Iowa, New Hampshire are still a year away, yet all the political
types are talking about Obama and Clinton and now Edwards. We have a
long way to go before selecting the Democratic nominee so we all need
to slow down and smell the roses. After all it is Valentines Day.

Here in Southern Illinois, in the region where I came of age in the
1950s and '60s, the home of the Paul's (Paul Powell and Paul Simon)
and Glenn Poshard, I hear a lot about Hillary Clinton and it is not
good. The local Democrats are lining up behind Obama, most because he
is from Illinois. But there is very weak support for Senator Clinton.

If one listens to the major news media it seems that they have
already nominated Hillary. They call her the clear cut front runner,
but I am not so sure. A poll on our site www.wedemocrats.org show
Edwards leading, followed by Al Gore who hasn't even thrown his hat
in the ring yet, then Obama and Dennis Kucinich, only then does
Clinton come into the picture with a miserly 9%. The Wall Street
Journal's editorial page:

"The race is between Hillary Rodham Clinton and everybody else."

And the Washington Post:

"Clinton begins the long campaign as the clear front-runner for the
Democratic nomination."

Some one is wrong but I tend to believe that We The People have or
finger on the pulse more so than do these so called political
experts, after all we are the ones voting. Or are we?

Now you should know that I have never been a trouble maker, growing
up in the sticks of Southern Illinois, the saying was "go along to
get along." And with but a few excursions into politics I have done
just that. When I started WeDemocrats in May 2006, it wasn't to shake
up the nations politics it was an attempt to get Democrats to run on
the local County ticket. (it failed by the way, we had not one dem on
the ticket). By September what started as 5 friends in my living room
became a group across the State of Illinois. As more people asked to
join and offer their support, I began thinking of a National Group.
By September 2006 we were seeing other states in the membership
rolls, and on October 5th we went National.

With 50 states and the District of Columbia represented plus 22
members living outside the nations borders, we began sticking our
noses into the political scene. We supported Craig Johnson for
Senator in New York and won. We made inroads into State Parties in
several states. And our membership has reflected a more middle road
than far left, although we have a few of those as well. But mainly we
are a cross section of the country with Republican, Democratic,
Liberals, Independents and mainly Progressives we have forged an
organization dedicated to change.

So when I hear people talking like we should just eliminate the
Democratic National Convention because Hilary has it locked up, I get
angry. While I wish I could support Obama, I am still unsure of him,
he just has not shown the experience that I feel we need in
Washington, so at this time I am supporting John Edwards. Of the
three of them I have met Clinton in Arkansas in 1984, and Obama twice
in 2006, Edwards I have never met, and yet he gives off the vibes
that I can relate to so for now he has my personal support.
WeDemocrats each will have to make their own choices, as an
organization we will not support anyone candidate until the primaries
are over and we have a candidate.

While Clinton has jumped into the fire with the rest of the
Democratic field and came in swinging, she trails in polls in Iowa
and New Hampshire, where usually the winner ends up being the
nominee. I am a Deaniac, and supported Howard Dean in 2004, but Iowa
derailed his express, of course if it hadn't we wouldn't have him at
the head of the DNC and probably wouldn't have won as many seats in
Congress as we did in 2006.

So my analysis is that Clinton is more experienced, she is also the
worst speaker of the three, Obama is the best speaker but lacks
experience, Edwards while a very fine speaker is just average in
experience. Trying to give a score based on this shows that all three
should get same grade, which means that the nomination is in a
virtual tie at this point.

National Polls are showing that of the three when matched up against
various opponents Edwards would be the best candidate. But many fail
to take in the Gore affect, Al Gore continues to rack up points not
only in polls but in our own poll as well. In my personal opinion the
perfect ticket would be Gore-Edwards, but I doubt Edwards would want
to be second fiddle once again, although it would no doubt ensure his
election in 2016 assuming Gore would be re-elected in 2012.

Well don't want to write a book, just give my opinion as to why
Clinton is "NO SURE BET!"

What you can do between now and the primaries, is sign the petition
to Impeach Cheney, the first step in our Master Plan for taking back
the Whitehouse. The petition is to Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi:, Titled: "FREE WORLD From VP Cheney's Tyranny" hosted on the
web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/...

Ron McBride
WeDemocrats.org
Founder & Chairman
Publisher of WE! The People online magazine
ron@wedemocrats.org

Ron McBride is founder, chairman and regular contributor of, by and
for www.wedemocrats.org. He is the author of numerous articles on
Democracy. His writings can be found at www.WeDemocrats.org, at
mytown.ca/mcbride plus blogs such as www.dailykos.com, at OpEdNews
and www.mydd.com, www.wedemocrats.org, www.dailykos.com,
www.OpEdNews.com