on the issues more than the other candidates. The number one reason the polls say Kerry won the primary will be gone once Bush is defeated.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

20. I'm sick of this stupid notion that the two things are mutually exclusive.

exit polls showed people supported Kerry because they thought he could beat Bush,

That's a fact of polling data and it is absolutely true.

not because they agreed with him on the issues more than the other candidates.


That's a conclusion and it's absolutely untrue. I challenge you to provide any factual evidence that supports this conclusion.

[Radical Activist]

10. One term if he doesn't get us out of Iraq

If Kerry "stays the course" and we're still in Iraq in four years there will be a Democratic primary challenge from the left, and a Republican who will run a "end the war by winning it" campaign like Nixon did.
I seriously hope he isn't stupid enough to have us in Iraq four years from now.

[tritsofme]

12. Who does the GOP have to run in 2008?

Rudy?
McCain will be getting pretty old...
I hear some noise about Bill Owens governor of Colorado...

I don't see much of a field.

[leyton]

17. Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts, is the one I always hear being talked about. And Bill Frist, Majority Leader.

[MAlibdem]

31. romney really hasn't done anything here...

i challenge someone to name me one substaintial thing he's done (except try to block gay marraige).

[UrbScotty]

32. Jeb has been considered

...although I doubt people would be interested in a third President Bush after experiencing the first two.

Unless Kerry screws up.

[Hippo_Tron]

34. Frist

I can't wait for the moveon.org ad with the dead cats.

[Only Me]

13. He has many great things working in his favor, I say 2 terms. The ...

only party that could hurt Kerry in this election or future,
is us. Personally, in my HO after reading some post about Kerry on DU the last few months, his main worry is his OWN Party.

I am a Dem down the ticket for the common good. I stay loyal because I believe unity means security. So, I hope for two terms.

[AmyStrange]

14. two terms of course... unless...

the assasination curse overcomes him... it missed Reagan (literally) and Bush...

d

[Sean Reynolds]

15. One term.......

Iraq will not 'end' just because Kerry will be president. If it continues down this path, he too will be a one term president.

Get ready to start hearing "Hey, Hey, JK. How many kids did ya' kill today!" within a few years.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

23. Your defeatist vision of the future is wrong.

That's what happens when you ignore reality, throw hope out the window, and give free rein to your fears.

[Sean Reynolds]

24. Tell me how I'm wrong.......

Kerry's plan is not much different than Bush's. Bush's plan really hasn't worked much, has it?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

25. Only time will tell.

Kerry's plan is not much different than Bush's.

That is absolutely false. Perhaps if you are willing to believe everything Bush says, and nothing Kerry says, that statement would make sense.


There is no way for us to know whether your prediction of the future is correct. But since you base it on the false notion, or unfounded fear that Bush and Kerry are the same, it doesn't appear to be credible.

[Sean Reynolds]

26. False how?

And isn't it true that only time will tell if Kerry is a 2 term president as well?

My god, you act as if I'm the only person in this thread looking into the future and making a judgment.

Yeesh.

Kerry and Bush both want to stay the course in Iraq. Both want UN help. If Bush loses, Kerry will pick up right where he left off. Sadly, I think you and Kerry himself fully expect that the UN will bow down to the United States if it gets a new president. THAT will not be the case. The UN will continue to stay out of Iraq until the violence is curbed....and the violence will not stop until America gets out.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

27. Your premise that Bush and Kerry are the same is absolutely false.

My god, you act as if I'm the only person in this thread looking into the future and making a judgment.

No, I'm just saying I disagree with your judgement, as well as the premises you used to form that judgement. If someone else were to post an opinion as devoid of fact and insight and as full of bias and false reasoning as your post, I would disagree with them just as strenuously.

[Sean Reynolds]

28. How is it bias and false reasoning?

Do you really think Kerry will get us out of Iraq? How does he plan on doing this?

:shrug:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

30. Because your premise is false and you keep pretending it is a conclusion

Your premise is that Bush and Kerry are the same, with the same ideas, plans, goals, idealogy, and personality.


I don't know what the future holds but I know that any judgement that is based on this premise is bound to be as wrong as the initial premise.

[LibDemAlways]

18. The repukes waited until

Clinton's second term to impeach him. If they still control both houses of Congress, expect Kerry's impeachment early in his first term. They don't need a valid reason - as they proved with Clinton. This will weaken Kerry and keep him preoccupied. They will make his first term a living hell.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

19. After 4 years of a Democratic administration

I don't think the voters are going to be in a hurry to turn things back over to the Republicans.

[mndemocrat_29]

21. The economy is bound to improve under Kerry

The war will likely get better, and Kerry will highlight progressive changes in education, the environment, and the Courts. In all likelihood, he won't have a challenger from the left and will face Sen. Bill Frist in 2008. At this point I'd say he'd win, but that's five years (an eternity) away.

[UrbScotty]

22. Not unless he screws up big time.

When an incumbent is in a race, the race is almost always a referendum on ther incumbent. Thus, if people are feeling well about themselves after four years of Kerry, they will probably want him to stay.

[gate of the sun]

33. one term I hope

and that we are ready for an anti-war President in the whitehouse in 2008.

[IndianaGreen]

35. One term because Kerry cannot connect with the average American

It is no coincidence that the only two Presidents that were able to win reelection were the ones that had an uncanny ability to communicate and connect with the average American: Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

The Great Communicator and Big Dog's Presidencies were a decade apart. Their people skills were exceptional. Even those that opposed their policies, on either side of the ideological aisle, became grudging admirers of their ability and ease in which they were able to connect with people at such an emotional level.

Neither Bush nor Kerry, and none of any of Kerry's potential running mates, have shown any of the skills that made Reagan and Clinton such great spokesmen for their causes.

[GOPBasher]

36. Depends on a lot of factors

How he cleans up the Iraq War mess, economy, etc.