The Candidates QUESTIONS

This is an audience participation thing, or as Frank Zappa once put it, "enforced recreation."

1. Go to http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html and answer the questions, but leave your intensity about the issues at Medium.

2. Cut/paste and send me the results (or post on your blog, and let me know in the comments section.)

3. Re-vote, but this time, indicate the intensity of your position.

4. Cut/paste and send me THOSE results (or post on your blog, and let me know in the comments section.)

Before revealing my picks, you'll note that there is something called the Composite Candidate: "The calculator compiles the most popular responses from all voters to create a composite candidate, a candidate whose views match most with the average responses of users."

Composite Candidate
* Delaware Senator Joseph Biden (D) - 43.48%
* Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) - 41.30%
* Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) - 41.30%
* Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) - 36.96%
* Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) - 36.96%
* New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) - 34.78%
* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) - 34.78%
* New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) - 34.78%
* Businessman John Cox (R) - 32.61%
* Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel (D) - 30.43%
* Arizona Senator John McCain (R) - 28.26%
* Texas Representative Ron Paul (R) - 28.26%
* Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) - 28.26%
* Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) - 28.26%
* Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) - 26.09%
* Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D) - 23.91%
* Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) - 21.74%
* Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo (R) - 21.74%

Also, there's a list of Most Top-Matched Candidates
* Gravel - 14.20%
* Tommy Thompson - 12.42%
* Romney - 10.95%
* Giuliani - 10.93%
* Kucinich - 10.52%
* Biden - 6.40%
* Clinton - 4.68%
* Cox - 4.47%
* Obama - 4.19%
* Hunter - 3.64%
* Dodd - 3.63%
* Fred Thompson - 2.66%
* Tancredo - 2.51%
* Paul - 2.16%
* Huckabee - 2.06%
* Richardson - 1.82%
* Edwards - 1.32%
* Brownback - 1.02%
* McCain - 0.42%

Now, here are my top selections, with no regard to intensity:
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel (D) 100.00% match
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D) - 94.74%
Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) - 84.21%
Delaware Senator Joseph Biden (D) - 78.95%
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) - 78.95%
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) - 78.95%
New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) - 73.68%
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) - 73.68%
Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) - 57.89%
Businessman John Cox (R) - 47.37%
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) - 42.11%
Texas Representative Ron Paul (R) - 36.84%
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) - 31.58%
Arizona Senator John McCain (R) - 26.32%
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) - 21.05%
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) - 21.05%
Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo (R) - 15.79%
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) - 15.79%

Whereas, when I add my intensity factors:
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D) 96.88% match
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel (D) - 81.25%
New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) - 71.88%
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) - 68.75%
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) - 65.63%
Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) - 65.63%
Delaware Senator Joseph Biden (D) - 59.38%
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) - 56.25%
Texas Representative Ron Paul (R) - 37.50%
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) - 28.13%
Businessman John Cox (R) - 25.00%
Arizona Senator John McCain (R) - 25.00%
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) - 12.50%
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) - 9.38%
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) - 9.38%
Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) - 9.38%
California Representative Duncan Hunter (R) - 6.25%
Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo (R) - 6.25%

Strange: Kucinich and Gravel, the two guys left off some recent Iowa debate, switch for the top spot, Clinton (who I've never voted for) moves from 7th to 3rd, and Obama falls from 3rd to 6th, but the Top 7 are still the Top 7, with Richardson 8th in both scenarios. One thing is for sure: I won't be voting for Tom Tancredo. Or for Sam Brownback, though I'd probably enjoy hanging out with him, based on his appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows.

A curious glitch: Duncan Hunter isn't on the first list (or on the composite candidate roster), while Fred Thompson's missing from the second.
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"In his new book, The Evangelical President, Bill Sammon paints a riveting portrait of a president who is as committed to worldwide democracy as he is to his faith—and guided by legitimate principles that his critics aren't willing to understand. In this far-reaching book, Sammon details:
Why Bush believes the Republicans will hold the White House in 2008"

Interesting. Haven't read the book, probably won't read the book, but I'm beginning to come to the same conclusion.
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Let the most popular candidate win: Instant runoff voting is simple and effective.
By John B. Anderson (1980 Presidential candidate)
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I wish we could get as 72-25 vote, condemning Blackwater, something actually under Congressional budgetary control. Anyway, MoveOn has moved from Petraeus - Leave Petraeus alone! to a much more appealing target, Rudy Giuliani:

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Pat Buchanan (!) on the hysteria that greeted the request of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lay a wreath at Ground Zero.
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If Bill O'Reilly Was a Rapper.

ROG