From the GOP's point of view.

[poskonig]

I thought this up a few minutes ago; tell me if it is fair!
--------------------------------------------------------------

Imagine. Bill Clinton, former governor of California, is President in 1995 running for re-election. He recently fought two wars -- one in response to a terrorist attack, and another in Korea in response to a WMD threat which Clinton was a little more than slick about. The wonderful economy Clinton inherited from Bush is in the gutter and he is losing a troop a day from his controversial unilateral occupation of North Korea. Clinton is raising massive amounts of money from unions, lawyers, teachers, party activists, and with his charisma, seems unbeatable.

Here are the candidates Clinton faces:

(1) Howard Dean (R-Mississippi, fmr. Gov)

Activism by Christian conservatives have made this feisty deep-south Governor a frontrunner. He never shuts up about Clinton's "lies" about the somewhat popular war. He also wants to rollback Clinton's "Great Society II" massive innercity social spending, which Dean blames for the recession. While his protectionist stances and qualified support for some government programs may get him working class moderates in the general election, Republican elites wonder if his outspoken pro-life stance in addition to his visceral opposition to the second Korean war make him electable.

(2) John Edwards (R-New York, Senator)

A standard conservative, this smooth and good looking Senator from a normally Democratic state supports Clinton's efforts in North Korea. He plans to fight to get Clinton's new government spending off the backs of the average middle class voter. He also wants to introduce efforts to privatize social security and medicare.

(3) Dick Gephardt (R-Washington, Represenative)

The support for the stiff Gephardt's very libertarian candidacy comes from large corporations and wealthy interests. While he is very pro-gun and extremely opposed to any government spending, Gephardt breaks with his party's base and also supports the 2nd Korean War. Introducing a flat tax to fix the economy is his biggest theme.

(4) Joe Lieberman (R-South Carolina, Senator)

Senator Lieberman, an uncharismatic moderate, supports Clinton's "courageous" war effort, believing it to be "just." A liberal on social issues like gays and abortion, he hopes to win by opposing Clinton's massive economic initiatives. Freepers and party activists believe him to be a Democrat-wannabe.

(5) John Kerry (R-Georgia, Senator)

A boring war veteran who looks like Lurch, he has waffled on supporting Clinton's foreign policy, adopting a "nuanced" stance. Kerry is very conservative and believes we can turn America around by introducing moral standards in schools. Kerry also wants to roll back Clinton's new government spending, blaming it for the recession. He has previously supported privatizing social security and medicare.

--------------

Who would the Democrats fear the most in this fantasyland? (In real life there are important factors not included here -- the left won the culture war around 1998, etc)

[Fovea]

1. he would fear Gephardt

Or the PNAC supported, corporatist blessed Dennis Kucinich.