Pop Culture Cuisinart

With the 2008 election only 656 days away(ok, its not that close), it's never too early to start thinking about who has the best chance to be the next leader of the free world. As of right now these would be my picks, though obviously much can change with this much time left.

1. Barack Obama- He is the political equivalent of a rock star. Intelligent, handsome, sound on policy, and currently hitting all the right notes on Iraq. His negatives are minimal, and the only thing that really could derail him is another batch of "mislabled" press photos describing him as Osama.

2. John Edwards- Many felt his candidacy announcement in New Orleans over the holidays was a bad move, but it appears to have worked for him. The publicity of the announcement and subsequent talk show visits have put him back in the public eye, and making many take a second look at the man who probably should have been the nominee in '04.
If looking Presidential counts for anything, Edwards is in good shape.

3. Hillary Clinton- While the latest Rasmussen poll still has Hillary with a narrow edge among likely Dem. voters, her lead has been steadily evaporating as new candidates have emerged and as some of her negatives become a little clearer. Name recognition is both her blessing and her curse. She had ridden it to a substantial lead in early polling because she was the only candidate anyone had ever heard of. The problem is that EVERYONE has heard of her and have already made up their minds about her. She's as popular as she's ever going to get and no amount of campaign coin will change that. In addition since she brings out strong feelings on both sides of the fence she's also the candidate most likely to draw the strongest wingnut response in a general election and drive conservative turnout.

4. Al Gore- He's gone from insider politician, to Hollywood activist. And he's also happened to be ahead of the curve on the largest sleeper issue of the '08 campaign, global warming. He keeps insisting he won't run, but there are many who'd like him to. He's still eminently qualified, and there's no question the planet would have been very grateful if some geezers in Broward hadn't accidently voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000.
The most inconvenient truth is Al Gore should have won in 2000.

5. Bill Richardson- For brokering the Darfur treaty alone, he should get far more respect than he does. Add in the fact that he's a member of the fastest growing minority group in the US and the governor of a swing state, and he seems like electoral gold. Name recognition is an issue, and thus he probably tops out as the best Dem. VICE presidential candidate.

6. Wes Clark- I like him, but he still hasn't announced. And the longer he waits the more his base of support seems to be heading to Edwards. Like Richardson brings a fantastic resume to the table, and also would be a terrific vice presidential candidate.

7. John Kerry- He has lots of campaign cash. That's about the biggest positive I can come up with.
The only thing we have to fear is...another run by Kerry.

8. Tom Vilsack- As former Governor of Iowa, he'll have a crucial edge in the vital Iowa Caucuses. Unfortunately, he's also rendered them meaningless because all the pundits will affix any winning performance there with a big astrix.

9. Chris Dodd- He's building a strong netroots operation and obviously hoping to be this cycle's Dr. Dean. Unfortunately for him, there are already better candidates to be this year's Dean.

10. Joe Biden- I'm still trying to figure out why he's running. Stick to the Senate, Joe. You can't hang with this group.

11. Dennis Kucinich- Wait, he's actually running again. His politics are genuine, but his resemblance to Gollum is a minus.
Civil liberties are his precious.