[Kristina]

I was hesitant to post in this thread since political threads usually go awry here but I think as long as bipatisan bashing doesn't occur, then it should be fine. It's a good way to look at different campaign styles and strategies.

I for one haven't gotten "swept up" by Dean but I will support him if he gets the primary bid. I think the internet ideas of his online blog and raising a great deal of his money online are innovative and are the new direction of campaigning; and he is also doing a good job of balancing that with traditional style campaigning. Seeing as how people further from the center tend to vote in primary elections, I think Dean has the best shot of getting the bid. He'll just have to work on toning himself down (I saw him speak and he can come off as a little brash) to attract that swing voters in Nov. 2004.

I myself am still a Kerry girl. He uses meet-up.com too but is more traditional, probably since he's more of a political insider. I think it's funny how people thought he was going to be too liberal like his Massachussets counterpart Dukakis who ran in 1988 but now Dean makes Kerry look mainstream. This could either work for or against him. I still like him and I think if he survives the primary, he has a good shot at rivaling Bush especially with his military background. His "one-up" on Dean is working in the senate, he's more familiar with domestic and international issues. Oh, and he totally rendered me speechless when I met him...such presidential poise.

Gephardt in my opinion, doesn't really have a shot. Sad as it is, he just can't raise money like Dean or Kerry, which plays a substantial role in surviving in the campaign. He hasn't found a way to stand out, as most people don't even know him. The people who do however, remember that he couldn't keep the Democratic majority in congress.

Lieberman too conservative to survive the primaries, enough said. It's a shame though since he's really good on defense where the Democrats are weak and he's so charismatic.

Edwards very charismatic as well and would win a lot of points from the South. Too inexperienced though, he'll have better chances in 2008 or 2012.

Graham- who? Doesn't stand out in the pack of 9 at all. He could win the swing state of Florida but that's about it.

Moseley-Braun, Sharpton, Kucinich- Each brings unique ideas and spirited personalities to the mix but realistically? No shot. They are using more grassroots techniques which is cool but they haven't established themselves as serious candidates because they're too liberal.