When will the Democrats learn that stuffy know-it-all Northeasterners do not get elected president? The only three Democratic presidents elected since Kennedy in 1960 have been from the South. If the Democrats want to win they need to look beyond their base for candidates. Especially since the electoral influence of that base is rapidly shrinking as the balance of power shifts away from the Midwest and Northeast and into select parts of the South and the Mountain/South West. If current trends hold, the "blue states" from 2004 will experience a net loss of 7 electoral votes after the 2010 Census. Thats after those same states experienced a net loss of 8 electoral votes after the 2000 Census. If the Democrats want to be relevant again they need to either reclaim the Solid South or look for new oppurtunities somewhere between the Mississippi River and the Eastern Border of California because only netting one state between the West Coast and the Muddy Mississippi just ain't gonna cut it.
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The Dems need to look at candidates beyond the northeast and west coast if they want to win again. People want to see candidates who talk to them, not candidates who talk down to them (or are perceived to be doing so). Voters respond to the candidate who looks and sounds like them.
The Democrats most definately need to look beyond the Northeast and the West Coast for their presidential nominee in 2008
Dave