Saturday, August 11, 2007
Pick Your Candidate
I have just stumbled across an interesting site that compares your views on issues to the presidential candidates' positions (via HEP) and then lists the candidates in order of how well they correspond to your views. From the site:If you agree with a candidate, he gets point(s). If you disagree, take point(s) away. Unkown/other results in no points. The number of points given or taken depends on the weight you set. "Meh" is worth 1 point, "important" 2, and "key" is worth 5. The items you disagree about will be listed directly underneath each candidate (if they score greater than zero).Here are my results:
Kucinich 49No surprises there - Kucinich was my choice in 2004 before he flip-flopped on abortion, figuring that no Pro Life Democrat would win the nomination. That showed me that he lacked character and a spine so that's how I ended up supporting Bob Graham and then Howard Dean. I'm solidly behind Barack Obama for 2008 so, again, this makes perfect sense to me. Give it a try and post your results in the comments.
Abortion Rights, No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Border Fence, Same-Sex Marriage
Obama 45
Abortion Rights, Embryonic Stem Cells, Patriot Act
Gravel 38
Abortion Rights, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Border Fence, Same-Sex Marriage
Paul 37
ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Guns - Background Checks, Citizenship Path for Illegals, Net Neutrality, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare
Biden 36
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Patriot Act
Edwards 35
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Patriot Act, Iran - Military Action
Clinton 31
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Patriot Act, Iran - Military Action
Dodd 24
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Patriot Act, Iran - Military Action
Richardson 20
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Border Fence, Iran - Military Action
Cox -6
McCain -13
Brownback -13
Thompson -18
Huckabee -33
Tancredo -35
Romney -46
Giuliani -48
Hunter -56
BTW, my results from this more detailed site are almost identical.
Read or Post a Comment
My results for the two were actually not too similar. Obama ended up as my top choice on the SelectSmart version, but maybe halfway down the list of Dems on the other one. And on that one, Hillary was pretty close to the top.
The experience of doing those two selectors over the past couple days has actually led to something of an epiphany. (A small one, mind you.) There are things that *don't* get measured in those position-based questionnaires that are more important to me than what the candidate says s/he is for or against.
Even if Hillary Clinton matched up perfectly with my views on major issues, in the final analysis, I don't trust her, because I wouldn't ever be able to believe she was actually working for me. I'm pretty sure her allegiances lie elsewhere.