So here, in alphabetic order:

1. Joe Biden: Biden is one who does things his own way. Then there was the Dunkin' Donuts joke, percieved as racist, that he said to a camera even though his staff warned him against it. Biden clearly views his conversations with voters as straight talk; his face shows how pissed off he is with "the current administration." His video at the YouTube debate criticized Bush for being delusional. He criticized the pres. on the stump in the loudest and angriest voice of any candidate. But I don't see how his agressive style is going to get him anywhere. There somes a point, and this goes for every candidate, that we're tired of them repeating the pres' mishaps and we want clear-cut solutions. I don't agree wth some of his proposals (split Iraq in three) but at least he has some. but don't count on him to gain momentum.

2. Hillary Clinton- If the primaries were held today, she would win, no doubt about it. Democratic primaries have traditionally strayed from supporting top-tier candidates, however, at least those seen as beng at the top at this time. Hill gets a lot of steam for supporting the war. It isn't necessarily because we're unforgiving (Edwards has paid his dues), but she refuses to renounce her vote, although that has more to do with her strategy then what she feels. Hillary gets more criticism for not being Democratic enough, alhtough she has pretty solid Dem credentials and "get's it" on many issues, like pensions to the environment. In the media, talking heads say, "Some think she's too polarizing." First of all, who's the 'some' (Repubs who just hate polarizing candidates?), and second, all of the candidates are polarizing. She gets a little sympathy from me, like Nacy Pelosi, because of all the right-wing attacks on her.

3. Chris Dodd: Whew, how many do we have to go? But on to Dodd we are, the candidate who probably has the most experence in politics of any candidate. He's still stck in the second tier, but he's got a wealth of knowledge and would make a great, competant, president. Still, I'd be surprised if he gets the nomination nod.

John Edwards: John is dogged with interminable attacks on his pricy haircuts from the right (never mind that they forgot about Romney's $400 makeup). Edwards, though born to a poor household, just can't cover poverty the way RFK does. Edwards is popular with liberals, even though he had one of the most conservative, if not the most conservative voting record of any other candidate (to be fair, he was representing his constituents in N. Carolina. Even Jim Webb, a celebrated Senate figure on lib. blogs has a more conservative record, hailing from Virginia). Edwards says the right things and is moving leftward to attract more voters. Edwards is still in last for the top tier, but my gues is he'll take Iowa, and who know's what momentum will build up from there.

Mike Gravel: One of the most politically incorrect candidate, if not the most, sometimes I can't help but wonder if this guy's joking. There's his campaign ads, one where he stares at the camera  before throwing a stone in a pond. He says it's a metaphor, but it still doesn't explain why he would stare at us for one minute and a half. Another, he's gathering wood and we watch a fire burn for several minutes with the name of his campaign site in the middle. Gravel would be funny if he didn't seem so, well, creepy. In the recent debate, he was yelling that Vietnam vets died in vain, like it's their fault. to his credit, he worked to get us out in the senate. But if Gravel wants to win, he's got to be serious. So far, he's seen more as a buffer to prevent Kucinich from being in last place again.

6.Dennis Kucinich: has no chance of winning the primary, let alone the presidency, period. Kucinich may be the most liberal candidate, but libs aren't likely to be jumping ship. Look, I supported Dennis in 2004, when I ws still a political novice and was swallowing the politicl propaganda on his website. But even Dennis should know he doesn't stand a chance, and frankly, I, and many American voters, prefer a more moderate candidate than and left/right winger.

7. Barack Obama: Often criticized for not having enough experience, Obama still has credentials for being an effective legislator. He often works with Reoublicans in order to pass through essential legislation, even working with McCain and Lieberman on global warming (better than doing nothing.) He remains one of the most popular senators of any state and has good favorability ratings among the voting public. He's actually has made a good deal of accomplishments as Senator, from working with Repub. Lugar on fighting nuclear proliferation to legislative transparency .

8. Bill Richardson- The first thing that pops up on the political junkies' mind when you talk about Richardson is experience. UN ambassador, Energy Secretary, Congressman, and now New Mexico's government. Richardson has worked on everything from border security to Darfur. He has also been a power player for the party, from chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention to the governor in charge of electing Dem. governors in 2006, increasing the total from 22 to 28 states. And he has the best political commercials.

Next time: the Republicans