Who will be the Presidential & VP Nominees

[Max]

I was wondering if anybody has any predictions as to who will be the nominees for both president and vice-president in each of the two parties next year. Here are my predictions:

Republican Presidential Nominee:

I predict that Mitt Romney will be the nominee, and not Rudy Giuliani. That's because even though Giuliani is currently well-ahead in the national polls, Romney is well ahead in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Without exception, history has shown that if a candidate wins both of these states, then he gets incredible momentum that completely changes the dynamics in the primaries of the other states (and results in victories in those other states). Additionally, I do not believe Giuliani can win the nomination because he is pro-choice; as unfortunate as it is, the reality is that Republicans will only nominate somebody who is pro-life, while the Democrats will only nominate somebody who is pro-choice.

Personally, my first choice for president is John McCain, but sadly his campaign is in shambles. My second choice is Giuliani: not only do I like him, but I also believe that he is the only Republican who has any chance of beating Clinton in the general election. If (as I prediced) Romney is the nominee, then Clinton will win in a landslide.

Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee:

The only two candidates with any realistic chance of winning the presidential nomination are Giuliani and Romney. And, when either of them wins the nomination, he will need to pick a strong conservative from the South in order to make the base of the party happy. For obvious reasons, the base feels extremely unfortcable with Giuliani. However, they also do not completely trust Romney, due to his past flip-flopping on abortion and other social issues.

Out of all of the possible Southern conservatives out there, I predict that Giuliani or Romney will choose former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as his running mate. Huckabee himself is currently running for president, and he started off as a complete unknown who barely made a dent in the polls. However, his poll numbers--particularly in Iowa, where he currently is in second place--have recently surged as a result of effectively being able to connect with religious voters. And, while I think that he still has very little chance of winning the presidential nomination, his strong showing (which I believe he will have in the primaries) will made him the obvious choice for vice-president.

Democratic Presidential Nominee:

Obviously, Hillary Clinton will get the nomination. Really, how can there be any doubt when she continues to hold a 30-point lead in the polls?

I personally believe that Clinton's solid lock on the nomination is largely due to her being the husband of Bill Clinton. While Hillary does have many of her own die-hard supporters, the fact of the matter is that every single Democrat is still in love with Bill. The Democrats honestly believe that he is one of the greatest presidents ever (something that I think is very far from the truth), and feel that seeing Hillary win will be a continuation of his presidency.

Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee:

I'd first like to state that the VP nominee will definately not be Barack Obama (even though he is always rumored to be a likely running-mate). Electorally speaking, Obama will add absolutely nothing to the ticket, since (1) the Democrats always get 90% of the black vote and (2) his home state of Illinois is heavily Democratic. Another reason why Obama will not be chosen is because presidenital nominees (especially somebody as egotistical as Clinton) absoultely hate choosing a running-mate who will outshine and overshadow them.

Although I am not 100% sure by any means, I believe that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (who is currently running for president, although his showing in the polls is microscopic) will get the vice-presidential nomination. For one thing, Richardson is a long-time Clinton loyalist (who served in Bill's cabinet). Additionally, Richardson is somebody who will not overshadow Hillary in any way. However, most importantly (however) is the fact that he is Hispanic: with him on the ticket, the Hispanic vote will be galvanized like it never has been before, which will virtually guarantee that Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Nevada (all states carried by Bush in 2004) will vote Democratic in the general election.

However, there is one reason why Richardson still might not be chosen: he has a tendency for off-the-cuff remarks (which can be damaging politically). All presidential nominees, and Hillary in particular, want a running made that won't go off on tangents but instead will completely stick to the script. However, despite the fact that this is a weakness for Richardson, I still believe he will be the vice-presidential nominee because the electoral benefits he brings to the ticket (as explained above) outweigh his negatives.

[NeoAngelicLiz]

Ummm yeah if you look at Iowa's polls there's basically in a three way dead heat tie between Clinton. Obama, and Edwards. I like all three of them so the decision is really hard for me. As an African American I'm rooting for Barack Obama. Not just cuz of his race but also because he inspires me. I mean he truly has a lot of potential and for the first time in America's history I think that a black man truly has a shot at holding the highest office in the land. Hillary Clinton on the other hand is very experienced and I loved it when Bill Clinton was president so I trust that she will bring some normalcy to the White House and get this country in shape if she becomes President. John Edwards appeals to me because of his passion. I truly think he cares about the average American citizen. Yes hes rich and yes he does have the finer things in life but that doesn't mean he won't fight for the common man. Plus his programs and his ideals really speak to me.

Personally I liked either Clinton or Obama to be the presidential candidate. If Obama is the candidate I don't see him picking Hillary as his VP. I see him choosing John Edwards as his VP. And vice versa if Edwards wins the main nomination.

However if Clinton is the presidential candidate for the dems I WANT her to pick Obama first and then Edwards as her VP. However with all the attacks that Obama and Edwards are hurling at her I'm starting to believe that she won't like them very much when it comes time to sit down and choose her running mate. Hell she might just choose Bill Richardson or Joe Biden out of spite (both of whom I respect and admire but ultimately I don't think either would win the national election). I don't find Clinton to be egotistical though. Shes just a very SMART woman whos independent and has learned to fight the hard way to get things done. Obama brings a lot to the table and I'm sure she realizes this. His appeal is much broader than just race.

Personally I could care less who the Republicans nominate this time around. As long as its not Mitt Romney I'm okay. He scares the crap out of me. However I do think Rudy might have it in the bag.

[EricaKane70]

I would like hillary to get the presidential nom and obama to be her VP. Like I said in another post, obama just doesn't have the experience and I don't think he going to get the black vote for the most part.

[DevotedToAMC]

Democrats:

Hillary Clinton as president

Barack Obama or Bill Richardson as vice president

Republicans:

Mitt Romney as president

Rudy Giuliani or Mike Huckabee as vice president

[EricaKane70]

I just had a thought, could bill clinton be hillary's VP? I know the constitution says he can only be president for 2 consecutive terms, I don't remember it saying anything about a president not being able to be a vp?

[Max]

EricaKane70, I believe (although I am not 100% sure) that a former two-term president cannot become VP because--in the event the president were to die--the VP would become president; of course, in this case, this would mean a former two-term president would again become president, which in turn would result in somebody being president for more than eight years (which is something that is forbidden).

However, let's assume that I am wrong about what I just write above. Bill Clinton still could not be named as VP because the Constitution forbids a president and VP from being from the same state.

[David_Vickers]

Democrat Presidential Candidate--- Hillary Clinton

Democrat VP Candidate-----either Barack Obama, Bill Richardson or Evan Bayh

Republican Presidenital Candidate-----Mitt Romney,

Republican VP Candidate------Mike Huckabee or John McCain

How dare you call Hillary Clinton "the husband of Bill Clinton'. What a stupid, idiotic, hateful and neo-con re-mark! Hillary Clinton is the WIFE of Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton IS one of the greatest Presidents ever, that's a fact and that's the fact that neo-cons like yourself hate Bill and Hillary!

You call Clinton egostisticl!!! WTF??!?! Noone could be more egostistical than W and Dick!

[EricaKane70]

Whoa calm down, it could of been a typo.

[Max]

EricaKane70, thank you so much for defending me. That was indeed a typo, as I meant to say "Clinton's solid lock on the nomination is largely due to the fact that Bill Clinton is her husband."

Mulder, I am sincerely sorry that I offened you. However, please keep in mind that I am upset that you automatically assumed that I was a Bush-loving neo-con. Note that while I am a conservative Republican, I am not a neo-con, and I feel that Bush has been a major disappointment as president. The Iraq War (which I initially supported, because I believed Bush when he said that there were WMD) has been a major disaster, and has damaged the Republican Party to the point that it will take many years to recover. And, of course, I believe that Bush and Cheney are very egotistical.

Mulder, I also want to say that Evan Bayh as the Democratic VP nominee is an interesting choice. He is definately a solid moderate who will not overshadow Clinton in any way. However, I do not believe he will get chosen because Indiana is a heavily Republican state, and his being on the ticket will not be enough to make the state vote Democratic in the general election. (For instance, North Carolina is also a heavily Republican state, and Bush still easily won that state in 2004 despite John Edwards' presence on the ticket.)

[Chris B]

If Hilary is smart, she'll pick Joe Biden as her running mate. Obama is 100% out of the question because he will overshadow her, in addition to the attacks. Edwards said he won't accept VP, not that anyone would offer it to him.

[Yankee Boy]

As an Iowan....polls in Iowa do NOT mean anything. I was all excited and ready to see a President Dean in 2004, only to see his huge lead in the polls dissolve into nothing on caucus night. A vast majority of Iowans do NOT caucus, and the ones who do are the ones that don't answer the polls. I haven't missed a caucus since I started voting (OK only 2), and I NEVER get polling phone calls. The polls for anything out of Iowa are very misleading. In my opinion, the most qualified individual running for President is either Joe Biden or Bill Richardson, however, neither of them are viable candidates. They just do not have the $. Sadly, these elections revolve around $. If I had to guess, it would look like this:

Dem Pres: Hillary Clinton

Dem VP: Bill Richardson

GOP Pres: Rudy Guiliani (their only chance to beat Hillary)

GOP VP: probably some Southern Senator or Fred Thompson

I consider myself a pretty strong Democrat, and would have a hard time voting for Hillary and would consider voting for Guiliani except for his opinion on national security and the war.

Just my two pennies.

[Roman]

Mulder, there is no need for this. Once again, if you disagree with someone, fine.

The stuff you are saying here is vey disrespectful.

Let's keep this civil, like everyone else is pretty much doing.

[Tishy]

Dem: Hilary Clinton as President, with Bill Richardson as VP

Rep: Mitt Romney as President , with Fred Thompson as VP

[Roman]

Democrat: Hillary Clinton, President. Joseph Biden, Vice-President

Republican: Michael Hukabee, President. Mitt Romney, Vice-President.

[DevotedToAMC]

For some reason, that is what I am predicting it will look like. Clinton is beating Romney in the polls so it appears as if these tickets would work for the Democrats