I admit it...

[Canadouche]

I think what we're all really saying is... we need Bartlet for America.

[Tonker]

I think what we're all really saying is... we need Bartlet for America.

I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently.  I got as far as half way through season five and finally gave up, but nonetheless, Bartlet is indeed exactly what America needs.  Perhaps they could just persuade Aaron Sorkin to run?

[Bort]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

[SKO]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

Are you talking about Clinton or Bartlett?

But yeah, as far as Clinton I don't think anyone here is dumb enough to think she'll improve our lot, but maybe, maybe it won't get that much worse. Hurray for America.

[Tonker]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

What's a crypto-hawk?

[SKO]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

What's a crypto-hawk?

A genetically engineered bird that can decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Bort is against this for some stupid fucking reason.

[Bort]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

What's a crypto-hawk?

A genetically engineered bird that can decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Bort is against this for some stupid fucking reason.

I was going to give a sincere answer, but I like this better.

[Canadouche]

Yeah. America needs another fairly ineffectual, center-left president who's a crypto-hawk. That'll solve everything.

With a love of cocaine.

edited to add: talking about Sorkin, not Clinton/Bartlet.

[Canadouche]

I think the big point is, we strive for a politician who has ideals, and who earnestly tries to solve problems while surrounding him or herself with intelligent people.

Y'know, honestly, in many ways Obama has been excellent. Especially when you see the kind of insane opposition he's had. In other ways, particularly in how he's handled drone killings, he's been disappointing and awful. I suspect, though, that his accomplishments will be remembered more than his failures and mistakes.

The most frustrating part of this election is that I don't see that candidate anywhere. The Democrats swept through in 2008 with a young, exciting idealist, and then they decided that his replacement should be a senior citizen whose morals are ambiguous at best. The Republicans at least trotted out some of their young superstars, but either they are too boring, too robotic, too assholeish, or too Latin for the GOP base. They're losing to a morally ambiguous senior citizen as well.

It would be nice, really really nice, to see the next generation step in and take direction.

[CT III]

I think the big point is, we strive for a politician who has ideals, and who earnestly tries to solve problems while surrounding him or herself with intelligent people.

Y'know, honestly, in many ways Obama has been excellent. Especially when you see the kind of insane opposition he's had. In other ways, particularly in how he's handled drone killings, he's been disappointing and awful. I suspect, though, that his accomplishments will be remembered more than his failures and mistakes.

The most frustrating part of this election is that I don't see that candidate anywhere. The Democrats swept through in 2008 with a young, exciting idealist, and then they decided that his replacement should be a senior citizen whose morals are ambiguous at best. The Republicans at least trotted out some of their young superstars, but either they are too boring, too robotic, too assholeish, or too Latin for the GOP base. They're losing to a morally ambiguous senior citizen as well.

It would be nice, really really nice, to see the next generation step in and take direction.

This right here. It certainly helps your popularity when some of your worst policies are inflicted on unpopular people who live very far away. It also helps that stuff like that probably won't really come back to bite us until he's been out of office for a couple of decades.

[SKO]

I think the big point is, we strive for a politician who has ideals, and who earnestly tries to solve problems while surrounding him or herself with intelligent people.

Y'know, honestly, in many ways Obama has been excellent. Especially when you see the kind of insane opposition he's had. In other ways, particularly in how he's handled drone killings, he's been disappointing and awful. I suspect, though, that his accomplishments will be remembered more than his failures and mistakes.

The most frustrating part of this election is that I don't see that candidate anywhere. The Democrats swept through in 2008 with a young, exciting idealist, and then they decided that his replacement should be a senior citizen whose morals are ambiguous at best. The Republicans at least trotted out some of their young superstars, but either they are too boring, too robotic, too assholeish, or too Latin for the GOP base. They're losing to a morally ambiguous senior citizen as well.

It would be nice, really really nice, to see the next generation step in and take direction.

This right here. It certainly helps your popularity when some of your worst policies are inflicted on unpopular people who live very far away. It also helps that stuff like that probably won't really come back to bite us until he's been out of office for a couple of decades.

See but the fact is much of the democratic base thinks drone killings are good and stuff. I mean your blue collar democrats want someone to make them feel "safe" through the killing of brown people just like your average republican does. If Obama were to stop the drone killings more people would call him "soft on terrorism" and accuse him of leaving America vulnerable to attack than would praise him.

So it's going to take a long time and some self-reflection we'll absolutely never do before we come around to saying the drones were a bad idea.

[Tonker]

I think the big point is, we strive for a politician who has ideals, and who earnestly tries to solve problems while surrounding him or herself with intelligent people.

Y'know, honestly, in many ways Obama has been excellent. Especially when you see the kind of insane opposition he's had. In other ways, particularly in how he's handled drone killings, he's been disappointing and awful. I suspect, though, that his accomplishments will be remembered more than his failures and mistakes.

The most frustrating part of this election is that I don't see that candidate anywhere. The Democrats swept through in 2008 with a young, exciting idealist, and then they decided that his replacement should be a senior citizen whose morals are ambiguous at best. The Republicans at least trotted out some of their young superstars, but either they are too boring, too robotic, too assholeish, or too Latin for the GOP base. They're losing to a morally ambiguous senior citizen as well.

It would be nice, really really nice, to see the next generation step in and take direction.

This right here. It certainly helps your popularity when some of your worst policies are inflicted on unpopular people who live very far away. It also helps that stuff like that probably won't really come back to bite us until he's been out of office for a couple of decades.

See but the fact is much of the democratic base thinks drone killings are good and stuff. I mean your blue collar democrats want someone to make them feel "safe" through the killing of brown people just like your average republican does. If Obama were to stop the drone killings more people would call him "soft on terrorism" and accuse him of leaving America vulnerable to attack than would praise him.

So it's going to take a long time and some self-reflection we'll absolutely never do before we come around to saying the drones were a bad idea.

Yep.  I could add more but I'd just be saying what SKO said, less well.  Nailed it.

[CBStew]

What the Democratic Party really needs is another Kennedy. 

[SKO]

What the Democratic Party really needs is another Kennedy.  

I thought that was who Obama was supposed to be. Which I guess makes Hillary LBJ in this scenario, and yeah that fits. Comes in with a reputation of being an abrasive pragmatist who "gets shit done" on the domestic side and ends up mostly just waging a pointless war and paving the way for whatever the 2020 version of Nixon is going to be? I can see it.

[Canadouche]

What the Democratic Party really needs is another Kennedy.  

I thought that was who Obama was supposed to be. Which I guess makes Hillary LBJ in this scenario, and yeah that fits. Comes in with a reputation of being an abrasive pragmatist who "gets shit done" on the domestic side and ends up mostly just waging a pointless war and paving the way for whatever the 2020 version of Nixon is going to be? I can see it.

Probably Rubio in a rebooted Republican party.