or your top 3 choices for POTUS 2008 might be:
1. Dennis Kucinich
2. Mike Gravel
3. John Edwards
Sitting at home this morning in a fair amount of pain and under the influence of prescription meds, I took the USA Today "Candidate Choice Game" and those were my top 3 picks for POTUS. Either I'm very medicated or just like the crazies for POTUS. I'm going with the "pink elephants" theory.

Comments (31)
The questions are biased. The survey is a waste of time.
Posted by BEZERKO
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October 31, 2007 7:27 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 07:27
Yeah, they need new questions, like would you vote for someone who has seen a UFO...
My results, DK, Obama, Dodd.. Ok Dodd I get, but DK?
PS: I wasn't on any drugs..
Posted by Jules
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October 31, 2007 8:19 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 08:19
Hahahahahaha!
1. Dennis Kucinish
2. Bill Richardson
3. Mike Huckabee
Go figure...
Posted by CatherineAtlanta
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October 31, 2007 8:59 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 08:59
1. Edwards
2. Clinton (?!?!)
3. Biden
Some of those question answers don't quite match up with even the candidate response, though.
I wish they would do one of these with a distance measurement as well. There are some of those answers I vehemently disagree with and others in which I only slightly disagree.
Posted by odinseye2k
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October 31, 2007 11:04 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:04
Kucinich, Gravel, and Gulianni, huh??? Flake, loiterer, and narcissist. I'm all for Mr. "they hate our freedoms." Questions 4 and 5 use the "illegal immigration" frame, it reinforces the idea that the problem is a security and a law enforcement issue, and it obscures foreign policy and humanitarian concerns and possible solutions to the problem. Questions 6 and 7 talk about health insurance, where health care is more accurate. "Health insurance" requiring insurance companies who make money by denying claims and not delivering the service needed are the problem not the solution. "Tax reform" implies that there is a problem with the tax code that has to be reformed. Not that there aren't problems with the current tax code, but conservatives have worked for years to establish the idea that all taxes are bad, punishment even, and need to be done away with, despite the fact that taxes are also investments that pay huge dividends to everybody, but nobody talks about it. I know I'm quibbling, that it's a survey with structured questions and limited answers, but it's important to try to expand people's (voter's) thinking to include progressive philosophy. In debates or conversations with friends, when questions like these are asked and we answer them directly without reframing or addressing the faulty premis these questions are based on, then we're accepting the premis of illegal immigration, tax relief, and health insurance.
Posted by BEZERKO
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October 31, 2007 11:23 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:23
Bezerko:
I can't agree with you more. The Iraq War ones were also interesting in and of themselves because they reminded me of what my roommate once said. He claimed that Americans never have a problem with war, we only have a problem with losing.
I hate to say that the safe money is on that Iraq shouldn't have been invaded due to lack of weapons of mass destruction and that we should leave because we aren't being effective.
Nevermind that invading a far away nation to impose our will is out and out crazy.
Posted by odinseye2k
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October 31, 2007 11:42 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:42
1. DK
2. Gravel
3. Biden
I'm not surprised by the first two. These are the ones that are spouting off the things that progressives believe and want to hear. Unfortunately, they have the proverbial snowball's chance of winning.
I could live with Biden.
Funny enough, I thought all the things that Berzerko mentions when I was taking the quiz and said to myself that they needed other options for answers.
Posted by Rubyduby
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October 31, 2007 11:43 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:43
That test is on drugs.
1. Gravel
2. Kucinich
3. Romney
This is the second such quiz where I have had Kucinich. Those of you who know me, could you ever imagine me voting for him?! I suspect the strange little elf has some secret clique of developers somewhere spitting these things out.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 11:46 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:46
Grift - just give in to the Kuch!
hehehe the Kuch hehehe
I'll be chuckling all day about that. We need to hang out with adults more often.
Posted by Rubyduby
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October 31, 2007 11:51 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:51
It's rigged.
I took it again and watched the little graph at the bottom.
Gravel and Kucinich didn't shoot to the top until I answered the gay marriage question. Then they lept ahead of everybody.
Same thing with the what was the most important experience question. Answer governor or mayor and once again the shoot way ahead.
Not only do they shoot way ahead but on these two questions but the amount they move forward is far more than any other question.
Look, I'm all for gay marriage but if you answer that way, the resulting move on the scale appears to be the equivalent to how you answer on all the iraq questions combined!
Both are critical issues but which do you believe should be weighted more? Instead one is ridiculously weighted to favor the third tier candidates.
Rigged.
I blame the strange little elf.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 11:56 AM
Posted on October 31, 2007 11:56
Conan O'brien showed this picture of the elf and broke into song "We are members of the lolipop guild, the lolipop guild, "the lolipop guild..."
Posted by BEZERKO
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October 31, 2007 12:00 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 12:00
Exactly odinseye2k, it's an occupation, not a war. "Finish the job?" What does that mean?
Posted by BEZERKO
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October 31, 2007 12:08 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 12:08
Took it again. This time answering as conservatively as possible and there it was again.
Answer that marriage should only be between a man and a woman and WHAM! Several candidates shot to the front faster than a closing horse in the Kentucky Derby.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 12:09 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 12:09
Grift,
There are weights on the side that can be used to correct this. Although I do find it b.s. that a couple of issues are default set to be huge.
Posted by odinseye2k
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October 31, 2007 12:29 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 12:29
Agreed odinseye. And they are curiously the issues where lower level candidates stake a strong position to make some noise. Shocking.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 12:37 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 12:37
Same as Odin:
Edwards
Clinton
Biden
But only after weighting the sliders on certain issues.
Posted by MelGX
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October 31, 2007 1:26 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 13:26
I can't get the damned sliders to work. USA Today is ass.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 2:06 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 14:06
Grift, click the slider to activate, then drag.
Posted by MelGX
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October 31, 2007 2:39 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 14:39
Still no work. I think it might be Flash. By the way, Flash? Also ass.
I give up. I'm voting for Kucinich.
Posted by griftdrift
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October 31, 2007 2:53 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 14:53
I retook - got Dodd, Clinton and Kuch. Then I fiddled with the sliders and Kuch was replaced by Huckabee!
Grift - you know me - can you ever see me voting for Huckabee?
Posted by CatherineAtlanta
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October 31, 2007 3:24 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 15:24
Catherine, if you vote for the huckster I will personally have my gangster cousins renditioned you to an undisclosed location where together we can pray with Donnie McCluckin and have you "cured"...
Posted by Jules
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October 31, 2007 4:09 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:09
If I vote for the Huckster I will drive off the closest cliff to my polling place... (which may be my front yard, come to think of it...)
Posted by CatherineAtlanta
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October 31, 2007 4:17 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:17
Yay! I finally got Mitt Romney to win! I want a President with magic underpants.
Posted by JerryT
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October 31, 2007 4:26 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:26
Jerry, we all do sweetie we all do..but it might make us all gay
Posted by Jules
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October 31, 2007 4:39 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:39
i got dodd, clinton edwards
what's really interesting is when you put in the to match the usa today poll...
for the record, they are
1) yes, and needs to finish the job
2) maintain with future levels determined as events warrent
3) yes, but iraq must meet economic, political, and military benchmarks
4) force employers to check legal status
5) return to home countries and apply for legal status
6) establish national health insurance policy
7) reduce medical fraud and frivilous law suits
8) no same sex marriage and marriage is defined as between a man and a woman
9) Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire to allow for tax credits/breaks for the middle class
10) Invest in Alternative Energy sources
11) Has served as governor or mayor
i was also suprised at popular answers from the poll most notably the invest in alternative energy sources one
Posted by nicolette
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October 31, 2007 4:40 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:40
oh and the reduce medical fraud and frivolous lawsuits
Posted by nicolette
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October 31, 2007 4:43 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 16:43
Kucinich,
Guiliani,
Richardson.
That test is crap.
Just because I prefer my candidate to have been a Governor / Mayor doesn't mean that's the f'in overriding factor.
Posted by Jen B.
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October 31, 2007 5:05 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 17:05
Catherine,
I've been meaning to do a post on why I actually really really like Huckabee (but would never vote for him).
Posted by Jen B.
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October 31, 2007 5:09 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 17:09
Well, let's be honest here. If you have USA Today as your main source of political news, you ain't exactly going to be the best informed voter out there.
I mean malpractice as the reason health care is so f'ed up around here? Really?
Posted by odinseye2k
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October 31, 2007 5:56 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 17:56
Obama
Dodd
Biden
Before I took 'the test' I would have said Obama, Biden & Dodd.
Posted by sndeak
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October 31, 2007 7:01 PM
Posted on October 31, 2007 19:01
So, my top three choices are
Edwards
Huckabee
Richardson
Who do I get when I take the test without changing the sliders?
Gravel
Brownback
Thompson
Scary. The experience thing is stupid. I took it earlier and chose governor/mayor and Romney was my top choice. Me voting for Romney is about as likely as me voting for Obama.
Posted by RuralDem
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November 1, 2007 1:54 AM
Posted on November 1, 2007 01:54