Saturday, July 07, 2007

07:07:07 07/07/07 Presidential Candidate Stack Ranking

A new ranking, for no other reason than the very first Presidential Stack Ranking was posted on 06:06:06 AM on 06/06/06, and it has been more than a month and at least two debates since the last update. Without further ado, the first DWSUWF stack ranking since DWSUWF announced a change in party affiliation and turning Republican ...

DWSUWF 2008 Presidential Candidate
Stack Ranking v. 2.6

1) Chuck Hagel (R)
2 ) Joe Biden (D)
3) Ron Paul (R)
4) Hillary Clinton (D)
5) Mike Bloomberg (I)
6) Barack Obama (D)
7) John McCain (R)
8) Bill Richardson (D)
9) Mitt Romney (R)
10) Al Gore (D)
Changes: Bill Richardson drops on the Dem side, based on his crappy performance in the debates, leading one to conclude that he is actually running for Vice President and further surmising that Barack Obama has the inside track for that role. Biden continues to be the most articulate and intelligent of the Dems in the debate, and Clinton the most presidential. They move up. I added Bloomberg as an off color (pinkish) Republican, as it is clear he is running for something, is getting a lot of attention, and his (unlikely) election would still serve to provide a divided government with a (likely) Democratic Congress in 2009. Adding Bloomberg to the ranking also gives me the opportunity to drop Giuliani, as I found his "tortured" reply to the Fox News "Jack Bauer hypothetical" to be unacceptable, and I just don't need two New York mayors in the list. Romney's answer "doubling Guantanamo" was equally offensive, but since Romney has no actual convictions, just says whatever he thinks he needs to say to get the nomination (delivered with Clinton-esque aplomb), and will certainly govern by the polls, I am less concerned about a Romney presidency.

Ron Paul continues to show surprising strength and is running the most internet savvy campaign. I still don't think he has a snowball's chance in hell of getting the nomination, but an interesting dynamic is emerging. Support for Ron Paul (the only declared anti-war candidate on the Republican side) is creating a base in the Republican Party that could easily pave the way for a Hagel candidacy if/when he decides to enter the race as a Republican. Similarly, Bloomberg may be blazing another trail via Unity '08, that could open that path for a Hagel independent run. I see both as (perhaps unwitting) stalking horses for the man who would make the best President - Chuck Hagel.

As a reminder, the DWSUWF stack ranking is a preference not a prediction. This list represents the top ten candidates DWSUWF would like to see as President, stack ranked in order of preference. Imposed on this list are two constraints: alternating political party affiliation, and a divided government outcome in 2008.

Divided and Balanced.™ Now that is fair.

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