Presidential preferences

Since you asked, here’s my current personal picking order:

(1) Bill Richardson
(2) Mitt Romney
(3) Rudy Guliani
(4) Hillary Clinton

Right now it’s most likely that the race will be between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. So I guess I’m voting for Rudy. But if it ends up being Hillary v. John McCain, or Hillary versus Fred Thompson, I guess I’m voting for Hillary.

Hillary has got a big lead for the Democratic nomination and is likely to be able to protect it. What dirt could they dig up that would be worse than the smacking around she’s taken all these years? Rudy’s lead on the Republican side is not so great. I think he’s perceived as a good match up against Hillary in some ways (puts New York in play, which will cost the Democrats money to defend) but not so good in others (he’s on wife #3, Hillary is still on husband #1). John McCain could be strong against Hillary too, but his statement that he wants to be the last man standing in Iraq is costing him (on some level you got to admire a guy willing to go down fighting for a lost cause). Mitt Romney makes the Christian conservatives nervous and that is fun to watch. Enter Fred Thomson.

There a lot of other people running, although a lot of these candidates are really running for Vice President or cabinet posts. And, in fact, I suspect my two top choices Richardson and Romney, are probably only in contention for VP at this point in the race.

Here’s my take on the rest of the field:

Other Democrats running not currently on my list to vote for:

Joe Biden – longtime Senator from Delaware
Joe Edwards – former one term Senator with no executive experience
Barak Obama – first term Senator with no executive experience
Christopher Dodd – longtime Senator from Connecticut, familiar face that stands for what?
Mike Gravel – former Senator from Alaska, aging crackpot
Dennis Kucinich – Congressman with limited executive experience
Wesley Clark – retired general not officially running
All Gore – former VP not officially running

Other Republicans running not currently on my list to vote for:

John McCain –admirable individual but no executive experience. GWB’s worst mistake was not picking him to be VP instead of Cheney.
Fred Thompson – protégé of Howard Baker (one of the last honest men on American politics), but no real executive experience, except on the screen
Tommy Thompson – former Wisconsin governor, solid Midwesterner with some good ideas on health care.
Mike Huckabee – former Arkansas governor, possibly a crackpot
Jim Gilmore – former Virginia governor no one has heard of
Sam Brownback – Senator with no executive experience
Tom Tancredo – Congressman with no executive experience
Duncan Hunter – Congressman with no executive experience
Ron Paul – Congressman with no executive experience
New Gingrich – former Speaker of House not officially running