DISQUS

theoldswank · 1 year ago

It's odd watching fellow party members beat up on each other. In the Westminster system - UK and Australia - this does not happen.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

Its a problem for both parties. The concern is always that the primary battles weaken the candidate

I think the best candidates (obama and mccai) are strengthened by it

Fred

theoldswank · 1 year ago

What's the bet McCain ask Rudy to join his ticket. Bet they're in discussions right now.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

Feels like that.

Might be a compelling pairing

John Sjölander · 1 year ago

I can only agree with "theoldswank". To me, as an european, the US election process is becoming more and more of a farce.

I can only wish that the better man is also the popular man this time around.

markslater · 1 year ago

well it will cost $500 million to secure the white house. Mrs Clinton is an elected representative for a state that she's not from, if i was a new yorker, i would wonder exactly what she has done for me in the 2 years she's spent on a bus in every place other than new york or her seat in the chamber. this applies to nearly all of these candidates (rep and Dem i have no particular affiliation she is just the easiest target). The system is so out of touch with reality its embarrassing. Can you believe that we actually had to suffer through a recent congressional 'session' investigating the integrity of the great past time. Yes folks - senators debating baseball. "order, order, ....will the rt honorable niconpoop please explain how exactly michael owen missed that sitter......?" Not saying that the european systems are much better mind.

Andy Swan · 1 year ago

No question.... liberal-leaning Democrats love the idea of running against McCain.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

Not me

I fear him because he's a real person not a mannequin

Fred

Andy Swan · 1 year ago

LOL...good one. "Can I mess up your hair?....please mess up your damn hair once!"

Ethan Bauley · 1 year ago

I lean liberal but I desperately hope that McCain wins the Republican nomination.

I love this country and we can't afford another dogmatic bozo if the GOP wins...

ifyoumakeit · 1 year ago

Be careful what you wish for with McCain. I am certain that he will win the presidency if he wins the nomination. There are far too many Democrats who will have trouble ultimately voting for a woman or black man, and a stable, straight-talking centrist *white male* Republican will pick up a lot of their votes. Sad, isn't it?

Brian · 1 year ago

Fred,

I do not get it. Romney is attacking McCain on the issues. That is what you are supposed to do in a political campaign. At least Romney did not lie about McCain's record. McCain is outright lying about Romney's position on Iraq.

At least he did not call him a drug user.

Or worse at least he did not say this:

"Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."

So the Clinton's can attack someone's character and race bait, and that is okay? Where is the outrage over the Clinton's "Southern Strategy"?

I would say Romney is a "pre-owned" salesman. He has a little bit of class and sophistication. Bill Clinton fits the description of a used car salesman better, and his own party is tired of his antics.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

my post was about mccain and romney, not clinton.

romney is attacking mccain in the issues but he is so slick that you have no idea where he really stands on any of them

is he pro-life or pro-choice

pro-Iraq surge or against it?

pro-immigration reform or against it?

is he a evangelical or a moderate?

i haven't a clue and nobody else does either

fred

Brian · 1 year ago

I would ask the same questions of McCain:

is he pro-life or pro choice? - he says he is pro life, but his actions suggest he is pro choice

is he pro immigration reform or against it? - he was for it, but now he is against it.

is he for tax cuts or against them? - he voted against them, but now says he is for them.

Free speech? Actually McCain is pretty consistent on taking away our first amendment rights.

I have no idea why Romney is stuck with the flip flopper label when his flip flops are mild compared to McCain, Huckabee, and Rudy.

At least Romney will actually discuss why he changed his views. McCain takes offense if anyone asks. Is that what we want in a leader, thin skin to criticism?

I have no beef with your disdain for Romney, but hold him to the same standard you hold everybody else. Attach him on the issues. The more you learn about McCain, the more you will see he is an even bigger flip flopper than Romney.

Bill Seitz · 1 year ago

I used to think McCain had principles, but I think he sold them to the Bush administration, just like Colin Powell did.

Jake · 1 year ago

Totally agree. What Fred wrote regarding McCain was true in 2000 but its not true anymore. He's sold his soul trying to be President. He's flip-flopped all over the place. Was against Bush's tax cuts, now he's for them. Railed against Falwell/Robertson/Dobson, now he sucks up to them. The list goes on. Fred, the McCain you are thinking of, and the one you are scared of in a general election, doesnt exist anymore.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

Well then the republican party is screwed because Romney is a joke

Dan Carroll · 1 year ago

I really, really do not want McCain to win the Republican nomination. I know no one wants to talk about age when it comes to becoming president but the man will be 72 years old if elected. That is not my problem with him. My problem with him is I don't think he could beat the current president in a standardized test. We saw how having a not smart president did with George Bush. Imagine McCain. No one will deny the man is a war hero and stands hard for his beliefs, but honestly, do you not feel you could beat this man in a debate? Have you heard him speak? He knows NOTHING about the economy, and quite frankly, all he can ever say about Iraq is "The surge is working..." Like a broken record. As a staunch Republican, I want someone that is smart representing my party, and although Romney might have flip flopped on a lot of the issues, at the end of the day, the guy has absolutely hit a homerun at every post in life. That means something. So maybe he looks at the polls somewhat but so did Bill Clinton and people liked him quite a lot. Lastly, McCain has a temper and would be a worse war mongering president than Dick Cheney and Bush in their hayday. You see his age has another problem...All he knows is wars...he has lived through too many and served in others that quite frankly is ALL the guy knows. Romney would come in with his business acumen, go over to Iraq and demand political solutions and make everyone be held accountable just as he did in his businesses he ran at Bain. McCain will just say, " The surge is working" and be done with it. If 3 out of 14 benchmarks have been achieved, how is it no one is being held accountable like McCain having brought to the table no political solution? Why do I want Romney? Not because i think he is honest but because I think he is our best Republican chance to turn around Iraq with solutions not angry diatribes.

DanRunion · 1 year ago

"stands up for what he believes in even if its not popular"

That's exactly why I'm going to vote for him.

alexander · 1 year ago

Hitler stood up for what he believed; does that make him a good man?

What happened to analyzing the issues; rather than deciding who the better person is?

fredwilson · 1 year ago

as i said in my comment above, first you have to decide if someone really believes what he/she says (i think McCain does) and then you have to look at what he/she says.

in Romney's case, it doesn't matter what the issues are because he doesn't take a stand on any of them that will last more than a nanosecond.

fred

alexander · 1 year ago

Ditto Fred.

My reply was in response to Dan's comment....

"stands up for what he believes in even if its not popular. That's exactly why I'm going to vote for him."

Greg · 1 year ago

You're forgetting the "even if it's not popular" qualifier. Hitler was playing to the masses and, unfortunately, what he was peddling was plenty popular.

alexander · 1 year ago

McCain is more politically savvy than what it might appear. When the war least popular (i.e. before the surge), McCain still supported the war because he understood the importance of the perception of "consistency", regardless of the issue at hand. Furthermore, he understood that people vote on feeling "secure", which is why the democratic candidates' rhetoric sounds extremely neo-conish. For example, Obama has been voting in favor of the Iraq war; he is talking about invading northern Pakistan; and the list goes on. This is why Kerry lost the election, he was considered a flip-flopper with his, "I voted for it before I voted against it" This is precisely what McCain wanted to avoid and it has worked in his favor.

Brian · 1 year ago

Whenever someone implies that a politician is a "straight-talker" my blood boils. Two quick things come to mind:

1. Do you remember when McCain went to downtown Baghdad and said that the streets were safe and he felt totally comfortable walking down Main Street? But then he was asked why, if he felt so safe, there more than 200 marines assigned to his protection, he was wearing a flak jacket and there were 3 Apache helicopters flying over his head during his visit? He apologized for misleading the public.

2. During the last South Carolina primary he didn't stand up against the confederate flag. Several weeks ago he admitted that he really didn't like the flag but lied about that to win the election.

He may not be worse than the rest but he's definitely not better. Let's all just accept that winning an election requires people to be snakes and get on with it.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

i think he is better. that's why i wrote the post. he's still a politician. if you want a non-politician, convince Mike Bloomberg to get into the race.

fred

JDScott · 1 year ago

Non-politician? He made the ultimate flip-flop. Life long Democrat becomes a Republican to run in the shadow of post 9-11Guiliani then becomes on Independent in advance of a potential presidential run.

Cam · 1 year ago

No. He's a pragmatist.

IIRC Guiliani orchestrated Bloombergs membership to ensure a worthy successor.

fewquid · 1 year ago

Agreed. The "sure we can bring your jobs back" speech Romney gave in Michigan was a classic example... as was McCain's speech.

What scares me most about Romney are his ideas about executive power... Haven't we had enough of one-guy-who-believes-he's-absolutely-right???

ErikSchwartz · 1 year ago

How did Mitt do as a VC?

We've heard about Staples, what else was in his portfolio?

fredwilson · 1 year ago

He was a buyout guy

Fred

Paul · 1 year ago

Nice ad hominem attack there Fred. Quite disappointed. I really think you would be above that.

Should be interesting to see what happens today, Florida is winner-take-all and will give on of them enormous momentum.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

It wasn't an attack

It was just my opinion

Given that I'm for either hillary or obama, what do I gain by attacking romney and praising McCain at this point

Fred

Chris · 1 year ago

Maybe we could start quoting from sources other than the New York Times!

Surely you would agree that the NYT has a built in bias, Fred. That's not to say other media outlets are any better.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

I'd quote from the wsj but I'd have to get a subscription ;)

chris · 1 year ago

There's a candidate that might interest you Fred, his name is Ron Paul, he may not get much coverage up in the New York area :) http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

fredwilson · 1 year ago

I don't know what to nake of him. Some of his ideas don't make any sense to me

Fred

CGlace · 1 year ago

Just wondering, what ideas don't make sense. If you're curious you shoulould check out www.mises.org . Pretty much all of his ideas come from the Austrian economists which is what the Ludwig von Mises institute represents.

Greg · 1 year ago

Meanwhile, over on the Fox and other Web sites, blogs, they're bashing "Juan" McCain and saying Romney's the true conservative. I think they're in denial about his days as moderate and at time downright liberal governor of Mass. Yet these are the same folks who spent all of '04 calling Kerry a flip-flopper. It's pretty pathetic.

Aventi · 1 year ago

There you go offending used car salesman everywhere :)

fredwilson · 1 year ago

You are right!

hockeydino · 1 year ago

Romney - Clinton - Obama are politicians, what do you expect? They change their mind by design. We all have changed our mind on certain issues...it's just more magnified for them.

McCain should be applauded for believing in something even if it isnt popular? It's what he stands for that should be scoffed at. He'll sell your a$$ down the river...that's what he is all about.

Anyone care about the issues anymore?

I'd love to see a list of what makes Obama and McCain a good candidate based on their stance of all the issues, not their convictions, their charisma. I've yet to see one. Both want a bigger government, and both will tax you to death. That does not work. Look at the track record..McCain has flipped flopped way more than any of them. His HERO status seems to always mask that for some reason.

Todd Savage · 1 year ago

Being a Floridian, I headed to the polls and casted my vote yesterday. I was "undecided" up until Saturday. Watching the Clinton's inject race into the South Carolina debate disgusted me. I don't want them anywhere near the white house. Seeing that Hillary will likely win the nomination, I pulled the trigger for John McCain. I think he is the only one that can beat Hillary in the general election, and the Clinton's have me so upset that they are really motivating me to work against them. I suspect I am not the only one who feels this way.

DanRunion · 1 year ago

My post was obviously oversimplified. Let me elaborate just a bit:

Why I like McCain:
1. I like what he says most times. Even if I don't, I understand the steps he took to get to his position. And like Fred said, I think he believes what he says.
2. I don't believe he's saying whatever he thinks he needs to to get elected.
3. He doesn't "tow the party line" in the traditional sense. He's more of an independent than a Republican. Being someone that doesn't affiliate w/ a political party, this appeals to me.
4. Regardless of your feelings for the war, we're in it, and we're going to be in it for a while. I think the Men and Women that are actually on the ground over there *deserve* a leader that "understands".
5. I pay too much in taxes. So *if* I had to pick a party, I'd likely go Republican.
6. I may be left-wing in what I see as acceptable behavior for individuals (in terms of abortion, religious beliefs, marriage, etc) but I'm more right-wing when it comes to the laws governing these things. I believe in more liberties as opposed to less; fewer laws as opposed to more, smaller government, not larger. I believe in being having the freedom to do what we want...and dealing w/ the consequences My gut feel about McCain is that he's the same way.

Todd Savage · 1 year ago

Dan, I don't know you, but you are my long lost brother. I am socially liberal, but fiscally conservative. I want smaller government, not larger. This is one of my biggest reasons I tend to vote Republican.

Can I add one more thing to this debate? How can the democratic party nominate Hillary Clinton as their Presidential candidate when they must know that if Obama were nominated, he would easily win the general election. Hillary very well may not. Why is no one talking about this?

Mike · 1 year ago

I agree Obama has a better chance in the general election but I disagree about Republicans an smaller government. Both Bushes and Reagan increased the size of the government and sent the budget deficits soaring. Clinton is the one that shrunk the government and balanced the budget.

fredwilson · 1 year ago

Agreed

CGlace · 1 year ago

From what you are saying you def. should not be supporting McCain. He's a political opportunist. Ross Perot has been screaming this for years. If any candidate left is for larger government and less civil liberties it is McCain or Huckabee. In fact, Ron Paul is the only candidate remaining has actually proposed a plan that would reverse government spending and loosen regulation. Plus McCain is a complete idiot when it comes to the economy. He'll never understand macroeconomic principles.

Mike · 1 year ago

My in-laws are very nice and seemingly reasonable and not wealthy by any measure but not poor either. The fact that they are hard-core Republicans and the rest of the family are not has caused politics to be banned from the dinner table at gatherings, especially after the 2004 election.

In their case I think they would say that the corruption and dominance of the Democrats in Massachusetts, since forever, took them on the path towards the GOP. However, I think FOX has recently molded their views. How else could they be so impressed with Romney, who spent the latter half of his reign as the Gov of MA touring the country, clearly running already for President. He only returned to the state he governed when it was clear the "Big Dig" was being mismanaged on a disasterous and dangerous level.

They also called Romney a "straight shooter" who's the most honest of the field. They clearly didn't read all the articles I had about how dishonest Romney is. How his father marched with MLK and so on. They watch FOX so I imagine that "news" network is pushing for Romney and selling him as honest.

Don Jones - VentureDeal · 1 year ago

I'm amazed that anyone takes what a presidential candidate says in an election year as anything more than an "election year promise" (or position).

C'mon - look at the candidates records, not what they say. Or in the case of Obama, just hope, since he doesn't have a record, other than serving half a term as senator and voting "present" 100 times so he wouldn't have to run against his record...

Krassen Dimitrov · 1 year ago

The latest flip-flop by Romney is the assault weapon ban: in December he said he would extend it, today he says he won't (something that even GWB would not promise). The man is a complete joke, he has absolutely no principles, no beliefs, he lies (about being a hunter, about the MLK rallies), he is sadistic ("double Guantanamo", pro-torture, prosecution of hapless "illegal" nannies and dishwashers), he is cavalier about Constitutional protection of freedoms and rights (pro wiretapping, etc.)...

I myself am Obama supporter... A recent article in Forbes discloses donations by VCs to various campaigns. It is truly amazing how these allegiances split up for me. People who I respect a lot (Khosla, the guys from Kleiner-Perkins, Steve Jurvetson from DFJ) are pro-Obama, people who I consider scumbags are pro-Romney (Jennifer Fonstad from DFJ, David Chen from OVP) .

However, you, Mr Wilson take the absolute first prize in my "Respectful VC" list by coming out and publicly stating your distaste for Romney. It must be very courageous, with him being a VC, there is a definite risk for you to look non-collegial, yet your civic conscience seems to be stronger. Bravo!

Your bravery is even more commendable, considering that you invest in companies that would definitely benefit by being "good friends" with E-Bay and its CEO, Meg Whitman. As a former Bain girl, Mrs Whitman is a huge supporter of Romney's candidacy and a Chairman of Women for Romney.

Don't you think that Skype's ridiculous valuation by E-Bay has something to do with it being pitched to Whitman by no other but another Mitt/Bain girl, Jennifer Fonstad? I know that Whitman is retiring, however, I bet she still will be influential. I also bet that none of your startups will be getting a Skype-size offer from E-bay. That's OK, though, I am sure you will continue to do well, and at least you have your conscience clear.
Well done!