Wow.

The Democratic choices for presidential candidates are: A stealth Republican corporate whore in a skirt, a corporate Oreo, and a WASP milquetoast.

All of whom sat by idly while Bushco committed crimes against humanity.

You have the f-ing nerve to write this article and not mention Dennis Kucinich? Who the hell is paying you??

The tea will continue to be weak and your hat will be trampled underfoot, Mr. Herbert, because you and and your ilk in the media refuse to acknowledge the talent residing in candidates other than the "big 3".

Kucinich and Biden both offer far more than the stale trio upon whom your article is based.

Dennis Kucinich: Why is his name left out of this article? He is a candidate and he has clearly stated positions on every issue faced in this election. Whether he is electable is not at issue; he likely will not be elected or win the nomination, but he raises all the issues and is ignored by everyone with an ax to grind. Once again, the American people and the world will get a "Leader" who is incompetent and unwilling to face reality. What Dennis is calling for is radical and transformational change: the end of war as a solution to conflict with a Dept of Peace; universal single-payer healtcare for all; trade policies that serve all the people of the world, not just the corporations and Americans; and, an educational system that teaches critical thinking, not how to take a government-mandated test.

In a society that only seems to value "winning" those considered not in the race as possible winners are ignored. Most of the truly "great" people of history were underdogs and had huge impediments to achieving greatness, but through their belief and commitment to their ideals, they impacted all of us in one way or another. Please include Dennis Kucinich in future discussions of the presidency of the United States. It may require some research and deep thinking, but I think we are all capable of that.

peace,
st john

The other night after watching the Democratic "debate" my wife and I agreed that any one of them would be a cut above any of the republican candidates - forget about the current president.

Richardson and Kucinich are incredibly able and have great ideas. It really pisses me off when people dismiss them.

Forget about immigration - that just became a "problem" when it was decided it should be an issue of division.

The real issue should be the declining dollar. One Euro is now valued as $1.50 or so and nobody is talking about it.

Amazing. Every word Bob Herbert wrote was about Dennis Kucinich. A name that will never cross corporate lips. Does that include you, Mr. Herbert?

Impeachment will never happen now because that would mean a woman president without the corporations getting to certify Hillary.

willybill, Anniesee and st john – I too am furious that Bob Herbert totally ignores Dennis Kucinich. In doing so he makes himself an accomplice in the conspiracy to silence the most courageous of all the candidates. Just last night (Monday, Nov. 26) Dennis spoke on the impeachment of Cheney AND Bush at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Bob Herbert is supposed to be a liberal and a man with political acumen? Bob Herbert is just a loser betting on a horse race. In American presidential politics we put our money on a winner. Hillary Clinton is a winner because she has the most money. She has the most money because she is a winner. It's as simple as circular reasoning - a dog chasing its tail round and round in a circle. Bob Herbert is a dog!

The powers that be have all of US going round and round in circles. Straight reasoning tells us that Clinton has tons of money because she is a corporate candidate. Kucinich is anathema to the corporations. Clinton is pushed front and center by the corporate media. Dennis is made marginal (literally!) by the corporate media. They ignore him and belittle him as much as they can. Bob Herbert is doing his shitty part. Get a doggy bag!

"The American public, tired of war and economically insecure, longs for a leader who will tell the truth and offer a way out of the current morass."

We also long for a newspaper that will tell the truth. The POTUS is a war criminal and the New York Times has never noticed that? What a group of idiots.

"This election, the most important in decades, cries out for strong leadership"

What about Joe Biden?? He isn't even mentioned in this article. I agree with st john above, about Kucinich. There is something wrong with the coverage.

And 'peace' to you also.

The coverage is designed to leave out Kucinich. I constantly ask American friends why they don't mention him as an electoral choice for them. "Oh," they say, "he's unelectable. Otherwise we would vote for him." He's unelectable because he has been labelled it. Staggering. The corporatists who really run our countries will be hugging themselves with delight. He's the only real threat to them. And it's a real disappointment to see Herbert is also peddling the "unelectable" line by default.

If we are waiting for one of the candidates to "step up and offer a vision" in order to support liberalism and progressivism, why don't we just shoot ourselves? We're useless if that's how we think.

We need to be electing our agenda in this country, not a personality. Obama, Edwards, Kucinich, Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Clinton, any of them would be just fine.
We need the progressive writers trumping the issues, not making book on the candidates. Supreme Court, Social Security, Medicare, falling dollar, education, re-tooling drug policy, ending cable domination of citizens by "package", corporate personhood, deficits due to tax cuts.

Losing on Iraq, gays, illegal immigrants and abortion again is just STUPID, and it will be the voters to blame, not the candidates. Do something today to help.

Wishful thinking, I'm afraid.
It's either "Hillary's turn" or Obama's shirking of the issues while pursuing a non-confrontational image like he was playing a role rather than dealing with the deperation of the hour.
They both take up space.

Am I the only that is seeing the stage set for a strong "father" figure to step forward and take care of his "children" for their benefit and safety. Pretty Scary times.

Are you all talking about voting FOR someone/thing rather than against someone/thing? Imagine that!

Dennis Kucinich did not have the nerve to protest Gravel being left out of the debates. Why are you upset that Bob H. left out Kucinich?

Thanks Bob and the New York Times for watering down the "appointed 3" while not even answering your own question! Yes Kucinich (and even Biden and Richardson) has a VISION. And when you talk about his vision (without mentioning his name) the majority will agree with it.

Bob... can I call you Schmuck? How would you have phrased a DK mention? It would have answered your call for vision, thus making DK the focus of your article... not on your life right? Or would you sidle him "unelectable" and imply that voting is a waste of time anyway? Or are you working the sly angle, calling for vision while hoping that people will think of DK on their own?

Will the CD editors challenge the NYT?

Ooh, good call tejasgole! I don't remember much about that, but it is best for people (even DK supporters!) to identify and question DK's discrepencies.

Of course, now that I think about it, the best protest agaist the Gravel exclusion would be for DK to leave the debate, when he's trying so hard to get into them and a leave would be fodder for further DK exclusions... Or mentioning it during his 5 minutes at the debate, of course that is not enough time even to address his vision, much less address debate unfairness.

So what's the answer here (I don't have one)

This article is typical horseshit coming from what is supposed to be a a respected part of the media. The media today - if it were truly free - would be anti-government without a doubt. Politicians would be afraid of the media, instead of being partners with them. If it actually the voice of the American people it would be saying IMPEACH!
Hoa binh

The name of the person you are describing that could be president is DENNIS KUCINICH. But the media wants the status quo so the DK name is never mentioned and nothing he says is ever comverd.

Just another discouraging piece of nonsense from the third best newspaper in New York City with an agenda of its own. There is no Republican game plan. All that has to happen is people have to turn up and vote, and the votes have to be counted fairly (and I'm concerned about that). A harsh economic wind is going to blow through the world for about 6-9 months, and the GOP is going to get the arse-kicking it so richly deserves. Unless, this kind of old-style Pravda propaganda is taken to be the truth.

Why do all you simpletons get caught up in this shell game? You don't strike me as stupid.

Two thoughts:

The top tier Dems must not have any staffers reading Common Dreams.

With friends like Bob Hebert, who needs enemies?

Oh, ya, and what "willybill" said.

All voters! Think for yourselves! Decide your vote on the issues!

If you like what Dennis Kucinich stands for, ignore the corporate brainwash and vote for him!

Here is a parable I will be sharing at a forum where I will be representing Congressman Kucinich in a couple of weeks:

One day I went outside work to buy lunch from the catering truck that is there every day. A new truck was on our route, and it only had three items on the menu:

1. Real shit

2. "Deodorized" shit

3. Celery and carrot salad

The truck was covered with signs advertising "Deodorized" shit. Yes, that deodorized shit was said to be the only good choice for lunch and the greatest thing since sliced bread. Loudspeakers were announcing that "nearly everyone" was going to each deodorized shit for lunch.

I was considering the choices and I knew right away I didn't want to eat regular shit for lunch.

I like to think for myself, so I decided to pick one of the baggies of deodorized shit off the pile and take a whiff of it's contents. ARGHHHHH! Wheeoooh! Let me tell you something - there is no such thing as deodorized shit!

Off to the side there was a self serve glass case with the salad item sealed in plastic containers inside sealed shrink wrap. The cooler was mysteriously labeled "No corporate funding."

With a menu like that, it occurred to me that I could understand why half the people stay home, but I decided to try one of the salads.

Now the only reason I didn't eat refried homemade shit for lunch is that I THINK FOR MYSELF - AND YOU SHOULD TOO!!!

@Daniel David

Bullcrap. Hillary, for one, is bought and paid for by the same people Bush works for: The elite.

I agree with those who protest the continued exclusion of Kucinich. Bob Herbert likes to come off as a champion of the downtrodden and the innocent but has fallen in love with his own voice and the power brokers. Kucinich's plight is the result of his unusual appearance; it's pathetic that Herbert, an African American, cannot understand that. This is more of the shill politics that doomed previous Democratic candidates.

"You have the f-ing nerve to write this article and not mention Dennis Kucinich? Who the hell is paying you??"

The corporate NYTimes is paying him - as they are their star-pundit, billionarire Tom Friedman. W'dya expect?

Bob Herbert, a so-called liberal, writes, "The Willie Horton ugliness of 1988 will be nothing compared with the concerted attack ... by the G.O.P. on illegal immigrants next year. The Democrats will have to figure out a way to counter that with an appeal to the better angels of our nature, and that will require courage." No, that will require SELLING OUT tens of millions of working Americans and LEGAL immigrants whose wages are being held down by this appalling surplus of unskilled, undereducated labor who have no right to work here! It's particularly dire when a recession is approaching.

If the Dems don't stand up for working families in EVERY way, who will? There's no need for inflammatory rhetoric about illegals. But I'd like to see the party call for serious economic reform in Mexico and the Central American countries, which would provide economic opportunities for their citizens. If there was a future for them at home, don't you think the illegals would prefer to be back with their families?

"The top tier Dems must not have any staffers reading Common Dreams."

Well, we have Daniel David - but he must have been sent here by Rahm Emmanual after doing something bad...

Adele,

Why don't all you dumb, slavic, pope-or bearded-icon loving, east-european bohunks and polacks all go home and quit stealing our jobs in the coal mines and steel mills.

And take all those dagos and micks with you!

- common remark, in my home town, circa 1920's

Forget the Dems already - not a one could lead a scout troop, no less a country on the brink of multiple catastrophes.

Dr. Ron Paul, on the other hand, is a true leader, a man of real integrity who has never wavered on the issues. He's delivered over 4,000 babies, holds the record for being the single "No" vote in House votes that went All Yea, One No Way. He's vowed to withdraw our troops from Iraq and the other 700+ bases around the world, restore the Constitution and Bill of Rights, hold all corporate criminals to public account, end torture, close Gitmo, and sweep the neocons into the woodchipper.

Sure, we may not agree with everything he stands for, but he ain't no loony right-wing kill em all steal everything screw the people GOPathological, nor is he a loyalbushieDem who speaks with pretty fork tongue while pocketing the dirty millions from the same anti-Americans who put us in this hellhole position in the first place.

If it's truly about the best PERSON for the job, then stop the party bullsh*t and vote Dr. Ron Paul.

Check out this interview with Dennis Kucinich and his beautiful and intelligent wife Elizabeth:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FHpnLV1gUZY

She actually praises Ron Paul and answers questions about a new 9/11 Investigation, mentioning that Dennis has a group within his campaign looking into it now. She said that if he were to be elected President he would definitely launch a new investigation.

This is worth watching and passing on.

bob herbert often raises a lone voice on important issues. i thought he was better informed than someone who would pretend there are only three democrats running for the presidency.

here in michigan we are close to getting a primary on january 15th. what we may get, though, is a truncated list of candidates. contact howard dean and tell him we need to choose from ALL the democratic candidates!

my favorites in this order are dennis kucinich, bill richardson, and john edwards.

This just in on Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul. They are good friends.

Maybe this will be our Independent Third Party dream ticket?

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/MSNBC_KucinichPicksPaul.mov

ron paul is courageous and principled. he is also wrong on every single social issue out there. he in office would be a disaster.

those 3 are weak. KUCINICH is STRONG! Large in stature. Who else has brought Impeachment bills into Congress? Who else stands strong against Big Pharma with a workable Single-payer Universal Health CARE plan (not health insurance no one can afford). Who else has the spiritual and moral vision to save our country from corporate greed and shopping-itis disease("Prayer for America")? ETC ETC.
He represents so many of us ordinary people.

Looks like this indy voter will have to either write-in Ralph or vote for Ron Paul. At least he's not gonna continue murdering Iraqis, which we all know will continue under the "progessive"arm of Wall Street.

Democrats are not an option for me anymore -- whatsoever, at least this bunch of nitwits.

"THE EMPEROR IS NAKED, BUT STILL CARRIES A BIG STICK"
Or, the Danger in Counting the Republican Imperialists out

Many Progressives and Liberals are gleefully pointing to evidence suggesting a truly deserved disintegration of the Republican Party. I'm not so sanguine however.

Regardless of the disarray their titular headless horseman delivers, he and his Neocons are not the only Republicans. After all, . . .

Who owns or controls most of the ever decreasing number of mainstream media news outlets? (It doesn't matter what the reporters find or want to say if they are not allowed to say it or can't get a paycheck.)

Who not only admitts to secretly spying on Americans, but thinks it is a good idea? And, how likely it is they wouldn't also use it to find potential blackmail of opposition candidates? (If someone thinks the other side is traitorous, then it is but a short step to believing that justifies any means to stop them.)

Who builds and supplies most of the electronic voting machines and won't allow inspection of the software codes or encourage paper duplicates of the ballots? (It doesn't matter if you get the votes if they are not counted or reassigned.)

Who currently appoints the investigators and prosecutors looking into voter fraud? (If potential voters or candidates can be intimidated, it matters little who they favor.)

Who seeks out for appointment the most partisan possible judges, the ones who seem to care more for electing their fellow party members than honoring their oath of office? (If protecting those who put them in power seems more important than abstract principles, kiss the Constitution and its safeguards goodby. The number of them is going to increase between now and the election, not decrease.)

Who had control of most of the legislatures after the last census which allowed new gerrymandering to take place? (With the next census still years away, a close to majority of seats in Congress still may be unassailable. And, the "coalition" of elected Democrats remains what only could be described as fragile given the diversity of opinions within that party. Anything less than a veto proof, filabuster proof, legislature means gridlock.)

Who is master at exploiting the gullibility and irrationality of voters? (If lies or re-labeling are shouted loud enough, long enough and with a straight face, belief or at least confusion ensues. The fact that one person out of every four still is stating Bush is doing a good job and that one out of every two thinks Saddam had something to do with 9/11 speaks for itself.)

Who still insists that "terrorism" or other diversions can only be handled by a dictator permanently in charge? (For most people, if theyare kept scared, they tend to be willing give up all to be safe even if the safety is an illusion, especially if there is no inference with their shopping or tv schedules. Too bad, the track records are never closely examined or compared against the rhetoric.)

Who has been the prime beneficiary of the transfer of trillions of dollars from the lower and middle classes to the ultra rich over the past few decades? (Money still buys elections and the fact that some Democrats allegedly are drawing more openly disclosed campaign contributions prior to primaries reveals little about what can be tapped by Republicans once the post convention battle begins.)

Who controls the stock market, the banks, and most of the means of production still remaining in this country? Who can impoverish traditional Democrat workers and their families simply by changing interest rates or moving factories or money overseas? (It used to be that there were penalties attached to such things. Now there are profits to be made and as a "bonus" organized opposition is crippled.)

Am I paranoid? Yeah. Why aren't you? (It doesn't even matter if the above results were unintentional. The consequences are the same.)

Combine all that with the unending incompetency and fearfulness of the Democrat "leaders" selected. If you need any further evidence, merely re-examine the results of the last two presidential elections and how different the outcome seemed at the time given the demographics. The Republicans probably cannot be blamed for the abysmal choices Democratic Party members made on who to run, but they do get a large share of the responsibility for resolutely shifting the arguments from the issues to unrelenting and unfair personal attacks. Maybe no voter bothers to listen to the issues anyway, but it is still depressing.

In any event, the current crop of Democrats in office astonishingly seem to have positioned themselves for getting tagged with both "losing" the Iraq fiasco and, if the coming recession doesn't happen quick enough, that too. How is that even possible when Bush and his boys controlled every choice along the way? Doesn't anyone remember anything? Yet, here we are.

Worse yet, some of the Democratic contenders seem to harbor envy of the exercise of unconstitutional, even criminal, powers exercised by the current occupants of the White House.

[more thoughts at resistence-is-possible.blogspot.com]

If Dennis Kucinich has the ideas that you agree with, put your money where your talk is. Go to http://www.dennis4president.com/ and contribute. (If you get it in before the quarterly deadline, it will be doubled by presidential campaign matching funds. So do it now! No more wimpy... "well maybe he can't win" whining out there.)

The real truth is not that we have weak candidates but canned questions and canned questioners i.e alphabetical talking heads. The debates have become too scripted and narrow. Our elections have been dumbed down. I think more energy goes into the height of the podiums, makeup artists and being able to see the questions before their asked rather than having genuine debate. That piece of writing was dubious. Mr.Herbert failed to mention the above,
criticized the candidates despite of this mess then told the truth in the end though failing to mention the one man who embodies the issues Americans care about. Such as ending the war and relieving economic insecurities. The man he failed to mention is Dennis Kucinich.

"The Democrats will have to figure out a way to counter that with an appeal to the better angels of our nature, and that will require courage."

What you're really saying is that the Democrats will have to amp up the lies to the public. Remember, Democrats are one head of the two-headed capitalist monster. Keep in mind, they belong to the monster, not to us. And that head isn't going to chop itself off anytime soon.

Remember when we thought the Democrats would come to the aid of their country once they secured a majority? Ha! Weren't we naive? Fooled again! And again! And again, until our rights are gone, our jobs are gone, our rivers are gone, our trees are gone, and it's too late to get them back.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN AND WOMEN TO COME TO THE AID OF THEIR COUNTRY!

Oh, brother.

All I can do is yawn. Nothing but wasted words from the world's most overrated newsrag. While they editorialize about the hopelessness of the Democratic candidates, they virtually ignore the two who do offer something, Dennis and Mike.

To hell with US media.

Gore/Kucinich has a nice ring to it for me - somehow we must make him (Al) run.
Forget all this other stuff, although it's important - right now our main concern has to be the climate.

NONE of the establishment politicians can save your country. You are all doomed unless you... the common people... rise up and DEMAND true democracy. Do your homework people... NONE of these people, democrat or republican will do anything to address the core problem... And what is the core problem? Why it's the Federal Reserve system and the role of money in your government. Really, events are controlled behind the scenes by, in the words of President Wilson, "a small group of ruthless men". Your democracy is a sham... the parties are two sides of the same coin.

Hello? Kucinich.. Where have you been?

Bob Herbert is full of it. Has he looked at the polls lately? Obama is going to run away with this election. Barack has the brains, the guts, and the nerve to do the job. First time in a long time we've seen that in the White House. The world will be a better place the instant Barack is sworn in.

McKinney/Kucinich

Gore/Kucinich

McKinney/Lee :-)

Kucinich/Gravel

in my dreams, yeah.

agree, the reason DK is 'unelectable' is because the lapdog press has been instructed to label him unelectable, which makes him unelectable.

voting in the US has become a game of Prisoner's Dilemma.

Not one word has been said about the REPUBLICAN lobbyist led DLC TAKEOVER of the Democratic Party that has been the catalyst for all the political problems of the LEFT since the DLC's inception during Reagan's REPUBLICAN administration.

Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson are all members of the DLC, Democratic Leadership Council, a corporate organization. NO MEMBER OF THE DLC IS GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR WE THE PEOPLE of the greater majority. Besides pushing war, members of the DLC push the two-class society trade agreements, N.A.F.T.A., C.A.F.T.A. and the Peru Trade Agreement.

Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel are not for continued and endless war or for the two class trade agreements.

Since all the media is run by Right Wing Republicans there is no chance the people will get to hear about Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich. WE THE PEOPLE are going to have to be smarter this election and not vote for those the Right Wing Media is pushing, but vote for the candidates the Right Wing Media is doing their best to kick out.

My vote will go to Mike Gravel or Dennis Kucinich, and if they are not on the Democratic Ticket, I will vote GREEN. I will not give my vote to a DLC member and if Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel can't win, they must not allow what votes they have received to be given to a member of the DLC, as all members of the DLC are incognito Republicans anyway.

The New York Times is for wrappinig fish. Ignore the swine.

Uh, Bob, I know you're a bought and paid for whore of the MSM, but you're actually perplexed about the state of affairs in this so-called democracy? Let's get it straight. The two Democratic "candidates" are both unelectable. On the other hand, they're being funded by Rupert Murdoch. Do the math. Or do they know how to do math at the NYT.