Presidentials ‘08
Sådan her ser det amerikanske præsidentvalg i 2008 ud indtil videre, ifølge Washington Post. Deres analyse kommer i forbindelse med kandidaturet fra Sen. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa. Link!
Vilsack, who is stepping down in January, has been one of the nation’s leading governors during his two terms in office. But he begins his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination overshadowed by such potential rivals as New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
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Vilsack became the first official candidate in the 2008 race, but his announcement comes at a time of accelerating presidential campaign activity in what is considered one of the most wide-open and potentially significant presidential campaigns in modern history.
Just this week, outgoing Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) announced a series of staff hires, continuing his aggressive preparations for a likely run for the Republican nomination. On Wednesday, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who had been preparing for two years, suddenly announced he would not run in 2008.
Earlier this month, Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani set up presidential exploratory committees, and McCain delivered a pair of speeches to conservatives outlining his vision for a fractured Republican Party.
Among Democrats, Obama has been calling around for advice in advance of his decision, which aides have said will not come before the end of the year. Those calls have included conversations with prominent Iowa Democrats, and he plans a trip to New Hampshire on Dec. 10. Clinton is quietly weighing her options, and Democrats say her advisers are closely watching the groundswell around Obama.
Vilsack didn’t even have his home state to himself as he prepared to launch his candidacy. Last night, former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), who led the field of Democrats in an Iowa poll earlier this year, drew a big crowd at a book signing in Des Moines. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (D) will be in Iowa on Monday — his 12th such visit to the state that will hold the first presidential caucuses in 2008.
Vilsack’s first challenge will be to win those caucuses. All of the competition compelled him to get started early.
Go Barack Obama!