Will the next US president be a Democrat or a Republican?

GOP

Yup.

The anti christ, so probably democrat or independent?

It doesn’t matter. They’re all the same.

Obama. Deal with it. I must admit, it is fun watching the Republicans implode.

I disagree, I think it will be a Republican.

I’m with @johnpowell. Obama.

After that? Seven years is a long time. Maybe enough time for the Conservatives to piece themselves back together.

If some kind of health-care bill passes, unemployment goes down, and the Afghanistan adventure doesn’t blow up in his face it will be Obama. Of not, it won’t, regardless of the fact that nothing he does can change any of these issues.

@pdworkin I think we can all agree that a Health Insurance reform bill will pass. Question is, which one, and with what compromises.

Oh, it will suck. No question about it, but if the Repugs can kill it off it will end his chance for re-election.

Absolutely. However, beyond all the bullshit compromises (read: “single payer”) that I’ve been hearing, one particularly appealing argument coming from the Democratic camp is the “State Option.”

Basically entails that Republican states can opt out of the Public Option if they so choose (an option on top of an option). I can’t think of any reason why that is a particularly bad idea – of course, this is entirely hypothetical at this point and highly doubt the conservatives will buy into it easily. Seems to sound as if it will be a “last resort” if the Federal Public Option does not pass.

after obama’s second term itll probably be a republican as we will be bored of democrats and what ever they mess up. That is if the GOP survives obama’s 8 years of power, there is a just the GOP will die off and there will be a new party, but its unlikely.

I don’t think anyone will be ever become “bored” with a progressive, engaging political ideology. Unless you dislike that sort of thing.

My Magic 8 Ball said, “Most likely”.

if the 2012 doomsday guys are right, Sarah Palin.

I don’t even think Obama will be re-elected. I think we’ll have a Republican in office in a little over 3 years.

Obama is a lock for 2012, so Dem unless there is an assassination.
There is usually an ebb and flo of 8 years.
1952–1960 Republican
1961–1968 Democrat
1969–1976 Republican
1977–1980 Democrat
1981–1992 Republican
1993–2000 Democrat
2001–2008 Fucked
2009— ? Obama.

A little too early to tell, but I think Obama will be re-elected and after that, I would say another democrat and it will possibly be Hillary Clinton.

Me.

More Democrats, please!

@filmfann I think the “ebb and flow” idea is right on the money. It has gone in 8-year cycles over the last 50+ years, and that pattern is probably a good bet to continue… even down the exception. The exception was Carter, who as perceived (with some justification, even most Democrats will admit) as weak and ineffective by the end of his term. Obama doesn’t need to be great to be re-elected, in all likelihood… he just needs to avoid Carter-level ineptitude. (And even then, he might be. Bush II was re-elected despite having exceeded Carter-level ineptitude (in my opinion) in his first term…)

None of the above

Considering there´s no viable GOP candidate (thank God for that) and the way that the republican party has been imploding and suffering from collective foot-in-mouth disease, along with the fact that they have been resorting to grade-school politics… i´m pretty sure you could run a monkey with a democrat pin and he´d win. I´m hoping Obama gets re-elected so he actually has time to fix the fucking mess left by the Bush administration.

I figured it would be Obama, but he seems to be losing popularity quick as everyone sees the only difference between him and Bush is their outward appearances. So now, I don’t know, maybe people will wake up and realize the GOP and Democrats are the same thing.

~Because Bush was so very into having a reduction in torture, a national health care system, and a stimulus package that was something more than tax cuts for people who didn’t have money to pay much in taxes anyway. Yeah, Obama and Bush are exactly the same except for their melanin levels.~

That said, the Demmicans and Republicrats are often considered the right- and left-wings of the Boot on Your Face party. They both want to control some aspect of my life – just different aspects from each other.

I don’t think either one has much of a chance. GOP is out of style and the Democrats are centrists. Independents will make a run for it and have the best chance of winning now than ever previous. But I think conservative independents have a better chance than liberal independents based on track records, but who can say.

I disagree, @Talus057. In a two-party system (as ours is practically Constitutionally mandated to be), Centrists will win most of the time. It’s like a bell curve, see – the lunatic fringes in either direction get fewer votes, and those with views most palatable to the majority will gain the most. Independents have little chance, because people feel that if they vote Independently, even if it’s how they really feel, they’ll take away from the more Centrist popular candidate (Dem or Rep) that most fits their views, handing the election to the Greater Evil of the other guy, as it were.

What we need, rather than fresh candidates (necessarily), is Election Reform. I favor instant-runoff elections, because you can vote your conscience as the first choice but also have back-ups if your favorite doesn’t gain a majority of votes. However, changing “winner take all” elections means changing the Constitution, and with a Congress full of people whose self-interest is to be found in the status quo, that probably won’t happen.

Obama will be for the Democrats what Reagan was for the Republicans in 1984. I don’t know who who the GOP is going to run, but I’ll bet it’ll be some dipshit like Huckabee. It’ll be a slaughter. I give the Republicans slightly better odds in 2016, but only if they can get their lunatic fringe to pipe down, and only if they have some emergent figure who can lead them out of the wilderness the way Reagan did.

I think that it all depends on the economy. If it is up (and he’s got 4 years to get it there, so odds are good) then Obama wins. If it gets worse, Republican wins. If it gets better and then drops again, it’s up for grabs. The only chance for a republican win is an absolutely stunning candidate, or an prolonged economic downturn. Given the disarray in the Republican party, and the fact that the candidates most likely to win a primary and turn out the “base” are the least likely to win a general election, I would say that a stunning candidate is unlikely. My money’s on Obama.