Two things you should never talk about...

[ORU Eli]

...according to my parents are religion and politics in mixed company. However, I don't think this is mixed company and it is FREE FOR ALL...so without sparking some debate over issues...I'm just curious - has anyone been watching the debates, Republican and/or Democrat?

I'm very interested in politics, at least when it comes to the presidential election and especially one in 2008 when we will have a wide open race with no incumbent. Back when I thought it was just going to be a McCain vs. Giuliani race...I was a McCain supporter just based on my limited knowledge of him and then got a little intrigued by the Thompson factor. However, I've watched a few debates, both Dem and GOP, and I'm becoming a fan of Huckabee.

I think electibility is much more than charisma, wit, charm, and personal values but for me, that plays into it and he's got those qualities, along with growing national media coverage. People are starting to notice...his big hurdle is going to overcome the perception that he's just a cinderella candidate with a sharp wit...he'll never lose that but he's going to have to do something to shift his perception towards a serious potential candidate. Winning Iowa would help that...and in some polls he's on top right now.

Just my thoughts...anybody else been impressed with someone on either side of the party lines?

[MadAdder]

I've watched some debates here and there, I did catch all of the YouTube Republican debate last night.

I would probably support Ron Paul if I thought he had a chance, though I don't think he'd last more than one term in office. He appeals to youth maybe even better than Obama. I've seen so many people on the 'net write things like "I'm pro-choice and Ron is pro-life, but I'm going to vote for him anyways!". If he gets elected, I could see him pulling the troops out of Iraq and then all the liberals who supported him say to themselves "Well that's good, but now we don't have a reason to like him anymore."

The same reason I don't think Al Gore would be a good President - he'd fix Global Warming, but then "Oh yeah, there are a zillion other problems and I have no clue where to start when it comes to fixing them!"

I do think McCain had a really good showing last night, as did Huckabee. I liked Rudy's campaign video the most though (whereas Duncan Hunter's looked like an infomercial).

It's basically a 3-horse race on the Dem side and a 4-horse race on the Republican side.

I'm undecided (I consider myself a moderate Republican), but have a feeling that Rudy Giuliani will end up winning the primary and getting my vote. I think his moderate stance on social issues will allow him to work together with politicians on both sides of the aisle to get things done, and he's the only candidate who's vowing to decrease abortions and increase adoptions (which I'm all about). I consider myself pro-life, ideally I think it would be great if we lived in a country where no one wanted to get an abortion, but at the same time I think it's too extreme to outlaw them right this second when about half of the country would disagree with that.

I think Hillary is probably going to win the Democratic nomination, despite Obama being the clear media darling.

I really don't like Romney. He's like John Kerry on steroids as far as flip-flopping goes, I would definitely vote for Hillary over him.

Huckabee has been impressing me more lately, but I think he's going to have a hard to winning the center if he gets the nomination (IMO the center is where the battle for the White House is won or lost).

One thing that annoys me about these debates is that the questions asked of the Republicans and the Democrats are completely different, though I suppose this is to be expected since they're both just trying to impress their party and they don't give a crap about the other side until next year.

Fred Thompson seems the most like a "typical Republican" and I'm surprised he hasn't cut more into Rudy's lead.

Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo? Yeah, neither of them have a chance. Wouldn't be surprised if they both dropped out before the year's end.

[Dr. Cornelius]

Kodos, I'll probably vote Kodos.