Astonishing But True! Replies to FR Poll on Potential POTUS

[jla]

"We know nothing really about her, but by God, Condi is our gal!" --- Anonymous Freeper

I've repeatedly asked here at FR for anyone to tell me *CONDI'S* stand on a number of issues ranging from economics to school prayer.
I have yet to receive one reply to my queries on where Miss Rice stands on a number of issues.

So can someone please tell me, especially you, Section 9, why I should be excited about a possible Condi Rice presidency run?

FYI: Miss R. in my opinion will prove to be an excellent Sec of State. But POTUS? Sorry, unlike a lot of Freepers my vote requires more than a cute smile or even worse, a fanatical appreciation of the Condi stare.

No wonder so many here can't seem to get behind Tom DeLay.

[B4Ranch]

We promote and continue to re-elect the very people who have put America into the worst condition that our history has shown in 100 years.

If that's the type of leadership that we have come to admire, then the game will be over shortly. The Dims and the Reps are in collusion to bring forth this New World Order ASAP.

Policy giving the trade decisions to a President which cannot be reviewed by Congress is a Communist trait.

[skinkinthegrass]

Really handicapping the next presidential contest before the previous mid-terms is an excercise of pure political masterbation

...I understand/understood that. :) ../thats' why I passed on the poll question/too many "horses/jackasses (McPain :)/ponies" in the field, right now.

[politicalwit]

Delay couldn't win a sack race out of the state of Texas.

[DBrow]

garnering more popular votes than any candidate in history except for GWB

And the popular vote margin was what? Remember the election had the record for the most votes cast, so Kerry having a total that was high was not surprising. Except that Bush got a few million more votes, Kerry got lots of votes. \/\/0o7

And I agree Kerry "almost" won, but in any race of two the loser comes in second.

I think the Swift Boat people made a difference but I don't think the average American believed that Kerry had flown a fighter jet upside down over Israel during a war, had qualified for and run in the Boston Marathon, was a deer hunter, had been in Cambodia, had always been pro-gun, and so on.

The philosophy I heard most often from Democrats was that Bush was such a loser that they could put up anyone, and they'd win almost by default because after all, who'd vote for Bush?

And I don't think that AnyBodyButHillary would fare any better as a philosophy. There actually are people that Hillary would be better than. Jane Swift of Massachusetts? Jamie Gorelick? Arianna Huffington?

[politicalwit]

"I believe Condi has been schooled and groomed by both President Bush 41 & 43"

Well, there's two strikes against her....

[PhiKapMom]

I was thinking an Allen/Watts ticket after seeing J.C. last night and Allen today -- they get along so well together.

[kabar]

The above part of the article takes Miss Rice opinion on abortion out of some vague context. Why play games of vague-context-gotcha, when there are very specific things that Miss Rice says that can be quoted that show her opinion on abortion.

You seem to want to take only that part of the interview, which reinforces your own view. The direct quotes I provided are not vague or out of context.

"Miss Rice said abortion should be "as rare a circumstance as possible," although without excessive government intervention. "We should not have the federal government in a position where it is forcing its views on one side or the other. The "rare as possible" position was also espoused by Hillary.

"So, for instance, I've tended to agree with those who do not favor federal funding for abortion, because I believe that those who hold a strong moral view on the other side should not be forced to fund it."

She explained that she is "in effect kind of libertarian on this issue," adding: "I have been concerned about a government role.

Based on those statements and the ones you provided, Condi is pro-choice. Even Daschle voted for the ban on late term abortions. Condi is not pro-life. If abortion is "an extremely difficult moral issue," and self-decribed" as a deeply religious person" then why is she against government intervention if she believes it is murder?

Condi Inteview on MTP

MR. RUSSERT: You told the Washington Times on Friday you were mildly pro-choice. What does that mean?

SECRETARY RICE: It means that, like many Americans, I find the issue of abortion very difficult. I believe it ought to be as rare as possible. Nobody wants to see anyone go through that. I favor parental notification. I favor a ban on late-term abortion. But I, myself, am not a fan of having the government intervene in the laws.

MR. RUSSERT: You would not outlaw it?

SECRETARY RICE: No.

MR. RUSSERT: The U.S. Government has now stopped $34 million going to nongovernmental agencies to provide counseling and family planning to women around the world because they do not want abortion suggested as an option. Do you support blocking that funding?

SECRETARY RICE: I am carrying out the laws of the United States of America. It's the President's policies. I happen to agree. I also am not someone who believes that federal funding ought to be used for something about which there is so much difference in America.

We do so much to support women around the world, including supporting family planning efforts around the world. We spend a lot of money on -- almost $400 million we've spent on family planning opportunities on trying to help women with these difficult choices. And so I'm perfectly comfortable with where we are in this project.

[FreeReign]

Policy giving the trade decisions to a President which cannot be reviewed by Congress is a Communist trait.

All "Fast Track" trade decisions can be reviewed by Congress. In fact they have 45 days to do so.

[The Fop]

No way in hell does the first black nominee for President from a major party only win 10% of the black vote. If Condi wins the Republican nomination, you're gonna see a whole lotta blacks asking "tell me again why I shouldn't vote for her?".

Condi gets 50% of the black vote, including many blacks who have never voted before and won't give a damn what rich, white liberals say about her.

[FreeReign]

You seem to want to take only that part of the interview, which reinforces your own view.

My own view? You haven't got a clue. I'm anti abortion all the way around.

With regards to Condi Rice, she has taken the following two very specific postions; "I am a strong proponent of parental notification. I am a strong proponent of a ban on late-term abortion." The logical conclusion from this is that she is against the government banning abortion in the first and possibly second tri-mester. That position does not coicide with my opinion on abortion.

The direct quotes I provided are not vague or out of context.

The following quote by Condi has been taken out of context by many. Yet you feel the need to highlight it. Should I explain it.

"So, for instance, I've tended to agree with those who do not favor federal funding for abortion, because I believe that those who hold a strong moral view on the other side should not be forced to fund it."

[T.L.Sink]

I agree. This is why I'm open to a viable third party
candidate. I've heard all the arguments against this:
you'd be throwing your vote away; you'd be only helping
the "other" party, etc. But the fact is that when a third
party candidate enters he -- even if he loses -- forces
the other parties to take notice and move their positions
closer to his. The two major parties would want to draw
as many votes as they can away from this candidate and
to do so would appeal as much as possible to his base -
i.e. be as close to his position as they can. So -- even
if the third party candidate loses, he "wins" by making
the other two take notice and move in his direction.
This has happened many times in American history.

[kabar]

And the popular vote margin was what? Remember the election had the record for the most votes cast, so Kerry having a total that was high was not surprising. Except that Bush got a few million more votes, Kerry got lots of votes.

The vote margin was about 3 million votes, 62 million to 59 million for Kerry. In 2000 Gore beat Bush by about 500,000 votes, 51 million to 50.5 million. I find the voter turnout to be amazing. It went from 102 million to 121 million, a jump of 20% in just 4 years.

To put this in perspective, Reagan got 54.4 million votes in 1984, the most of any candidate in history until Bush and Kerry came along in 2004. Clinton only received 47.4 million in 1996 and 45 million in 1992. Bush 41 got almost 49 million votes in 1988.

And I agree Kerry "almost" won, but in any race of two the loser comes in second.

Hard to argue with logic like that. The point is that Kerry provided Bush with a formidable challenge despite all of his negatives. It took a record turnout for Bush to win and win he did despite Kerry getting 8 million more votes than Gore did. In 2008 the GOP won't have the benefit of incumbency.

I think the Swift Boat people made a difference but I don't think the average American believed that Kerry had flown a fighter jet upside down over Israel during a war, had qualified for and run in the Boston Marathon, was a deer hunter, had been in Cambodia, had always been pro-gun, and so on.

If that is the case, how did Kerry make it so close? If he wins Ohio, he is President. If the "average American" didn't believe in Kerry's lies, why did almost half of them vote for him? A margin of 50.73% to 48.26% in the popular vote is not a resounding victory.

The philosophy I heard most often from Democrats was that Bush was such a loser that they could put up anyone, and they'd win almost by default because after all, who'd vote for Bush?

Thank God they put up Kerry. They almost pulled it off with one of the worst candidates in history.

And I don't think that AnyBodyButHillary would fare any better as a philosophy. There actually are people that Hillary would be better than. Jane Swift of Massachusetts? Jamie Gorelick? Arianna Huffington?

Hillary will be the Dem nominee and the odds on favorite to win it all. She is a far stronger candidate than Kerry and will have a number of advantages that Kerry didn't. The GOP must come up with a strong candidate and not another Bob Dole.

[Rockingham]

Several points to consider in regard to 2008 election:

(1) Presidential candidates who have been governors tend to do well because of the benefits of executive leadership experience in elected political office. Congressional experience often brings out tendencies toward trimming and equivocation. Put under intense scrutiny, governors tend to sound and act like leaders, while successful Congressmen almost always seem like central casting's idea of a hack politician.

(2) The GOP is likely to suffer losses in the 2006 midterm elections. Bush will be much diminished as a political figure unless the economy is roaring along and we have had dramatic successes against terrorism and rogue nations.

(3) In unexpected ways, American politics will redefine itself in the 2008 election, with issues and preferences taking shape as criticisms of Bush and the GOP Congress. Immigration, deficits, and national competitiveness will loom large as issues. With even Republicans weary of being ever nervous and defensive over Bush's lack of rhetorical skills, an articulate, affable candidate will be especially attractive to GOP primary voters.

Point (1) weighs against Condi Rice in 2008; point (2) will probably be against her as well; and point (3) is in her favor. My guess is that a current or former governor will be the best candidate for the GOP, with Rice a good VP pick. The usual rule of thumb that VP's do not matter would not apply due to the clear benefit of drawing some of the Black vote and gaining several states as a result.

Forget that "not running" stuff. Rice may well find herself drafted as a VP candidate unless she makes a Shermanesque renunciation.

[wardaddy]

It is amazing.

They like her demographics.

They think she could win.

Supporting her makes them feel good about themselves....a big pull.

Her views...."reluctantly pro-choice" are irrelevant to many here.

(They will claim I'm single issue which I am not but I will not support a pro-choice POTUS candidate)

If she were a white male, most would have trouble remembering her name. Would she be considered spectacular? She is considered that as much because of what she is and where she came from as much as what she has done (which is pretty fancy but not off the charts). Besides, academic and political staff uber-achievement is not indicative of good political skills.

She is a black female serving an (R) president and would assumedly run as an (R).

That is plenty for the deep thinkers.

I commend her but she is sure not my choice by any stretch. I bet many Condi fans also like Rudi too or Arnold.

I think they all have a duty to serve but not as POTUS. Their views would considerably dilute conservatism's marriage with the GOP even more.

The more successful we become in numbers, the more we mimic moderate Dems.

[kabar]

My own view? You haven't got a clue. I'm anti abortion all the way around.

I am not talking about your personal view of abortion. You seem to believe that Condi is pro-life and anti-abortion. You appear to hear selectively what Condi says about abortion, taking only those that support your desired perception of her.

You continue to beat the same drum about the WT interview and ignore the comments about her objection to government intervention in the same interview. You didn't respond about her MTP comments. She is not in favor of banning abortion. She is pro-choice.

[wardaddy]

I'm damned sure more open to that idea than I used to be.

It's really just the Dutchboy and the dyke.

It's a fait accompli.

The demographic tsunami we are living in is going to end any notion of rolling back entitlements or minority preferences we once fancied.

Right now in the electoral college, we are holding off a steady Left drumbeat mainly because married with children whites (and Cubans in FL) throughout the Plains/Rocky Mts, South and certain Midwest states are voting (R) in such a bloc fashion.

Let FL sink or PA continue to or Colorado to fall too and it's over. We will fall into a Socialist abyss that would make LBJ and FDR green with envy.

The demographic shift is precisely what killed the whale ...Kali. It's now taken IL too and NJ and PA it seems. Florida hangs in there mainly because they have a large voting bloc with firsthand knowledge of collectivism but their power is being eroded as we speak by large immigration shifts which do not share that conservatism.

I am not hopeful in any event. We will either get clobbered or we will moderate ourselves to the point that there won't be much difference. We seem to be flirting with the latter on some issues already.

[FreeReign]

If she were a white male, most would have trouble remembering her name.

Condoleeza Rice has been the National Security Advisor to the POTUS over the last four years. That makes her the chief adviser to the POTUS on security issues and foreign policy. Three of the past four years includes the WOT during which time a remarkable effort has been made and a remarkable result has been achieved in the WOT. Rice now appears to be continuing her important work as SOS.

Given all that, I find your above statement to be ill-informed.

[kabar]

No way in hell does the first black nominee for President from a major party only win 10% of the black vote. If Condi wins the Republican nomination, you're gonna see a whole lotta blacks asking "tell me again why I shouldn't vote for her?".

First, Condi isn't black any more than Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, Thomas Sowell, etc are black. Just ask Harry Belafonte. Why did Kerry and Boxer vote against Rice's confirmation? They knew that they would not suffer any retribution from the Black Caucus or black voters. Did you read of any prominent Black Dem leaders endorsing Rice for SECSTATE?

Blacks don't vote on race but on party lines. They will vote for a white Dem over a black Rep. Bill Clinton was the first black President anyway so Condi wouldn't be the first. Hillary and Bill will lock up the usual 90% regardless of who the GOP nominates.

[BJungNan]

She is NOT running for president. It is a media fabrication.

[rdcorso]

I worry about the present administration and its policy at the border ruining the party.If there is a terrorist attack carried out by terrorist who cross our border there will be hell to pay.The blame would placed on the republican party that was in power for eight years and did nothing.I can't understand the reasons that would make them flirt with such a disaster.I am amazed and disgusted at the same time over this.