Poll: Many voters unable to name any Democratic candidates
So how DO you compete against a sitting President who can land a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier and face a hand-picked adoring throng any time he chooses? Well, first of all, people have to know who the heck you ARE, and Democrats are currently experiencing major suckage in this vital area.
When pollsters supplied the names, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean topped the field, although with relatively low numbers that suggest the race remains wide open.
Lieberman with 14 percent, Gephardt with 11 percent, and Dean with 10 percent were the only three in double digits in support among registered Democrats, said the poll.
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was at 5 percent after being in double digits in national polls most of the year. Kerry will try to spark his campaign this week with the formal announcement of his candidacy.
Al Sharpton had 5 percent, Florida Sen. Bob Graham 4 percent, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards 2 percent, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun 2 percent and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich registered zero percent in the survey calculation.
Shrub is more vulnerable now than at any time since 9.11, and yet none of the Democrats have found a way to get their names out to the general public (perhaps a Gary Hart-style sex scandal??). Even with all of the efforts Shrub has made to fall flat on his face (politically speaking, of course), no Democrat has stepped up to exploit the opening.
Democrats have GOT to begin thinking outside the box. Howard Dean for instance, might want to think about sponsoring a Howard Dean Bobblehead Doll night at a Baltimore Orioles' game. The way things are looking now, this just might be as close to Washington as he will ever get.
John Kerry is going to formal announce his candidacy for the Presidency this week. Yawn.... Now, if he were to do it in the buff at a nudist camp, THAT might attract some interest from the mainstream media. (YES, I'll vote for you...just put your damn clothes back on, willya??)
Dennis Kucinich? Sorry, you might have some interesting ideas, but when your name recognition registers exactly zero, it's time to close up shop. You are not going to be landing a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier any time soon, Rep. Kucinich. Stop wasting your time and the money of others.
Defeating Shrub in 14 months is a very real possibility now- not something that you would have been able to say prior to the war in Iraq. The question for Democrats is how to exploit Shrub obvious weaknesses? The possibilities are there, but can any of the nine dwarves take advantage of them? It certainly doesn't look like it at the moment, does it?
