Which American would we vote for?
News has a vote quiz up which purports to show who Australians would vote for if they had a vote in the 2008 US presidential election. (It’s similar to the flawed quiz they ran during the Australian election.)
I, apparently, would go for Al Gore, who isn’t even a candidate, with John Edwards as my runner-up. I was surprised, especially as yesterday I read this scathing indictment of the Bali ‘roadmap’ by George Monbiot, which was based on a scathing indictment of Al Gore. (At least, that’s how I read it.)
Facebook has a thingy where you can add a button to your profile based on your own choice. I’m for John Edwards!
Comment by mbahnisch — December 18, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Barack Obama follow up, Al Gore. In reality I am equally enthused by Hillary and Barack, but no so much Al.
Comment by John Greenfield — December 18, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Hmm, I’m Al Gore as well, apparently.
The video guy is very irritating.
And it didn’t tell me who Scarlett Johanson endorses!
Comment by mbahnisch — December 18, 2007 @ 2:38 pm
My computer doesn’t do videos that well somerimes so I couldn’t take the News quest. I would be voting for Obama. As it is I get regular updates from his campaign headquarters. They’re not very informative and are usually soliciting donations orletting me know about campaign events. Thopugh occasaionally there is some policy information.
Comment by Paul Burns — December 18, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Monbiot has a lot of interesting things to say but at heart he’s an old-fashioned command-and-control lefty.
His views of American politics should be seen through that prism IMHO.
Comment by Robert Merkel — December 18, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Obama and Gore, but I prefer Edwards.
Comment by skribeforti — December 18, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
Obama, whom I would have picked without the quiz.
Comment by Pavlov's Cat — December 18, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
Two things I wish that will never happen:
(a) Russ Feingold wins the Presidency in 2008.
(b) The AEC is subcontracted to run all elections in the United States from county level upwards. No more Diebold nonsense, and a nice little money earner for Oz. (But with the sub-prime thing happening, I doubt that America would have the cash.)
If not Russ, then John Edwards.
Comment by Down and Out of Sài Gòn — December 18, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
Clinton? Gore? Obama?
I thought this was a progressive blog!?
Kucinich, all the way…
“Dennis Kucinich is the only democrat running for President who has voted against authorizing the war in Iraq and against funding its continuation.”
Comment by Chav — December 18, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Typical far-out left nonsense Chav. The idea is to go for someone who’s actually electable.
Comment by CK — December 18, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
Chav
Tell us what “progressive” means to you and your ilk?
Comment by John Greenfield — December 18, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
Ron Paul. No, Gore, really. Although I’m more siding with Edwards, then Clinton, Obama, Richardson, Dodd.
Comment by Greg — December 18, 2007 @ 4:03 pm
“Typical far-out left nonsense Chav. The idea is to go for someone who’s actually electable”.
It is!? Why…especially when there is so little difference between the ‘contenders’, both Demorat or Republican…
Comment by Chav — December 18, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
CNN had one that I played with for a few minutes where you can weight the issues differently to adjust the outcome. I got Kucinich and Gravel as my top two; on Wolf Blitzer’s show, Nader said he hopes one of these two get the Democratic Party’s nomination. Nader is my #1 candidate and I don’t need a poll to tell me that.
Comment by Sam Clifford — December 18, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Stephen Colbert, when the writers’ strike ends.
Comment by silkworm — December 18, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Chav, in the quiz I certainly gave ‘leftwing’ responses, eg that all US troops should be removed from Iraq - I still got Gore.
Comment by suzeoz — December 18, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
Obama, followed by Clinton apparently. However I’m backing Edwards.
I tried a similar quiz on a US site a while back and got Kucinich.
I suspect if I took it again, I’d get a different result.
Comment by Vee — December 18, 2007 @ 5:57 pm
[has a much-needed giggle.]
Is there a slot where I can vote for the singer from Pavement?
Comment by j_p_z — December 18, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
1. Edwards, 2. Clinton 3. Obama. Edwards has a better program. Clinton’s program is weaker but she’s probably a better chance at working the system. Obama is incredibly vague on policy specifics, floats Republican talking points on social security and health care, and trashtalks Paul Krugman. Maybe in 2016.
Comment by Alberik — December 18, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
Obama for me, but the quiz was weird and I was desperately trying to stop that dude with the long hair from talking. I think he is a former 70s rock star.
Comment by Darlene — December 18, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
Yep, like I said, he was very irritating.
Comment by mbahnisch — December 18, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
Interesting for those who know me - but apparently I should be for Obama. Just shows how silly the questions were.
Comment by Andrew — December 18, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
Your Kidding!Even with my best American accent they are already producing the words,tonight its a John Wayne clone with a cigar talking policies to some little people from Indonesia in another long forgotten part of history.They funded John Waynes clone to Indonesia with cigar by having reruns of Police statements where the universe gave birth to itself with the vote counting system and Floridians all wondering who they kill next. .So that Hilary and the voting numbers system will not be confused with friends and lovers of the Mitfords,pals in 1930s dreamtimes with a Austrian or was he German with a strange little moustache and some problem with keeping his arm straight with a swastika on it somewhere.He was like that fellow a relo of Prince Phil who as a Celeb. in the 1939 etc. war sat down with that popstar that churned out so many remarkable song lines it is called the Nazi song book.So I am talking serious Fosdick here,if you remember him,and there arent enough of them ..gone over to join the spiderman party.Ralph Nader 1 Ron Paul 2.Obama3 Kuchinin chin fellah4,and the Federal Reserve system they have got… last.
Comment by philiptravers — December 18, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
just goes to show exactly why foreigners shouldn’t get to vote in other people’s elections. ours, yours, or anybody else’s.
UN take note.
Comment by j_p_z — December 18, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
Chav, I’m with you. Here’s a couple of quotes from a beltway raised American brahmin called Gore Vidal, a gentleman with an insider’s perspective into precisely how the poll dice are loaded.
“Every four years the naive half who vote are encouraged to believe that if we can elect a really nice man or woman President everything will be all right. But it won’t be. Any individual who is able to raise $25 million to be considered presidential is not going to be much use to the people at large. He will represent oil, or aerospace, or banking, or whatever moneyed entities are paying for him. Certainly he will never represent the people of the country, and they know it. Hence, the sense of despair throughout the land as incomes fall, businesses fail and there is no redress.”
“It makes no difference who you vote for - the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people”
In the Land of the Free, winners on polling day are determined by Diebold Sequoia and other “GOP friendly” computers that don’t issue paper confirmation(receipts). Protesting the tally is futile because whoever programs the computers, determines the result. In the 2004 Presidential election, The Repubican governed State of Ohio delivered the electoral college vote(and the presidency) to Bush under very dodgy circumstances indeed.
“Hey, Buddy! We don’t need no stinkin’ scrutineers in our democracy!”
I thought the Oz poll was moronic.
Comment by Enemy Combatant — December 18, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
Ed Muskie. Anyone who is on Ibogaine can’t be all bad.
Comment by Sir Henry Casingbroke — December 18, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
Someone’s been rereading Hunter S. Thompson!
Comment by mbahnisch — December 18, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
I got Gore, but given he’s not in the race and has repeatedly denied he’ll enter it, I’ll go with my second preferred according to the test, and mine in RL, John Edwards.
Comment by myriad — December 19, 2007 @ 8:28 am
I particularly liked the WMD answers… nu-cul-ar ftw!
Comment by Tony D — December 19, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Thanks enemy combatant. Bit like the aussie sstem in some respects, then?
Comment by paul walter — December 19, 2007 @ 11:06 am
How come nobody got Hitlary? Me thinks this quiz was set-up by an Al Gore fishing party.
Comment by John Greenfield — December 19, 2007 @ 11:09 am
Yes Paul, a bit like our way as far as the “either/or” of a 2PP system goes. Where we differ radically from our North American cousins of course, is the way that votes are cast and counted/scrutineered.
A distinct disadvantage for Obama is that he’s not really beltway connected like Gores Al and Vidal are, or The Clintons or B’s 41 and 43 (and Nazi-loving Third Reich trader, grandaddy Prescott).
Having expediently cast aside the land of his birth in order to turn a bigger buck,now U.s. national Citizen Rupert has indicated verbally, by his presence at fundraisers, via his media empire and by direct campaign funding that he seriously prefers HRC from the other Dem. contenders. HRC and Rupie speak the same dialect of Dollar and the boy from Adelaide made good will if necessary, happily deal with her as Commander In Chief. Sure it’s possible to win without Rupie’s imprimatur, but highly unlikely.
For Nov.08, the GOP have only batshit crazies to choose from, but after Ronnie Rayguns, anything goes as long as it’s got brand recognition and megabucks behind it.
Edwards fanciers may draw solace from the following:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071218/OPINION01/712180369/1166/OPINION01
With 10 and a half months to Stateside E-Day, it’s HRC’s to lose. Although he’s unelectable (for reasons stated above), I think Kucinich has integrity and understands that the major export industry of the USA is death and destruction for all who oppose their hegemonic imperatives. Dennis K. has been steadfastly against the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq from the git go and has greater understanding than other candidates about the relationship between Homo Sap demonstrating his superiority over Nature and wholesale biospheric extinctions.
Comment by Enemy Combatant — December 19, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Chav, seems the old bugger has backed us up on Kucinich.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071218_whither_dennis_kucinich/
Comment by Enemy Combatant — December 19, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
Obama and Clinton would be equally nice in the top spot.
Comment by sarah — December 23, 2007 @ 4:33 pm
Hmmmm, perhaps my progressive inclinations really DO tend toward supporting people with a whelk’s chance in a tornado of being elected, becuase I’m a Kucinich fan.
That said, if I were voting in a close primary - eg one where either (a) Hillary had a challenger in the polls or (b) not Nevada - I’d have to think about going for Edwards, from memory he has promised to reform the lobbying rules in Washington and that’s enough to get my vote.
Obama’s willingness to bomb Pakistan and Hillary’s acceptance of HMO lobby funds were enough to turn me off, though I’d still cheer just as loud on Nov 4, 2008, if it was one of them beating the ‘batshit crazies’ of the GOP. Can’t wait for that night… assuming America does what I want it to do.
Will anyone be online on January 4, when Iowa results come through? I might make it if promised solid live discussion with tangents galore…
Comment by JoshWK — December 27, 2007 @ 4:31 pm
Giuiliani for me, which is not a bad approximation considering Fred Thompson wasn’t on the quiz.
Comment by Craig Mc — December 28, 2007 @ 11:02 am