I'm not intending to start the debate yet, just get some information from the webdip community for my personal edification..

To the conservatives:

What's your opinion of the "The Donald"? Asset or Liability?

I don't care for his arrogance, personally, but if it came down to Trump vs Obama, I think Trump would ruin this country less than Obama.

So on that note, if Trump ended up with the republican nomination would you vote for him over Obama?

Is there anyone on the republican side, who, if they recieved the nomination, you would cast a vote for Obama instead of the republican? Why?

If you could decide the Republican nominee, who would you pick (anybody eligible to run, regardless of whether they are or not)?

Who do you think has the best chance to absolutely run roughshod over Obama in 2012? (active contender or not)

To the liberals:

Which conservative figure would be most palatable to you if Obama were to lose to a conservative?

Which conservative are you most afraid of in terms of their likelihood to beat Obama?

Which conservative are you most afraid of in terms of their beliefs and policies?

@ Putin,

I'll definitely agree that there are a few of those in the field right now, but I'd still take them over Obama..

"I'll definitely agree that there are a few of those in the field right now, but I'd still take them over Obama.."

That says a lot about you. Obama is a moderate and you're so extreme you'd vote for Trump, Palin, or Bachman over him.

When your leading candidate is a racist birther conspiracy theorist, that means you long ago ceased to be a serious political party.

I thought the left was against labels.. Yet here comes the "extreme" label.
It seems these days that anything other than spending, taxing, and wealth redistribution is extreme. Its practically to the point that if you ever even thought about voting republican, ever, let alone actually ever voted that way, you are "extreme."

How much do you know about me Putin to say that I'm extreme? I don't care for Trump, but I care less for Obama, and that makes me extreme?

I'm not sure I even want to know how you justify describing Obama as a moderate... I'll take just one issue: he is rather unmoderate in his spending (in fact, the most extreme spending ever for a president). If he is so moderate, why was there such a huge backlash in the 2010 election that the congress changed hands so far the other direction?

I don't want to argue the merits (or lack thereof) of Obama's policies. Can I just get some serious answers to my questions?

Lay off the "extreme" stuff for just one thread will you?

When you label any viewpoint that doesn't agree with you as extreme, you cease to have your arguments taken seriously..

Anybody care to rescue this thread by actually discussing the questions I asked?

Hey Leif, a liberal here.

I think Trump is a wild card, he has great business experience, but what I've heard of his foreign policy is insane. Also I think he will lack moderate support from both republicans and indepents.

I'd be tempted to vote for Romney, his unstated stance on Healthcare is interesting, but his social policies would probably prevent him from getting my vote, anyone who comes out as being opposed to Gay Marriage is not going to get my vote.

As far as the tea partyers, they are the ones who scare me, half the time the just look stupid, and the other half of the time they look insane. I really feel that they could irreversably devestate the country for years to come due to their detachment from reality. I have some serious problems with the republican party, but before the tea partyers they at least weren't delusional.

Also anyone who says we can solve the debt crises without an increase in taxes is either lying or stupid. No one wants to pay more taxes, but most people don't want to get rid of medicare, medicaid or social security either. I'm very open to reform, but it has to actually be reform, not removal.

"he is rather unmoderate in his spending (in fact, the most extreme spending ever for a president). If he is so moderate, why was there such a huge backlash in the 2010 election that the congress changed hands so far the other direction?"

The money had to be spent to get our economy out of the ditch that we put in by 8 years of irresponsible Bush policies. It's not as if Reagan-Bush-Bush II weren't huge spenders who skyrocketed our deficits. The idea that deficit spending makes someone extreme is laughable, when you're willing to vote for a raving birther. Republicans don't understand basic economics. In economic recessions you lose revenues. Much of the deficit is due to the economic recession. In order to get revenues flowing again you have to jumpstart the economy. Both parties believe you have to engage in deficit spending to do this. The difference is the Republicans do it through tax cuts and Democrats do it through government stimulus. Both methods increase the deficit.

If you're offended by me saying you supporting Palin/Trump/Bachman over Obama is extreme, oh well. There's no other word to describe it. I'm not against labels. Labels are useful. You backing a birther conspiracy theorist over Obama simply because Obama is a Democrat is extreme.

" If he is so moderate, why was there such a huge backlash in the 2010 election that the congress changed hands so far the other direction?"

Because of a systematic coordinated strategy, admitted by the Republicans from the beginning, that they wanted to destroy Obama and make him fail. When the economy is struggling, and one party does everything to block efforts to improve it, and then lo and behold people are frustrated by the lack of progress - you're going to have big election swings. Obama bent over backwards to compromise with Republicans on healthcare, and is doing the same on tax policy. Obama spent months gutting the healthcare bill so he could appease Olympia Snowe, who didn't end up supporting it anyway. We didn't even get a public option. How is this 'unmoderate' (sic)? Just because Hate Radio and Fox News invents every kind of lie they can think of to make Obama look like the next Lenin, doesn't mean it's true.

I mean we saw this before with Clinton. Dozens of investigations and millions of dollars spent by the Republicans to dig up any dirt they could possibly find to destroy Clinton. What do they do? Try to impeach him because of a six month discrepancy over when he said he touched Monica Lewinsky. Lying about affair that had no relevance to the case he was testifying about. That's all they could come up with. And Ken Starr admitted he withheld reports saying Clinton was cleared on his other investigations until well after the 1998 election.

We're used to these dirty tricks. Republicans can't handle the fact that people other than Republicans might be in power. They engage in the politics of personal destruction from beginning to end.

Thanks Puddle.

I appreciate honest answers and serious replies.. I agree with your assesment of Trump. I don't like the idea of him using his traditional business tactics in foreign policy, but I don't care for Obama's foreign policy fiascos either. Trump at least has business experience, which Obama lacks.

I'll grant you that we need reform not removal of medicare/medicaid/Social Security.

Now is also not the time to be pressing the moral issues stances, though no one will take a candiate seriously who doesn't take a stance on any moral issue. I think both sides need to lay of the moral issues stuff this election cycle and focus on the financial and economic issues, and who is best to fill that job, and in that sense Romney is a great candidate..

Oh and just in case anybody is unclear on the issue, I don't support Trump, I just used his name specifically since he is viewed by many to be a front runner and has been in the press so much recently.

I'm not afraid of any of the Republicans in terms of chances to defeat Obama. Romney maybe, but Romney has 2 big problems - He invented "Obamacare" which the Repugs supposedly hate, and 2-He's a Mormon, and evangelicals hate Mormons. Plus he's uncharismatic. I don't think the Republicans care about this Presidential election. They're biding their time for 2016. None of them have a chance of beating Obama and I would rather chew off my arm than vote for any of them.

"Trump at least has business experience, which Obama lacks."

If by experience you mean he has experiencing bankrupting various companies, then yeah.

That's fair Leif, but take a look at the Florida congress, we had a massive wave of republicans voted in, who all ran on focusing on jobs and getting things done, and in the past several months, we've had 19, thats right nine-fucking-teen, anti-abortion bills. And theres a whole lot of similar shenannigans going on. I mean there is a serious movement to recall the governor, we just don't have the power to do so.

I'm worried that the republicans elected at the national level will pull a similar bait and switch tactic.

Also where do you stand on trickle-down economics?

Yeah, economic issues, such as the panel of economists this week that said they are extremely confident that the economy is recovering.

Guess that Obama has no idea what hes doing.

Trump Bankrupt his company THREE TIMES. Business experience right. What flavor Kool Aid Leif.

Trump is all name and Brand, and i guess that's all you need

And also, in case anybody is unclear on the issue, I choose not to respond to Putin in this thread not because I can't answer his arguments but because he comes to the table with an agenda of marginalizing opposing viewpoints and seems intent on derailing my topic. No offense Putin, and nothing personal, I just can't have a serious conversation with someone who's agenda includes marginalizing my viewpoint.

and Trump is a fake front runner, this happens every election, a big name makes waves, maybe wins Iowa, but when it come to sustaining a campaign they are unable

I hope to god Trump wins the primary. That man doesnt have skeletons in his closet, he has a storage facility full of them

Good point Santa, I just didn't want to bring the big guns to the table right away ;-)

I thought the politicians in my country were bad. I'd much rather enjoy an evening meal with Josef Mengele than with that mutt.

I refer to Trump, of course.

I marginalize you like you try to marginalize Obama. We're even. Continue defending Trump's "experience" vs Obama saving our economy.

The person Im most scared of is Huckabee if he runs again. The guy seems like a genuinely nice guy which might win over a lot of people, but I dont want a religious fundamentalist running the country (again). The last thing we need.

Honestly, I am scared also if we have a republican at the head of foreign policy no matter who s/he is.

Somehow, as much as I don't trust Americans, I don't think they'll vote for someone who still thinks we should quarantine AIDS victims. But I agree he's a smooth talker and likes the camera. His ability to raise money through Fox News will be a bonus.

Again to be clear, Trump is among the last of the republican candidates I would choose, but let me point out that Trump recovered from bankruptcy three times. Our country has yet to recover from a debt the size of our yearly GDP. Obama has no experience recovering from bankruptcy. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Trump is the best for the job, just marginally better than Obama.

@ Puddle: I'll agree that running on jobs and the pushing anti-abortion bills is poor tactics and would caution any elected representative of the people not to abuse the trust given you by the people. Unfortunately for fiscal conservatives (if these state legislators are truly fiscal conservatives), they run the risk of getting the shaft next election.

To the conservatives, we've watched Obama abuse his elected position, let's not repeat his mistakes by pressing moral issues when the crisis at the moment is fiscal in nature.

We are on an economic knife edge. If the economy is "recovering" why are gas and food prices skyrocketing, and why is the Fed talking about raising interest rates, and why is the rest of the world getting rid of T-bills as fast as they can?

I'm a believer in trickle down economics and am a proponent of the idea that raising taxes will decrease revenue while lowering taxes (to a point) increases revenue. The Bush tax cuts actually ended up in the rich as a group paying more in total taxes (while individually paying less) and lead an increase in revenue.

Trump is only running to split the GOP vote and to take votes away from Ron Paul to get Obama elected again since he was such an asset to his masters.

It's Ron Paul or its the end of the US as we know it. Period.

Huckabee is low on my list as well since he is a moral conservative first and a fiscal conservative second.. I think he would try to push is religious agenda and wouldn't be good with foreign policy.. But still a far sight better than Obama..

"Again to be clear, Trump is among the last of the republican candidates I would choose, but let me point out that Trump recovered from bankruptcy three times"

RECOVERED? He put the company in Bankruptcy 3 times before he recovered, meaning he put it back in Bankruptcy 2 times, Jesus Christ.

"Our country has yet to recover from a debt the size of our yearly GDP. Obama has no experience recovering from bankruptcy."

You actually are equating Government debt with Bankruptcy? Our government is not bankrupt and no where near bankruptcy.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think Trump is the best for the job, just marginally better than Obama."

Which is not helping your case that you are not in LaLa land, sorry, im not inclined to agree with Putin, but if you think Donald Trump is better than anyone in the field you have some serious issues.

I can't believe Im actually going to say this, but I'd rather have Sarah Palin as President

I don't understand all this bickering between the parties and candidates. They are all the same. They will all serve the corporate agenda.

Hey darwyn,

I've heard that theory about Trump, and could see that as a possiblity.

Do you think Ron Paul would be able to beat Obama?

Also what about Gary Johnson, former New Mexico Governor?