Dennis Kucinich drops out

After a lackluster - but philosophically pure - run for the President, Dennis Kucinich has left the race. The reason? He is being challenged for his seat in Congress, and wants to ensure his minority within a minority voice is still heard.

I can honestly say there was never ANY chance that I'd have voted for the Congressman, but his departure will make the race less interesting... and less litigious.

Kucinich seeks NH recount

In what is sure to be a purely public-relations move, Dennis Kucinich has asked for a recount of the NH democratic primary to "ensure every vote is counted." Why do I say it is pure PR? He admits that he expected it will change nothing.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party's contest were counted. The Ohio congressman cited "serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors" about the integrity of Tuesday results.
Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said Kucinich is entitled to a statewide recount. But, under New Hampshire law, Kucinich will have to pay for it. Scanlan said he had "every confidence" the results are accurate.

In a letter dated Thursday, Kucinich said he does not expect significant changes in his vote total, but wants assurance that "100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted."

It would be interesting to see one of the front-runers offer to pay for the recount, as an expression of their confidence in the system. But I really expect to see either (1) they'll ignore this or (2) Ron Paul will offer to use his excess funds to pay for the recount.

Mod-Blog Mourns with the Kucinich Family

We here at Mod-Blog are not big fans of Dennis Kucinich as a presidential candidate. He is to be lauded for being philosophically pure, but his views clash with most of our posters and commenters. But now is a time to quiet such thoughts, and to simply express our sympathies and prayers to the Kucinich family, because his brother, Perry Kucinich was found dead today in his home.

Perry Kucinich, brother of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, was found dead Wednesday morning at his east-side home.
Perry Kucinich was found face down by another brother, Larry Kucinich, at about 9 a.m.
Larry Kucinich had taken his brother shopping Tuesday and then took him home but couldn't get an answer when he tried calling him Wednesday, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for the coroner.
Perry Kucinich was an artist and some of his works have been on display at a local art gallery.

An autopsy has not yet been done, but there are no indications of foul play.

Democratic Debate Thoughts

I enjoyed watching the Democratic debate last night. Even as a Republican, I thought it was entertaining and informative. It was a good event for introducing our country to the candidates. MSNBC did a nice job of keeping the discussion moving and asking relevant questions.

As to my reactions to specific candidates. I believe that the biggest loser last night was Bill Richardson. I had thought that he would be a good candidate for the Democrats who could bridge the party and country back to the Clinton years without having all the negative baggage that Hillary Clinton has. But Richardson looked tired and unmotivated last night. He did not look like someone who would be a legitimate presidential nominee. I’m not saying this ended his presidential run, but he needs to turn around his campaign after that poor performance last night. I thought the wisest answers came from Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich. Biden did a good job of answering the questions that were asked of him, but didn’t feel like he had to fill his 1 minute of allotted time. If the answer to a question took him 45 seconds, he ended there. If it could be answered in a sentence, then he ended there. Dennis Kucinich’s answers were the most well thought out and consistent with what he professes and is know to believe. (Except his assertion that he is the known for being a healer. Has anyone ever heard of him being someone who can bring people of different points of view together for the common good?)
Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama each did fine, but neither were fantastic. The one thing I would have liked to have seen out of Obama is for him to have a moment where he was inspiring. That is his reported strength and last night, he was not able to come across as inspiring. Chris Dodd did a nice job and his best statement, which should become his theme, was “We don’t need another President who needs years of on the job training.” Mike Gravel played an important American political role. He was decidedly politically left of everyone else on stage, but he is a true believer who is consistent in his ideology. He is a good tool for the other Democratic presidential candidates to use to sharpen their own words and positions as they react to his. Gravel did come off as “not mainstream” enough to be a serious contender, but that is not his role. John Edwards did fine, but did nothing to distinguish himself from the other candidates.

Tune in to MSNBC next Thursday to see the Republican candidates for President.