I've come to the realization that while I don't agree with everything that each of these candidates say, any of them would do a decent job as president. That being said, I'm now going to rate their chances of the nomination (as things stand today). Some candidates I have more to say on than others.

 

(Please note that the order I'm publishing isn't the chances-of-winning. I literally picked names out of a hat to see which order I'm going in to keep things fair.)

 

Howard Dean: I'm going to be frank with you--I don't think I'll ever be a "Deanybopper" (no offense meant). But there are tens of thousands who are, specifically on the internet. Dean is doing a hell of a job getting his message out over the web, and this could be the first campaign fought and won because of the power of this medium. His current numbers at meetup.com are astonishing--dwarfing his nearest competitor by literally thousands. What's odd is that with the exception of a few polls in Iowa and one in Wisconson, those numbers aren't translating into the "real world." He's fire certainly gets many people's juices going, but that could wind up being a liability. He seems eager to pick a fight where there isn't one (see: Kerry)--which could distract him from the target: winning a specific primary and/or the general election. Middle-America could see him as being too rough around the edges.

 

Dennis Kucinich: Oh, boy, I could talk about him all day! He has the fire--but no money. In a field this big, you need money or some kind of organization in order to get your name out. As of this moment, Kucinich doesn't have a national headquarters and has pocket change to spend. He's got the anti-war thing going for him, but so does Dean, and Dean is gaining much more momentum than Kucinich. Kucinich will be one of the first to go.

 

Carol Moseley-Braun: Okay, I've said this before, but doesn't she seem so . . . nice? In an ideal world, she would be my candidate: a strong woman with the experience and the compassion the Oval Office so desperately needs. It is, alas, not meant to be. Funds and support are tepid for Moseley-Braun. I hope she runs again in a smaller field. She and Kucinich should drop out around the same time.