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Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:38:41 -0700
To: etalviti &AElig eecs.umich.edu, improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu
From: "Eva Revesz" <erevesz &AElig hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: candidate calculator

Erik,
I totally agree with you. So who fills that bill in your eyes?
I'd say Hillary,no?
Trixie

>From: Erik Talvitie <etalviti &AElig eecs.umich.edu>
>To: improvetheworld &AElig umich.edu
>Subject: Re: candidate calculator
>Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:39:42 -0400
>
> > According to yootles.com/candicalc we are overwhelmingly in favor of
> > Kucinich, as are (to a lesser extent) the other 150,000 people who
> > answered those same questions.  The selectsmart page (linked to at the 
>top
> > of yootles.com/candicalc) says I like Ron Paul the best.
>
>Here's the thing about these calculators: they seem to assume that your
>ideal candidate is...you. To me, that's kind of an odd place to start
>from. I mean, obviously it is true that I take the political positions I
>take because I believe if the government were to take the same
>positions, we'd be a better nation for it. That said, I fully recognize
>that if I could perform a government transplant and replace our current
>one with one that agreed with me on every issue, we'd have a big problem
>on our hands. Because *most* people don't agree with me on at least some
>issue that is really important to them, and everything would just grid
>to a halt. So really I'd much rather have a government that most people
>can get along with, but one that is walking in my direction and bringing
>the nation with it.
>
>So when both calculators tell me Kucinich is the best candidate for me
>(yootles: 58, selectsmart: 98), I can see where they're coming from. I
>*like* Kucinich. I like what we has to say and I love to hear him speak.
>I think he's the most legitimately liberal candidate in the field. And
>that's why I would never vote for him. He can't even sell his platform
>to moderate dems, let alone die-hard conservatives. If he managed to
>magically get to the oval office, he'd be a complete waste of time. He'd
>never get anything done because no congressperson (democrat or
>republican) who wanted to get re-elected could have anything to do with
>him. The same goes for Gravel and Paul too, as far as I'm concerned.
>They all have great ideas for the Perfect America but they give no
>indication that they will be able to put that agenda aside and work with
>the contentious, confused, inertial country we've got right now. We've
>just suffered through 8 years of an ideological, bull-headed president
>who knows what's best for everyone, despite abysmal approval ratings. I
>don't want a repeat, even if I share the ideology this time around.
>
>So when I'm looking at candidates, I'm not looking for the one that is
>the best reflection of me, I'm looking for the one that will best
>champion my overall values to everyone else. I'd like the candidate who
>is most likely to be able to convince the nation as a whole that a
>couple of steps to the left ("and then a jump to the ri-i-i-i-ight!") in
>our policies will do us all some good. Even though I don't agree with
>them issue for issue (and even on some issues that are really important
>to me) I actually think the Democratic front-runners are probably the
>best we've got using that criterion (and maybe Biden too, if he could
>just gain some traction).
>
>Just my 2 pyoonies.
>
>Erik
>

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