Who do you believe will be the next President?

[Tim Bonney]

I'm curious as to your opinions of who will be elected to be our next President. My best guess is Hillary Clinton.

[KeithE]

I voted Sanders because I’m an optimist.

[Haruo]

I also voted "Sanders" because I am an optimist (and because in many ways my notion of "the good", i.e. what optimists are more inclined to think the future will approximate, parallels Keith's). But I am also a pessimist, and I have to say that this is a year in which I will be less than usually shocked if a nominee is assassinated prior to the election, or a president-elect after the election. I don't think it's an above-50-50 kind of thing, but I think it's not at all improbable enough to come as a surprise if it happens. (Either side: I think Clinton, Sanders, Trump, Cruz, or whoever either party chooses in place of two of these, are all at heightened risk.)

[Sandy]

Well, I clicked Hillary Clinton. The first two primaries create some drama, but proportionately, Iowa and New Hampshire, while they may be decisive for lower level candidates, do not represent the way the country thinks. Hillary's poll leads are double digit, up to as much as 30% in most of the states following New Hampshire up to Super Tuesday. I think she'll have to move her campaign to the left to accommodate his supporters in the long run, and unite the party, but I still think she'll win the Democratic nomination, and with the Republicans as damaged as they are now, and with several more months to go before they sort out how far to the right they will go and who will pick up the pieces, 2016 is looking more like 1964 than I imagined it could.

[Haruo]

[Sandy]

[Ed Pettibone]

Ed: Sandy wrote "if Hillary is President, I guess Bill would be called "First Husband"????"

I don't think so, historically the U.S. Presidents spouse has been the First Lady, not First Wife. By far the majority of folk I have seen referring to Bill Clinton's role if Hillary becomes President, suggest he will then be the "First Gentleman".

https://www.google.com/search?q=first+g ... 8&oe=utf-8

[Tim Bonney]

I've heard the joking suggestion "first ladies man..."

[Ed Pettibone]

[Haruo]

How long will it be till we have our next gay Vice President? Now there's a question for you. Most of you probably never even heard of our first one.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Ed Pettibone]

[Haruo]

I'm not clear on how or when Alabama split off from North Carolina; I thought it was part of New Spain / Florida prior to the American conquest during the War of 1812. But yes, you're right, that's the neck of the woods in question.

[Haruo]

New Hampshire did nothing to shake the confidence of the Sanders camp.

[Tim Bonney]

[Dave Roberts]

It bothers me that the Democratic Nomination may be decided by the Super Delegates, not the state primaries.

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

Honestly, Bernie Sanders has come out of New Hampshire with some momentum. But it's New Hampshire, and even though its an early primary state, like Iowa, it's not really representative of a cross section of Democrats, or Republicans for that matter. Hillary still has double digit percentage leads in virtually all of the remaining states, just about everything including through Super Tuesday. I don't think it will be close enough for the super delegates to matter.

On the GOP side, while Trump is the "frontrunner," his win in New Hampshire, combined with his standing in the polls at between 20 and 30% on average, is not enough to win enough delegates to get the nomination on the first ballot. And as the field has winnowed, his numbers haven't gone up. Looks like Bush and Kasich were the biggest benefactors of the dropouts after Iowa, and I'd guess that Fiorina and Christie's supporters will gravitate to more establishment candidates as well. The RNC wants Bush in there so bad, they can taste it.

[Tim Bonney]

What I am still unable to fathom is why any conservative Christian who believes in moral behavior could end up voting for Donald Trump. I don't remember over seeing such a insulting bully running for President. His lifestyle does not at all fit the good active evangelical Christians I know. What is the draw?

As one Facebook meme said, "People like Donald Trump because he says whatever is on his mind. Yeah, but my drunk uncle does the same thing every Saturday night."

[Sandy]