All Against Bush - Whom should the Democrats nominate? By Christopher Hitchens: "I'm a single-issue person at present, and the single issue in case you are wondering is the tenacious and unapologetic defense of civilized societies against the intensifying menace of clerical barbarism."

I agree with this completely. He suggests Edwards/Kerry, and I could see voting for that ticket but not the other way around. Unfortunately the dems will probably nominate Kerry and he'll end up losing 55-45. Any one else for un/bold predictions?

SH: Like they say, I've got an asshole, so I must have an opinion (or something). Not that anything matters any more. As long as Bush spends like a drunken sailor, or FDR, that will keep the economy goosed and he will win in a landslide. For economic reasons, my own preference is anyone but him just so we can get back to comfortable deadlock; this congress and administration have rendered my beloved tax cuts into mere tax defferals with their WWII style budgets.

As much as I loathe the man, his worthless political career and his stupid ideas, I trust that Kerry would do a better job of rejecting Republican profligacy. In favor of his own spending ways, admittedly, but his own will suffer from a Republican Congress. So the Republican earmarks will be less than under Bush, and we will see no new entitlement program (first since since LBJ!!), because Kerry can't muster the votes that Bush did.

I disagree that he will be any worse than Bush on the interantional front and I think "security" has been so overblown by this administration that my convenience has been impinged and civil rights eroded. I am not afraid that Kerry will roll back CIA, FBI and Pentagon anti-terrorism initiatives. Most important of all, as far as Kerry is concerned, none of his stupid proposals will pass a Republican Congress.

E: What say you prediction-wise? Will Kerry be the nominee, and if so, who will win and by what margin of popular vote?

SH. Bush, handily. But, things are fluid and there's a lot of road to cover.

E: Yep, nine months is a long time. But what fun are predictions if you don't make them early and ill-informed? I'm just a little headstrong after calling Arnold so, so long ago...