uhm, couldn't we have waited a day or two? please? http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/09/vilsack.president.ap/index.html [rquoter]Democrat Vilsack to launch run for White House DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa took the initial step in his long-shot bid for the White House Thursday, establishing a presidential campaign committee and seeking an early jump on 2008. "Americans sent a clear message on Tuesday. They want leaders who will take this country in a new direction," Vilsack, Iowa's two-term governor, said in a statement. "They want leaders who share their values, understand their needs, and respect their intelligence. That's what I've done as governor of Iowa, and that's what I intend to do as president." Vilsack filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to create the committee. Although the favorite son in the early voting state, the Democratic governor has trailed the other potential candidates in early polling, among them front-runner New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards. Vilsack is the first Democrat to make a formal declaration for the presidency although a number of better known candidates are presumed to be running. Likewise, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California is the only announced candidate on the Republican side. He plans a multistate tour on November 30 to formally announce his intentions. The first stop will be in his hometown of Mount Pleasant, where he served as mayor and which he represented in the Iowa Senate before being elected governor in 1998. Vilsack said he will also announce his candidacy in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Nevada and South Carolina. Vilsack was born in Pittsburgh, and the other states are all important early tests of strength in the nominating process. "I couldn't be more honored that my wife, Christie, and our sons, Doug and Jess, are committed to joining my effort to offer the people of America and the Democratic Party my vision for the future of our country as a candidate for president," said Vilsack, a former head of the Democratic Governors Association. "Over the next several weeks they and the rest of my campaign team will put together the building blocks needed to run a successful national presidential campaign." Vilsack heads the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist group that former President Clinton used to help launch his candidacy. He has also traveled the country campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidates while considering a presidential run. Vilsack said in his statement that he plans a "Gala Celebration of American Community" on December 2 in Des Moines as his initial fundraising event. He's also opening a campaign headquarters in Des Moines. Iowa's precinct caucuses traditionally launch the nominating season, and Vilsack's first test in his home state will be vital to his presidential hopes. Vilsack became Iowa's first Democratic governor in 30 years when he won the election, pledging at the time to limit himself to two terms. He kept that promise, working to elect Democrat Chet Culver as his replacement.[/rquoter]
can we assume that you started a similar thread when republican duncan hunter announced he was running in 2008 too?
missed that, and i don't even know who duncan hunter is, but in any case mine was non-partisan plea, so what's your point?
the people who have already declared they're running - demicrats: * Senator Joe Biden of Delaware * Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut * Former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska * Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa republicans: * John H. Cox of Illinois * Michael Charles Smith of Oregon * Congressman Duncan Hunter of California with hilary, obama, mccain, and giuiani probably right around the corner. maybe newt gingrich, mitt romney, or wesley clark will take a stab at it too.
Vilsack isn't that bad of a choice. A moderate and pragmatic Democrat from a rural and nominally red state. He's sorely lacking in name recognition and wider experience but we've seen others with similar backgrounds do a pretty good job as President. The problem for guys like Vilsack though is that so much money has already been committed behind big names so its hard for someone like him to get into the race. I suspect he is declaring early to give him more time for fund raising.
Sishir Chang your sig: or if you don't like helping people http://wwww.myspace.com/mnserfs the link has one too many w in it
as someone who follows the news as close as you seem to do im really suprised you didnt hear about duncan hunter. it was only last month that he threw his hat into the ring. my point is that your non-partisan plea had a very distinct tinge of partisanship. as for vilsack, the democrats could do alot worse. plus, my dad was from iowa so i would like to see iowa get some national clout.
ever been to the field of dreams? or the manchester fish hatchery? the ertl toy factory? good times to be had by all.
Gracias senor. I've had that up for months and you're the first person to say something. I guess that shows how much people had been clicking on my link.
Splash? McCain's In (sort of) http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2644481&page=1 EXCLUSIVE: McCain Begins Preliminary White House Run Exploratory Committee to Be Set Up This Month, No Final Decision Has Been Made By JAKE TAPPER and AVERY MILLER Nov. 10, 2006 — His party may have taken "a thumpin'," in the words of President Bush, but ABC News has learned that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his political team have decided it's full steam ahead for his 2008 presidential campaign though he has yet to make the final, official decision. Sources close to McCain say on Wednesday in Phoenix, he and a half dozen of his top aides huddled and decided to proceed more formally with his quest for the White House. McCain told ABC News they will continue to meet and, "go through the process of decision making." But he added I, "certainly haven't made any decision." A presidential exploratory committee is expected to be set up this month — perhaps as early as next week. McCain's official, final decision will likely not come until after the Christmas holidays, when he will talk to his wife, Cindy, and his children. Among his seven children, Jimmy is at boot camp at Camp Pendleton; Jack is at the Naval Academy; and daughter Megan is in her senior year at Columbia University. In the meantime, McCain's team is exploring office space in Virginia, hiring staff and building infrastructure in key early-primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Strategy Could Target Swing Voters, Bipartisan Issues Despite Republican losses of the House and Senate, McCain sees encouraging signs for his personal quest. Independent voters were the key swing voters in this election, going overwhelmingly for Democrats. And that could be a voting pool he would tap into. "No question I think voters said they want independence, they want bipartisanship and they want a voice of moral authority on Iraq and John McCain is all three," said former Bush adviser Mark McKinnon, who worked on the 2004 campaign. "I've always been popular with independents," McCain said. "But I don't know [how] independents feel right now from what I see they are kind of unhappy." Republicans will want to focus on winning them back, and according to polls, McCain is more popular with them than he is with conservative Republicans. In exit polls, Republican voters expressed disappointment with their party on the issues of fiscal restraint and government ethics, issues McCain has tried to make his signature. "A lot of people look at the Republican Congress and say the problem is they only took half measures of which McCain wanted to do in full measure," McKinnon said. He said McCain had been a "leader for years" in those areas. "All the relevant issues in the Congress now — spending reform, ethics reform — are issues that John McCain has been talking about for a long time," he said. Why would McCain start his campaign so early? For one reason, the race is wide open — with no president or vice president running for the first time in 80 years. Already Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa have announced their intentions. The race also looks to be expensive. In 2004, President Bush spent more than $345 million on his campaign. Though he's considered his party's front-runner, McCain faces some considerable hurdles. Having turned 70 in August, he would be the oldest U.S. president to get elected. And he faces at least one strong challenger within the party, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and others in the seemingly ascendant Democratic Party, such as Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. Moreover, McCain has yet to resolve the problems he's had with the Republican Party's conservative base. "He has a problem with pro-lifers on judges, he … became very hostile to the Second Amendment community and supportive of gun control. He has a problem with the economic conservatives because he's been bad on taxes for six years now," said longtime critic Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, which includes individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes. "Conservatives who care about the tax issue are very concerned that he opposed Bush's tax cuts," Norquist said. McCain has tried to combat that with goodwill. He appeared at 346 events for Republican candidates this election cycle and was said to be the most requested speaker for GOP candidates. "He's built a base across the country, and unlike [in] 2000, John McCain will run a 50-state strategy," McKinnon said. While emphasizing more bipartisan issues such as campaign finance reform and a patients' bill of rights early in the Bush presidency, McCain has more recently strongly supported the war in Iraq. He may very well be the only serious presidential contender calling for more troops to go to Iraq. While he opposes a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, he supported such an effort in his state — an effort that failed. McCain has also attempted to reach out to conservative evangelical leaders, as he did with the Rev. Jerry Falwell earlier this year. Appealing to those conservatives while keeping the independents so important to his party's 2008 hopes may pose a considerable challenge. ABC News' Ed O'Keefe, Mark Halperin and Teddy Davis contributed to this report.
I've seen Joe Biden on TV. Not necessarily a big fan of his positions, but I do like his speaking style. Same could be said for Giuliani.
He he... Rudy Laying Groundwork To Sell Himself To Social Conservatives Here's another interesting nugget about Rudy Giuliani's big rollout of his new big-bucks fundraising team that we mentioned earlier today. In the Times's piece today on this, there's a description of a private meeting where Rudy told his new fundraisers why his social liberalism wasn't as big a liability in a GOP primary as it seemed: Translation: Giuliani is laying the groundwork to make the case to social conservatives that he isn't the social liberal he's been made out to be. Maybe he'll blame the liberal media for painting him as a liberal, or something. Seriously, Rudy's impending effort to pull off a convincing ideological self-transformation is going to form one of the more interesting storylines to watch as we move into the Presidential race. As someone who's seen him up close undergoing previous political mutations over the years, I can tell you that he's way better at distancing himself from the reality of his own past -- and sounding awfully sincere in the process -- than many people might think. So: Will the big news orgs hold Giuliani accountable for his own past statements and positions on issues important to GOP primary voters, or will his designation by the media as an "independent" Republican who allegedly says what he thinks earn him the same kind of hands-off treatment the big pundits and commentators have tended to grant to fellow "straight-talker" John McCain? We'll find out soon enough. http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electio...dwork_to_sell_himself_to_social_conservatives Indeed, it will be fun to watch.
he he! Sounds like a good move... Breaking: Frist Won't Run Sources close to outgoing Maj. Leader Bill Frist tell the Hotline that Frist has decided not to run for President. He will make a formal announcement this afternoon, the sources said. Frist made the decision in recent days after consulting family, friends and advisers. http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/11/breaking_frist.html
Too bad. He deserved to be humiliated and rejected at the polls. Now that he has done all the damage he can do in public life, I guess he can now go back to running his behemoth family med company and fund another generation of wackos with the profits.
Music to the ears of the TJ's of the world... New GOP Attack On Obama: His Middle Name is "Hussein!" If you thought Obama's last name was enough of a political pitfall, the Republicans are just getting started. Last night on Hardball, GOP strategist Ed Rogers ridiculed a potential Obama candidacy by using — possibly for the first time on cable news — Obama's little-known and politically unfortunate middle name. "Count me down as somebody that underestimates Barack Hussein Obama," Rogers said. Expect to hear this sort of thing again and again if Obama runs for President. To watch the video, click here. (Special thanks to Crooks and Liars.) http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/nov/29/new_gop_attack_on_obama_his_name_is_hussein
