The Volokh Conspiracy
[Todd Zywicki, November 7, 2007 at 6:50pm] Trackbacks
Presidential Candidate Selector:

Who should you support for President? The Presidential Candidate Selector quiz is here.

Related Posts (on one page):

  1. Another Presidential Selection Quiz:
  2. Presidential Candidate Selector:
Steve2:
Thanks for posting this, I've been looking for something like this for a little while. And now I get to go research who this "Alan Augustson" person is.
11.7.2007 7:30pm
Maniakes (mail):
This "Theoretical Ideal Candidate" guy sounds pretty interesting, but I can't find any information about his campaign.
11.7.2007 7:45pm
Dilan Esper (mail) (www):
I am skeptical about these sorts of things, but this one did a pretty good job. It identified the candidate that I am actually most likely to vote for.
11.7.2007 7:48pm
Dave N (mail):
I was happy to find out the candidate I am supporting appeared at #2 on my list--instead of, say, #17.

On the other hand, the candidate who had been my 3rd choice ranked below both the joke candidate (Colbert) and the nut (Tancredo)--but thankfully well above the real crackpot (Kucinich).
11.7.2007 7:49pm
Steve2:
Hey, Kucinich was my #2, and who I'm thinking about voting for in the primaries. Just can't make up my mind whether I should vote for the most desirable candidate or against the most undesirable (pretty much any Republican besides Brownback).
11.7.2007 8:30pm
Truth Seeker:
Who in the campaign made slavery reparations an issue?

I've always wondered about reparations for slave owners. Since the Emancipation Proclamation was a government act expropriating private property I would think the constitution requires compensation. But I haven't heard descendents of slave owners asking for reparations. Has this ever been litigated?

I once asked a teacher and I think the answer was that since the southern states broke away they didn't get constitutional rights any more. But the argument was you couldn't break away so I don't see how the government could have it both ways. Either they couldn't break away and had the constitutional right to compensation for loss of slaves, or they could break away in which case there shouldn't have been a war.
11.7.2007 9:30pm
Nate F (www):
It doesn't surprise me that my closest match is Obama. It also fails to surprise me that he is only a 76% match.
11.7.2007 9:32pm
JaredS:
Truth Seeker:
This was unambiguously settled in section 4 of the 14th amendment:
"But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void."
11.7.2007 9:44pm
Christopher Cooke (mail):
JaredS:

That is a dangerous practice, quoting the literal language of the Constitution.
11.7.2007 10:18pm
JosephSlater (mail):
Hey, I got Alan Augustson as my #1 also, and I never heard of him either.
11.7.2007 10:30pm
Truth Seeker:
Thanks, JaredS, sound's pretty clear to me. (Re-reading the Constitution every few years seems like a good idea.)

Doesn't seem fair to innocent slaveholders who didn't rebel. Say those like Washington or Jefferson who were raised in a world where it was considered normal and even mentioned in the Bible. But that's the danger of living in a democracy, 51%, or in this case 67%, can do what they want to you.
11.7.2007 10:55pm
Christopher M (mail):
How can you write a quiz like that and not even mention a little country called Iran?
11.8.2007 12:43am
Truth Seeker:
How can you write a quiz like that and not even mention a little country called Iran?

Because the candidates have not clearly said what they would do?
11.8.2007 12:54am
Bill Poser (mail) (www):
My favorite candidate came out on top (well, a few points below the mysterious "theoretical ideal candidate"), so I guess this quiz was better than I expected.
11.8.2007 1:00am
Grigor:
Well, my preferred candidate (who is a serious one) came out in a statistical tie with somebody called Kent McManigal, the "Hooligan Libertarian," so I'm a little dubious about this process.
11.8.2007 1:37am
Hoosier:
I am a center-right Midwesterner. My #1 is "Theo Retical," whoever HE is.

And number two is CHRIS DODD?!!!

Gimme a break.
11.8.2007 2:54am
libertarian soldier (mail):
Interesting and eye opening; TIC was number one, and the the candidate I will be voting for--HRC--was number 20. I guess I don't know as much about her as I thought.
11.8.2007 7:23am
Temp Guest (mail):
I can't believe I want to vote for Mitt Romney. But I guess I'll have to since Ideal Candidate and Chuck Hagel are not in the race.
11.8.2007 9:09am
Alan K. Henderson (mail) (www):
Why did Question 19 cite the League of Conservation Voters, instead of a more widely-known environmentalist outfit?

Here's my Top Three:

Stephen Colbert (74%)
Duncan Hunter (72%)
Tom Tancredo (71%)

Everyone else for a "D" grade or worse.

Top Democrats: Dodd and Richardson, tied at 30%.

Single digits:

Alan Augustson (9%)
Elaine Brown (7%)
11.8.2007 9:39am
Ex parte McCardle:
The real money question is the last, since it gives the option to select "currently married to third spouse" as the most preferable marital status of a candidate. That's pure comedy gold.
11.8.2007 9:47am
Damian P. (mail) (www):
Kent "Who?" McManigal came up as my first choice, with 66%, followed by Paul with 62. Maybe that's because there wasn't a question about the gold standard or the "9/11 truth" in the quiz.
11.8.2007 9:50am
Alan K. Henderson (mail) (www):
How can you write a quiz like that and not even mention a little country called Iran?
There could have been a general question on negotiating with totalitarian states such as Iran, NK and Syria.

The more glaring absence is Israel. There should have been a "check all that apply" question on possible Israel-relevant policies - who to negotiate with, who to ignore, what Israel should cede, what Israel's enemies should cede, who Israel should send into oblivion, whether the US should assist in any of the oblivionating.
11.8.2007 9:51am
JosephSlater (mail):
Alan K. Henderson:

Assuming you filled out the survey seriously, does it give you any pause that your #1 candidate is an intentional parody of a right-winger?
11.8.2007 10:27am
Jam:
My guy, Paul, came first with 67% agreement.
11.8.2007 11:01am
Gregory Conen (mail):
My best is Obama, at all of 68% percent, which I sort of expected. I would pick Obama, but I know he'll make a lot of bad decisions.

Obama was followed closely by Kucinich.

Which reveals the some of the flaws in the methodology. For example, I think environmental issues are important, but I think many environmental advocacy groups propose bad solutions.
11.8.2007 11:31am
markm (mail):
After I filled in the quiz, instead of giving me results it went into a form collecting my e-mail, etc., for advertisers, and apparently authorizing them to contact me - and the "skip" button was disabled. So, no results for me...
11.8.2007 12:46pm
A.C.:
Nobody got above 56% for me, and a whole pack got that score. Presumably for different reasons. No wonder I'm having so much trouble deciding.

Edwards came in second to last, topping only someone I've never heard of, so at least I've eliminated one of 'em. Not that there was any chance of my voting for him in the first place.
11.8.2007 1:31pm
Matty G:

This was unambiguously settled in section 4 of the 14th amendment:
"But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void."


I'm not in favor of slavery reparations, but the 14th amendment does not prohibit them. The "claims for the loss or emancipation" is clearly a reference to former slave-owners seeking relief because of the loss of their slave property after emancipation. It has nothing to do with compensating the emancipated for their prior suffering.
11.8.2007 1:37pm
KeithK (mail):
I would argue that the emancipation of slaves was not a taking. The 13th simply declared that slavery did not exist in the United States. Thus people who had been slaves were in fact not property after all.

Think of it this way. If the government takes your land to build a road, they have to pay you fair market value for it. If, however, the Constitution were ammended to make it eliminate private ownership of land entirely then a subsequent decision to build a road on "your" land wouldn't be a taking at all because there would be nothing to take.
11.8.2007 2:19pm
Dave N (mail):
Also, no question at all about Global Warming and what the United States should do about it.

I get nervous anytime anyone says, "It's beyond dispute and it is irrational to debate"--and I am a bit dubious about some of the more fanatical claims and man's overall role in the process--but it still was a reasonable area of inquiry.
11.8.2007 3:01pm
JRL:
And I've never even seen his show (and, FWIW, haven't watched the Daily Show since Kilborn left):

1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%)
2. Stephen Colbert (campaign ended) (91%)
3. Chuck Hagel (not running) (87%)
4. Mitt Romney (85%)
5. Alan Keyes (85%)
6. Duncan Hunter (80%)
7. Tom Tancredo (80%)
8. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (78%)
9. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (75%)
10. Fred Thompson (70%)
11. Rudolph Giuliani (67%)
12. John McCain (66%)
13. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (63%)
14. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (63%)
15. Ron Paul (57%)
16. Mike Huckabee (54%)
17. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Rudy) (51%)
18. Al Gore (not announced) (31%)
19. Bill Richardson (31%)
20. Hillary Clinton (28%)
21. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (27%)
22. Christopher Dodd (23%)
23. Joseph Biden (23%)
24. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (23%)
25. John Edwards (22%)
26. Mike Gravel (20%)
27. Barack Obama (18%)
28. Dennis Kucinich (12%)
29. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (9%)
30. Elaine Brown (6%)
11.8.2007 3:13pm
Pliny, the Elder (mail):
I am exactly with Jam (Ron Paul at 67%), but Dodd is 2nd!?
11.8.2007 3:39pm
Tony Tutins (mail):
I also inexplicably have Dodd as my number two, and Ron Paul also scores suspiciously high for me.
11.8.2007 5:01pm
Nathan_M (mail):
God, it says Dennis Kucinich is my number one candidate. It's unfortunate the quiz doesn't ask how important it is to me that the president not be insane.

At least Obama was second.
11.8.2007 5:57pm
Smokey:
...Dodd is 2nd!?
And:
I also inexplicably have Dodd as my number two...
Same here. Either this 'Selector' is skewed toward Dodd, or Dodd had a hand in creating it...

Dodd gambit!!
11.8.2007 7:36pm
wb (mail):
"How can you write a quiz like that and not even mention a little country called Iran?

Because the candidates have not clearly said what they would do?"

At least one unnamed candidate has said that she would not take the nuclear option "off the table." Sounds like a strong position to me.
11.8.2007 9:45pm
Alan K. Henderson (mail) (www):
Assuming you filled out the survey seriously, does it give you any pause that your #1 candidate is an intentional parody of a right-winger?
The intentional parody (who I have never watched except on a YouTube snippet or two) scored a middling "C" grade, so, not really.

This makes my head spin a wee bit:

Alan Keyes (63%)
Ron Paul (63%)
Mitt Romney (62%)
11.9.2007 12:20pm
Gaius Marius:
Ron Paul came out on top for me at about 79%. I just went to his website and contributed to his campaign. Paul reminds me of Barry Goldwater in 1960 and Ronald Reagan in 1972 before the GOP establishment embraced them.
11.10.2007 7:11pm

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