Steve Forbes, Jim Rogers, I could go on. I know Forbes and Rogers are both smart businessmen. I THINK they are honest. But the real issue is not the President, is it ... ? It is Congress. I, along with millions of other Americans are absolutely sick of the Republicans and Democrats. I would vote them all out. Of course, not all at once because some semblance of stability has to be preserved. But that's a moot point anyway because they come up for re-election at different times. Let's start coming up with candidates for Congress

Senate and House. That's where the real problem lies (and more lies and more lies). Thanks. Ken Hanks

In my humble opinion the answer is clear; Bloomberg. The man is a genius, and he knows how to fix things. Remember, he's an engineer with a true analytical mind & he's a natural in business and politics. Not only that, he executes plans better than any other person I've seen. When others were talking about fixing NYC the Mayor's office didn't even have email. How long has Mr. Bloomberg been in office now? How long has email been around?

Budget concerns? How about NYC's first financial surplus since Rockefeller?

I believe that he made a mistake not running this year, but I am sure glad that he's staying here for now - especially in this economy!

Just one man's opinion.

Cheers, Patrick

I with you Patrick. Bloomberg is going to be the goto man in the future.

I agree. Too many people get tunnel vision when it comes to POTUS elections. Real change will occur in the House and Senate. We need to break the choke hold that the D&R's have on DC.

First, I would like to refer you all to www.ontheissues.org a great place to find out who is really centrist, and in what ways. Here are my favorite centrists who have a decent shot at the presidency.- In this order. Tim Kaine Charlie Crist Mary Landrieu

I came to this site expecting a serious discussion of common values, but what I find is the usual Right Wing, Top down, predigested elitist program with little or no space for actual ideas or belief in normal Americans enough to have a real three way debate, and perhaps come up with real solutions.

True enough the Republican Party has been hijacked by cave guano crazies with wild imaginations that only racism and theocracy are discernible threads, but the more staid ideas of William F Buckley, or Milton Friedman do not have a lot of positive results either, as our disappearing middle class, and bloated banker plutocracy makes very clear.

A Rush, Beck, Palin, etc free Republican Party would be a positive thing, but they would hardly be Centrist. Thanks in part to those folk any real Centrists are screamed out as Commie, or far out leftist, or whatever, but taken on reality based policy issues Howard Dean is the actual centrist, with Obama and Clinton well to his right and, Russ Feingold, Kucinich, Bernie Saunders very slightly to his left. To find someone as far left as Paul O'Neill is to the Right you would be talking Cinthia McKinney, or Medea Benjamin, or such folks not even in the Democratic party.

I find your statement startling, to say the least. Up until this week, I was a Democrat. I always leaned left but hated the extremist tug-of-war in politics that was leaving our country stranded. When I found the Centrist party, it was like a breath of fresh air. Granted, this party holds some traditional conservative values close to its heart, but balances them out with genuine liberal idealism as well.

For example: healthcare. Healthcare is a very broken system in the USA right now and far too many people are left struggling while the fat acts get fatter. But we can’t simply push out a reform that we can’t sustain or pay for (conservative). So obviously we have to find a more balanced approach in order to provide affordable options for the majority of Americans who can’t afford healthcare at the moment (liberal).

The site defines Centrism as “not defined by compromise or moderation, it is considerate of them. Centrism is about achieving common sense solutions that fit the current needs; support the public trust; serve the common good; and consideration of short and long term needs. Fiscal and social responsibility balanced with personal responsibility and capacity tied to performance and progress.”

And I think that pretty much nails it on the head. A Centrist is able to pull good ideas from both the right and the left without getting caught in the fringe politics and endless arguments that are leaving millions of Americans jobless and hopeless.

Just my two cents.

Powell, beyond a shadow of a doubt. For far too many reasons to list here, he gained my utmost respect when he had enough of the Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld tirade and resigned. I had always thought that had he made a run as president he’d get my vote, even though I was aligned as a Democrat at the time.