GORE DOWN, "60 MINUTES" UP? How did Lesley Stahl, of all people, get this scoop? With Gore out, everybody wants a shot at handicapping "a wide open race." I'm not a betting man, so I'm not going to post odds or poll numbers, but I will do this quick 23-months-till-the-election freezeframe of the current reprehensibility of the likely Dem candidates. Here they are on the Bile-o-Meter. The scale ranges from 1 (altogether pleasant, like Grape Crush, or the smell of a puppy) to 10 (exposure to this candidate leaves me feeling contaminated in a way that not even a scalding bath and course of emetics could remedy):

John Kerry (Senator from Massachusetts): Strong foreign policy background, but hawkish. Strong on the environment (92% from the League of Conservation Voters, some leadership in upping CAFE requirements). 3.7 on the Bile-o-Meter.

John Edwards (Senator from North Carolina): We like Edwards, mainly because he can speak; he can orate. The shock of going from Clinton to Bush has been a miserable one. He's a trial lawyer, which we also like. Mixed record on the environment. Mixed record on financial issues (including a "yes" vote on "bankruptcy reform," which we hate). In other words, a typical compromised Southern Dem, but nice to listen to. 3.7 on the Bile-o-Meter, but gives indications of being dependent on polls in a way that could easily push him upward in the future.

Joe Lieberman (Senator from Connecticut): We really really hate Joe Lieberman. He's sanctimonious (remember Clinton impeachment, as well as his position on various "morals" issues), is pro-war, and is owned by the insurance lobby and other financial institutions. 9.1 on the Bile-o-Meter.

Howard Dean (Governor of Vermont): Issues2002 doesn't have a good summary of Dean's votes, because he's a state politician. Duh. So here's his candidacy site. Interesting dude. He's a physician in real life, which we like here in Oregon. He's in favor of universal health care, which is our official position here at angry little thoughts, sorry Eric. He's a big recycling guy. He acknowledges that free trade has to be reinforced with environmental and other social policy--we like that too. He explicitly links our overdependence on Middle East oil with the war of cultures which Bush and the reactionary Arab street aim for. We don't really know much about him, but what we've heard makes us eager to learn more. Only 2.0 on the Bile-o-Meter, but it's a very faint reading due to his being a relative unknown.

Dick Gephardt (Representative from Missouri): He is the poster boy for mainstream Dems, which we immediately dislike. He's recently turned to the right on Bush's various wars for oil, which we also dislike. Good on the environment (91% from the LCV). There's the eyebrow thing, which we don't dislike necessarily but which gives us the creeps. His 6.5 Bile-o-Meter rating is due mainly to his being totally uninspiring. Shows of backbone will push his BoM rating down.

Tom Daschle (Senator from South Dakota): Same criticisms as for Gephardt, above, but with the added criticism that Daschle, at least technically, has recently been Majority Leader. The past two years represent a colossal failure of nerve and absence of vision on the part of centrist Democrats. Those in charge bear the blame. Another 6.5 on the Bile-o-Meter.

Oher notables: John McCain only registers 2.1 on the Bile-o-Meter, because he refuses to shut up and we like it. John Kitzhaber registers 2.9, because we like his disdain for politicians, though we wonder at how little he has done to solve Oregon's problems during his forty years in office. Gary Johnson registers only 1.9, because we love what he says about the War on Drugs.

Al Gore was at 8.1 before yesterday, but now registers only 3.8. Amazing what a day will do.
- posted by thegusdad @ 12/16/2002 07:53:00 AM