Is edwards the best VP?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Edward did extremely well in the Midwest among voters that Kerry needs to win in November: Independents and moderate Republicans.   He didn't do well among African-Americans or hardcore Dems, but Kerry won't lose any of those votes by picking Edwards.

On the other hand, if Kerry picks a really centrist running mate like Evan Bayh, he may very well lose the votes of progressives to Nader.  I for one, will NOT vote for someone who favored Bush's tax cuts, as Bayh did.

I also think Warner or Landrieu would be OK picks.   Gephardt and Graham would be very bad...they really hurt their national reputations in their presidential campaign.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

On the other hand, if Kerry picks a really centrist running mate like Evan Bayh, he may very well lose the votes of progressives to Nader.  I for one, will NOT vote for someone who favored Bush's tax cuts, as Bayh did.

Yeah I know. That's what I've been telling everybody all along, and nobody else seems to grasp this.

Since Kerry himself isn't all that liberal on economic issues, he almost has to pick someone like Kucinich to balance the ticket and to avoid alienating liberal voters.

There are a lot of things I like about Kucinich, but he would be a terrible running mate because he just doesn't look or sound presidential.  Talking about establishing a "Department of Peace" really hurts your credibility on the national stage.  

Many people (including myself, I guess) wouldn't want Kucinich as president even though they agree with him ideologically.   I just can't see him negotiating with foreign dignitaries, etc.  I feel the same way about Nader.

The great thing about Edwards is that he is a liberal who has figured out how to appeal to moderates and conservatives.  Nowhere near as liberal as I would prefer, but you have to get 51% somehow.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

It doesnt matter. The Confederacy had a right to exist. Slavery would have come to an end within a generation. It would have been worth it to let slavery continue for 15 more years if it meant those 700,000 didnt have to die

If you lived in the Confederacy today, would your schools be integrated?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

It doesnt matter. The Confederacy had a right to exist. Slavery would have come to an end within a generation. It would have been worth it to let slavery continue for 15 more years if it meant those 700,000 didnt have to die

If you lived in the Confederacy today, would your schools be integrated?

Yes. South Africa's schools are integrated

I see.  So integration just would have taken decades longer, involved countless deadly riots, police brutality, mass political oppression, and an international economic boycott of the Confederacy.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

But hey, the South was right; states are allowed to secede. But the Union is allowed to declare war on them and beat them into submission ...

Is a Union a voluntary pact or a required pact? Does the Federal Govt have the right to beat up on a sovereign state for using its legal right to leave?

By signing the Constitution, the states gave up the right to field their own armies.   They Southern states had the right to lobby for their views through the political process they committed to when they signed the Constitution.  There is no exit clause in the document.