The prize here is a pretty good one: the audiobook version of Faith vs. Fact, which comprises the entire book, takes up 11 CDs, and is 11.5 hours long. It goes for $22.95 on Amazon, but substantially more at regular retail. (You can hear a sample at the site.) I received more of these than I can use, and so can give one away. I will autograph the box and draw a cat on it, if you so desire.
I’m having this contest now because it’s early on and many things are uncertain—remember the 2008 election? Some surprises are certainly in store. So I have a two-part question, and the winner is the first person who guesses both answers correctly (one entry per person). The contest will remain open for a while—until June 30, 2016, a few weeks before both parties’ conventions. But since the first correct guesser gets the prize, it’s in your interest to enter early. And I’m curious about the readers’ views.
- Name both the Democratic presidential candidate (not a hard one at this point) AND the vice-presidential candidate.
- Name the Republican presidential candidate.
Given that the Republican’s presidential pick is so uncertain, I won’t ask you to name the GOP vice-presidential candidate.
So put your guesses below, and explain them if you wish.
Hillary Clinton & Bill Clinton, probably in that order
Donald Trump
Are people seriously saying that Donald Trump could win the Republican nomination?
I meran, seriously?
(I speak as an outsider from the UK)
I think it’s mostly the press keeping it going, not wanting to lose this plum that fell into their laps.
Them & the Dems, anyway.
My official entries are:
Hilary Clinton
Julian Castro
vs.
Jeb Bush
Who I would prefer:
Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders (either order)
vs.
George Pataki.
Hmmm, Julian Castro would be good! Forgot about those twins.
It will be close, but Sanders’ momentum will carry him past Hillary. Then Sanders will pick a younger preferably black & female progressive as the running mate. Trump just tanked when he made an oblique reference to moderator Megan Kelly’s vagina in the recent clown show. So…
Bernie Sanders & Barbara Lee.
vs.
Scott Walker. Final answer.
Sounds plausible. I just don’t know enough about the Democrats to suggest a plausible alternative.
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I’d like it if it was a Warren/Sanders ticket, but I’m taking Elizabeth Warren at her (repeated ad nauseam) word that she will remain in the Senate, working for her state.
Yes, I have just been reading about the Trump gaffe. He is still (guess what?)doubling down and calling people names. Hee hee hee.
He now swears he was talking about her nose.
I’m beyond believing that Trump can be hurt by saying such things. So far they’ve only seemed to help him, astonishingly. The rapid rise of Trump to the overwhelming top position because of the crazy things he’s said has greatly eroded my faith in Republicans, such as it was…
“The rapid rise of Trump to the overwhelming top position because of the crazy things he’s said has greatly eroded my faith in Republicans . . . .”
Or is it faith in Amuricuns? Or faith in the human primate, half a chromosome away from a chimpanzee?
I’ve got down to comment #3, and about half of the names mentioned are ones that simply haven’t appeared sufficiently in the press on this side of the pond to be in the least bit recognisable. However, it does appear that the Beeblebrox criterion for presidential appointment does have a clear front runner :
From that I take it, Trump’s Toupee support will be standing with this Kelly person (one of the invisible ones on this side of the pond – therefore probably the Illuminati’s string-puller to the Toupee Support).
Will a Texas judge force them into marriage? Hopefully, since I’m sure they deserve each other.
Jeb Bush for the repubs. Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh for the dems. Indiana is still a swing state, barely. Bayh would help there.
.
Forgot about Bayh. Good pick. I wonder if Kasich will rise up in the poles. He at least appears to have a brain.
Kasich is interesting. He is one of the few repubs that doesn’t make one immediately nauseous. He is not crazy but he lacks both name recognition and big money. I think you need at least one of those three in the early going.
P Hillary Clinton, established democrats will win in the end although Sanders has a chance VP Alan Grayson, to appease the progressive wing.
Repub: Walker, non descript to average voter but republican enough without Bush baggage.
I don’t think you need to appease the progressive wing, they’ll stick with the Dem candidate anyway. She probably needs someone more towards center who can placate fence-sitters.
H. Clinton/ M. O’Malley
J. Bush
sub
Hillary Clinton
Martin O’Malley
John Kasich
Marco Rubio
Ms Hillary Rodham Clinton
… … with Mr Julian Castro
.v.
Mr Scott Walker
Blue
“… until June 30, 2016, a few weeks before both parties’ conventions”
Good grief! We have nearly a year of this?!
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Yes, but it will only feel like 10 years.
It alREADy feels like 10 yrs. Did not see the debate. We have lots of cable channels but didn’t realize we don’t subscribe to Fox, because I’ve never looked for it before.
Bernie Sanders
Elizabeth Warren
Scott Walker
THIS = what I would like: to take place.
I “hope” you win:
… … that’d mean: we all win.
Blue
Thank you. I voted with my desperate heart. This is the scariest election I can ever recall. Bernie is the only sensible person in the pile. Elizabeth will be as well if he can convince her to run alongside him. I hope he gets the chance to ask her.
I can’t imagine that Warren would be willing to disappear into the black hole of the Vice-Presidency.
You’re likely right. It’s a pipe dream at best.
I think Michelle Obama would make a great VP for Sanders. She’ll secure the woman vote, minority vote, and she has mass appeal already.
Michele would be great, but I Doubt that she’d want thejob.
Hmm. Interesting. Not the First Lady everyone is thinking of at the moment. It’s an intriguing idea. She seems quite capable.
Lyndon Johnson temporarily disappeared and re-emerged.
I certainly don’t mean to be flippant. Anything can happen, so it seems, and the VP ought be someone of significant substance and ability.
Otherwise, should the position be eliminated, and let the chips fall where they may?
Will Warren accomplish more where she is, as opposed to being the first female VPOTUS?
“Will Warren accomplish more where she is, as opposed to being the first female VPOTUS?”
Sure. She can have her own opinions and not have to advocate those of someone else, with whom she may not agree.
The only real advantage of having her as VP is if we expect Bernie to drop dead in his first term.
OK, whom do expect to feel a duty to seek to become VPOTUS?
Politics is too chaotic to make a prediction more than a few days in advance, just like the weather.
I understand what you’re saying, but if the VP is a black hole for Warren, then it seems that (anyone could claim that) it is no less so for anyone else.
“then it seems that (anyone could claim that) it is no less so for anyone else.”
I agree that it is, which is why people accept it with great reluctance.
One of our famous VPs, Thomas R. Marshall, who served under Woodrow Wilson, used to tell a joke about a woman with two sons, one of whom went to sea and one of whom was elected vice president; neither was ever heard of again
Only if she eventually wants to be President!
Is he related to the Colonel?!
The heart wants what the heart wants, so my pick won’t be the winner, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
Bernie Sanders~ POTUS
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz or Wendy Davis in that order
As much as I would LOVE for that wretched bloviator Trump to be the GOP nominee, as this recent debate demonstrated, the beltway pols will torpedo DuhDonald with all the chicanery they can muster which is considerable. That leaves the “smart Bush” Jebya! with the best name recognition and infrastructure to eke out the nomination.
Sooo
Jebya!/Kasich
DuhDonald- love it!
I wish I could say I thought of it. Credit goes to @geoff9cow on the twi**er
Trump’s threatening to run as an Independent if he doesn’t get the GOP nod. That’d screw the Repubs, too.
Yes! Many times yes. But he mustn’t do it too soon, his work of throwing the GOP into complete disarray isn’t finished yet. When Trump goes Independent, he’ll take the creme de la creme of the fringy fringe voters with him, leaving all those candidates who ran hard right with no voter base. They’ll be unable to pivot back to the center without looking how they are, conscience-free craven opportunists. I figure the GOP nominee will lose 15% of potential votes. That’s a plus for the Democratic candidate, whoever that turns out to be. [cough Sanders cough] 🙂
Bernie Sanders POTUS
Elizabeth Warren Vice POTUS
vs
Jeb Bush POTUS
Hillary C & Bernie Sanders
Rep Prez
I’ll take a long shot and say Bobby Jindal
Hillary C
John Hickenloper
John Kasich
Only a slight variation for my guess:
Hillary Clinton
John Hickenlooper
Jeb Bush
I struggled with that choice too.
I have to say i put the odds at just about 50:50 for Bush or Kasich to be the nominee…..
I think that Kasich’s taking of the Medicaid expansion will ultimately doom his chances. My second choice for the (R)POTUS nominee is Rubio.
my prediction:
Sanders/Warren
versus
Jeb Bush
I would love to see a Sanders / Warren ticket but I don’t think it will happen. Kudos to you if you’re right!
Far too early to even have a clue but why not a wild guess:
Hillary Clinton
Elizabeth Warren VP
VS
Marco Rubio
Democrat: Hillary Clinton
Republican: Jeb Bush, Pres.
Carly Fiorina, Veep
These are my picks for the contest.
I screwed up my guess (that will teach me to read directions). Here’s my new guess:
Democrat:
President: Hillary Clinton
Veep: Bernie Sanders
Republican:
President: Jeb Bush
Democratic Candidates:
Hillary Clinton (Pres.)
Julian Castro (VP)
Republican Candidate
Carly Fiorina(Pres.)
Democratic nominees:
POTUS: Joe Biden
VP: Elizabeth Warren
Republican nominee: Jeb Bush
I’m starting to think that the stupid (on Hillary’s part for sure) email scandal is ultimately going to destroy her candidacy. Biden seems the obvious replacement with Warren as VP.
Jeb Bush seems the most likely but one of a few others could get the nod. I bet Carly Fiorina is the VP nominee, though.
2016 will be a major turning point in our electoral politics. A watershed election. Bernie Sanders will be the Democratic nominee for President. Jeb Bush will be the Republican nominee for President. Donald Trump will run as an independent for President. Bush will probably go with Kasich of Ohio for Vice President. Sanders will go with a Southern male for Vice President, probably a former or sitting Governor. Sanders and the Democratic ticket will win. Hillary will go down to defeat because of corruption allegations and evidence.
Vote early and often!
John J. Fitzgerald
I think you’ll have to narrow your VP guess to a specific person, at least to count as an entry in the contest… just trying to be helpful.
Fair enough! I am specifically naming former US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) as Bernie Sanders’ Vice Presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket.
The yarping heads haven’t taken Bernie seriously yet, so the pooh poohing and marginalization has yet to begin in earnest. Watch for frenetic pearl clutching amongst the Democratic politigentsia when they realize he’s close enough to actually win. It’s going to be epic.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine
Kaine is a senator from Virginia. I think Hillary goes safe (i.e. a white guy) with the choice.
On the Republican side, some clown. If I have to pick one, I will go with the Koch’s money – Scott Walker.
I’m…what’s the right word…that’s it, terrified of Walker. This article, on his proto-fascist peronality and politics, is at the root of it. I hope someone can tell me that it (and all the evidence it cites) is overblown, but I kind of doubt it. I’m seriously considering having a bumper sticker made to put on my car, “Walker for Fuhrer” (no, I don’t know why the umlaut didn’t show up).
Yes, the other Republican crazies are scary, but (seemingly) less scary–as well as being so batshit insane that they have no chance to win the election.
I’m too late. I see that there is a Facebook page “1,000,000 Fascists for Walker,” and this site, showing that Walker meets every one of the 14 criteria for being a fascist.
If “Führer” doesn’t work, use “Fuehrer”.
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I want that book, so I’m sticking with the favorites:
Dems: POTUS Hillary C. and Andrew Cuomo for veep.
Repubs: POTUS Jeb Bush
Clinton/Sanders v. Bush
Democratic: Hillary Clinton and Julian Castro.
Republican: Jeb Bush
You didn’t ask for a Republican VP, but my pick is Carly Fiorina.
Trump has prety much reached his ceiling, and lost a big chunk of his female support with his comments and women and failure to pledge NOT to run as an independent. Walker lost a lot of women in Thursday’s debate too with his abortion comments – even anti-choice Republicans think an exception should be made for life of the mother and he doesn’t. This is the second problematic comment he’s made around abortion.
I see on the news today that Fiorina is opposed to mandatory maternity leave. Surprise, surprise, from a former CEO of a private corporate tyranny. That, along with her compulsion to get in personal digs at Hillary Clinton, will endear her to female voters.
Rep: Kasich-Rubio
Dem: Biden
Seven years ago I would have voted early to give Clinton the presidency. Why waste public money when the position was hers and the election a mere formality? Then some guy who had been a senator for about two weeks cruised right by her and beat everyone. Shows what I know.
Dem Clinton/Bayh
Rep Kasich/Fiorina
Dems:
P; Hillary Clinton
VP; Jay Nixon
GOP:
P; Jeb Bush
(and although I know it’s not required) VP; Lisa Murkowski
Dems: Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden (3’s a charm) plus others have already picked good candidates.
Reps: Scott Walker…going with the billionaire’s golden boy.
Whatever happens, if a Republican wins, this country will be in the worst place I can possibly imagine. If the Dems don’t win back at least the Senate, it won’t really matter if a Dem wins…except for the SCOTUS nominations, of course. Surreal time for American politics, that’s for sure. Never have the choices been so stark.
“Never” ?
Except for: all of those ever – before times when there was not one woman as a political candidate for whom any other such woman could ever vote. In any election. Anywhere in the World.
FLIP / REVERSE as re “stark”: IF, for All of the Times Over All of the World … … ALL political elections everywhere had always been Female – Drive / had been .only. Not Male – Driven up to this point in time, THEN how “stark” would the Presidential Election – USA y2016 seem ?
This is how I view almost all matters. All of the time. Everywhere.
Blue
Tried to read all but couldn’t so if mine is a repeat – sorry.
Hilary/Bernie
Kasich
I want Hilary to win but I really, really like the Bern. I do not like any Repub, but really detest DuhDonald and if there is any chance that he could squeak by, then I’m hoping for Kasich, because, repub or not – hey he’s half normal and not a Bushya period.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine
Jeb Bush
Democratic ticket: Clinton / Bayh
Republican ticket: Walker / Fiorina
Winner: Clinton
As much as I’d like it to be Bernie Sanders, it will probably be Hillary (the punditocracy’s choice), and Julian Castro for VP to help deliver the Latino vote. The punditocracy also wants Bush, so that’s likely, too. My guess is he’ll pick Carly Fiorina to be his running mate.
Besides the Trumpster and Bush 3.0, I could not be sure of the names of any of the potential candidates. I am buying the CDs anyway and going to have local library pick up a copy too. Need to get the word out the real Word of Ceiling Cat.
Interesting that there are so many contenders for the Republican nomination, but almost everyone expects Bush to win, while there are few Dems in the running, but agreement is less firm.
I hope Bernie Sanders gets in for America’s sake. No one thought Obama was a serious contender until he suddenly was, so I think there is a chance. I can’t understand how anyone could vote for any of the Repub guys, they are all clearly crazy, but you guys elected George Bush TWICE, so who knows? Mind you he didn’t seem crazy, just stupid, so maybe that will be one step too far. The World is Watching!
Democrat Ticket Bernie Sanders / Elizabeth Warren
Republican Scott Walker.
The Democratic ticket will be:
Hillary Clinton for Pres.
Martin O’Malley for V Pres.
the Republican ticket will be:
Scott Walker for Pres.
The reason we have the current group of individuals on the Republican side as the only ones with a chance of being elected to lead the country is because there is no god.
H Clinton for Pres
J Castro for VP
My first inclination was to say Antonio Villaraigosa for VP but Castro has more exposure
C. Booker is also a possibility
J Bush for Pres
If I win OF COURSE I’d want it signed with a cat pic!!
Hillary Clinton and Dick Durbin
vs.
Jeb Bush
Clinton- Castro
Christie
No overall conclusions at this time, except to predict that Fiorina is going to capture the eye of the R’s in a big big way.
Democratic Hillary Clinton + Evan Bayh
vs
Republican Marco Rubio + Carly Fiorina (I feel more confident of Fiorina in the veep spot than the potus nominee)
vs
“Independent” Donald Trump (no prediction as to his running mate, or what he will call his new 3rd party)
I suppose the “No Trumps” is too much to hope for.
Democratic –
Joe Biden as candidate, Martin O’Malley as his running mate,
& Mike Huckabee as Republican candidate with Chris Christie as running mate!
I know little about the peripheral (for a non-US audience) figures.
This is not an entry, since I have no opinions on the VP question, but:
Clinton vs. Walker.