Iowa Caucus

The Iowa Caucus is less than 20 days away.  It's the first of many important events in the upcoming months...

Who do you want to win Iowa?  Who do you think will win? 

I want to see Obama in the White House in January 2009, so obviously I want him to win Iowa...and I think he has a really solid chance.

On the Republican side, I'm not sure who I really want the nominee to be.   I suppose McCain since I don't think he has a chance.  I think Iowa is going to Huckabee.

Anyone else?

 

no one?

All of the acknowledged Obama supporters in Iowa were invited to parties last week where there was a conference call with Barack himself.  I think it was a great idea to get everyone ready for caucuses but his speech wasn't exactly inspiring.  I'm left wondering who I will caucus for.

For the Dems, I'll be thrilled for Obama if he wins. I'm reading his memoir Dreams From My Father now, and it's quite good. 

For the GOP, I heart Huckabee -- I have a personal connection with Mike Huckabee in that after watching a TV interview of him talking about his weight loss, he literally inspired me to lose 30 pounds. 

And as a political junkie, I find it all very exciting  -- the nominees for both parties being so up in the air.  I can hardly wait for January 3rd.

Obama Girl here, all the way.

Serious, non-trolling, question asked to satisfy my curiosity:

 

Why Obama?

 

Full disclosure:  I'm a foaming-at-the-mouth Libertarian so I don't like Obama.  Nor any other "Tier 1" candidate from either of the two major parties.

I do, however, like to know what motivates people to support individual candidates.   What does Obama have that sets him apart from the rest of the pack? 

For me, there are a variety of reasons.

The biggest one, of course, is that his stances on the issues very closely align with mine.  I could go into every one in detail, but that'd be boring, and if I were reading someone else's response doing the same thing, I'd just skim that part.

The second thing is his character.  I remember being highly impressed by his speech at the DNC in '04, and to this day he hasn't let down my first impression of him.  I find him forthright and "real", seemingly untouched by D.C. corruption.  (I understand that believing that completely is incredibly naive, and I don't.  But I'm comparing him to other politicians here, so it's a sliding scale.)

I also like how, in the debates, he gives real answers to questions, instead of circling around the issues and creating constant petty arguments about semantics.

There's just a naturalness to him that I appreciate.  A lot of the top Democratic candidates hold similar political stances, so it's his personality that gives him the extra nudge for me.

Which issues, specifically?  I'm curious.   Not all of them, say... the top 3 things in order of importance to you that Mr. Obama has pledged to do if elected.

If you're comfortable answering that is.  

The rest sounds, to me, like charisma.

Nice to see this thread as it is obviously a very important topic. Unfortunately I don't know that much about the candidates. Tentatively support Hillary...

Personally I don't like the whole US election process :(

Top 3 for me:

I like his plan for Iraq, and I like the fact that it is strongly supported by the bipartisan study group for the war.

Some of his health care strategies.  I have had some severe medical problems in the past, so it's a big thing for me.

And some of his pushes for more renewable energy.  I'm young, so I know that, within my lifetime, the energy crisis will only greatly worsen without drastic measures.  (I'm also a student in the College of Natural Resources at my university, so this is a big thing with me.)

Those are just the top three for me, though.

Is that enough answer for you?  I don't think this was meant to be a thread outlining specific platforms...

Original Post by courtbarb:

Is that enough answer for you? I don't think this was meant to be a thread outlining specific platforms...

 I asked for three and you gave me three, so yes, I would say that is enough for me. 

I appreciate your answer.  I'm simply curious what draws a person to one candidate over another.  You're probably right that this thread wasn't intended to outline specific platforms, so I'm happy to let it rest.

Original Post by figurethefat:

Personally I don't like the whole US election process :(

 i do and i don't.  i don't because it's flawed and needs serious reform.  i do because i'm an election junkie who can't get enough of polls, endorsements, etc.