[LEMONS] 1.30.2004
Did You Ever Have to Decide
I'm an undecided voter. So I was looking forward to taking the Presidential Match quiz. But when I got my results back, I was even more confused than I had been going into it.My top match was Kucinich with 100%, followed by Sharpton and Kerry at 96% each, Dean @ 89%, Clark @ 88%, Edwards @ 80%, Lieberman @ 74%, and Shrubya @ 14%.
I'm glad Kucinich is in it, I think he adds a lot of important issues to the debate, and to the swing voters who will ultimately decide whether it's four more years of Bush he makes the others seem a less freakishly liberal. Likewise, Sharpton has been the highlight of the debates so far (including yesterday's). However, these two guys have about as much chance of being elected president as I do. If either of them wins the nomination, we get four more years of Bush.
I almost feel like supporting Kucinich makes you a closet Republican. And indeed most (but not all, not all) of the people I know who support him are white limo liberals, college students, and trust-fund enabled activists. These people are largely unaffected no matter who wins, or who loses. But I need a job.
Likewise, Sharpton has his own set of problems. Fairly or not, you can't think "Sharpton" without also thinking "Tawana." Furthermore, one of the areas where Sharpton will have the most problems with moderates is in the Mid-Atlantic region of New York, Jersey, Pennsylvania, etc., because these are the areas where people are most used to seeing him make an ass of himself on TV. History is everything. Which is too bad, because he's a dynamo and has raised better points and performed better in the debates than most of the other candidates. I especially enjoyed hearing the Rev. lambast BushCo on religion.
Lieberman is, for all practical purposes, a Republican. Furthermore he's got a snowball's chance. His campaign will end on February 4.
This leaves me with four candidates, realistically, Kerry, Clark, Dean, and Edwards. And the thing is, I realized after taking the quiz that it doesn't matter whose policies I support the most. The issue that you keep hearing matters most to Democrats this year is, unfortunately, the only one that matters to me: electibility. Because I know that no matter how bad a candidate is, they're preferable to Bush. Anyone but Bush. Anyone.
But who is that candidate? I still don't know. I still can't decide. How about you? What were your results? Will it make a difference in how you vote?
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