2008 presidential election preview

Well, we're a little less than 2 years from the inauguration of a new president, and about a year away from the Iowa Caucuses. Given the way of the world of politics in 2007, this means it's time to start examining the field. I'll be looking at both major parties. I'll start with those that are filed with the FEC, then the ones who have formed exploratory committees, then name those who have expressed interest but not declared. I'm taking them in the order listed on Wikipedia, so there is no chance for me to be accused for favouritism. I was going to run this detailing every candidates issue positions, but that could take hours, so for now I'll stick with their background. As we get closer to the actual primaries, then I'll look at the positions. By that time, hopefully the fields will be a little bit narrower. And I'll link each candidate's website if you want to read more about them.

Democrats

Sen. Christopher Dodd, CT - Connecticut's senior senator, and the liberal Democrat representing the state in the upper chamber. He's been in the Senate since 1981, defying the Reagan coattail effect in the 1980 general elections, replacing another Connecticut liberal firebrand, Abraham Ribicoff. Prior to the Senate, Dodd represented Connecticut's 2nd District for three terms. Senator Dodd is 62 years old. In the interests of full disclosure, I met Sen. Dodd during the 1978 campaign, so I was probably 6 at the time, though I don't remember it very clearly.

Prior to Congress, Dodd served in the Peace Corps, and in the US Army Reserve from the time he got out of the Peace Corps in 1968 until he entered the House in 1975. In that regard, he did as much toward service in Vietnam as the current president. He is the current chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Development.

Chris Dodd for President

Fmr. Sen. John Edwards, NC - Former senator from North Carolina, he gave up his seat when running for the presidency in 2004. He finished second in the primaries and was selected by the party for the vice-presidential position on the ticket. Edwards is 53, and therefore among the youngest candidates in the field, despite having already run one national campaign. While serving his one term in the Senate, Edwards was on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees. He supported the Iraq war powers resolution and the USA PATRIOT Act.

Prior to his service in the Senate, Edwards was a private-practice lawyer, specializing in personal injury cases. This has led to criticism of the former senator as being "in the pocket" of the "trial lawyer lobby".

John Edwards '08

Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel, AK - Mike Gravel may be one of the least known candidates in the field. That's because he served two term in the US Senate, representing one of the least populated states, Alaska, from 1969 to 1981. That would mean he began serving in the Senate within 10 years of when Alaska was admitted as a state. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the primaries, losing to a state representative back by Jerry Falwell and the "Moral Majority"; the seat went to Republican Frank Murkowski in the general election as part of the Reagan landslide.

While in the Senate, Gravel advocated an early form of living-wage legislation, public financing of elections, a progressive income tax with no exemptions or deductions, abolition of the death penalty, universal health care and school vouchers. He entered the 4,000+ pages of the Pentagon Papers into the congressional record. He filibustered renewal of the draft until the Republicans and President Nixon agreed in 1973 to allow it to expire.

Since leaving the Senate, Gravel, who is 76 years old, has pushed for a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to voter-initiated legislation similar to state-level initiatives. He supports a national sales tax, abolition of the IRS, immediate withdrawl from Iraq, and single-payer health care.

Mike Gravel for President 2008

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, OH-10 - Dennis Kucinich is making his second run for the presidency, having run in 2004 as Edwards had. Kucinich is now 60 years old, and has been representing his Cleveland-area district since 1997. Prior to the US House, Kucinich had served on Cleveland City Council, as Cleveland mayor (1977-1979), and in the Ohio State Senate.

In the House, Kucinich has opposed the USA PATRIOT Act and the war in Iraq. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, despite being pro-life, though he has made pro-choice votes when constitutional amendments to ban abortion have been proposed. He instead focuses on measures to make abortion "less necessary", such as support for comprehensive sex education.

Kucinich for President

Fmr. Gov. Tom Vilsack, IA - Tom Vilsack recently completed a second term as Iowa governor, deciding against a run for a third term. He was mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and a state senator prior to his election as governor in 1998. Vilsack is 56 years old. Vilsack was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential nominee in 2004 prior to the selection of John Edwards.

Vilsack is a moderate on the war in Iraq, feeling that the war is being mishandled, but not pushing for immediate withdrawl, instead favouring maintaining a small force in the north of the country.

Tom Vilsack President 2008

Sen. Joe Biden, DE - This will be the second run for Senator Biden, who last attempted to ascend to the presidency in 1988, 20 years ago. He had to pull out of that race after it was discovered he had plagarized a speech previously given by Neil Kinnock, then the leader of the British Labour Party. Biden was first elected to the US Senate in 1972, just before his 30th birthday. He has spent the last 35 years representing the First State in the Senate, serving in various leadership positions such as chair of the Judiciary Committee in the late 80s and early 90s (presiding over the contentious nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court), and chair of the Foreign Relations Committee three times since 2001.

Biden had initially supported the war in Iraq, voting for the war powers resolution, though he had attempted to add an amendment requiring the exhaustion of all diplomatic means to avoid war. He still supports the war effort, but not how it is being executed, advocating for more troops, especially from a wider international pool of nations.

Prior to his time in the Senate, Biden served as a county legislator in Delaware for two years. The 64-year old is a lawyer by profession.

(no website found)

Sen. Barack Obama, IL - As experienced as Sen. Biden is, that's how inexperienced many claim Sen. Obama to be. Only two years into his first term in the Senate, the junior senator from Illinois and former Harvard Law Review president, is running behind only former First Lady and current New York Senator Hillary Clinton in early opinion polls. He has helped to draft an extension of the Nunn-Lugar weapons reduction legislation (called Lugar-Obama), and a federal transparency act that requires organization receiving federal funds to report the source of their funds for posting on the OMB website (called the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act). He also was the primary sponsor of legislation providing aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If nominated, Obama would be the first black candidate representing a major party.

Prior to his Senate term, Obama was not only president of the Harvard Law Review, but also a member of the Illinois Senate, first being elected in 1996. He had also run for the US House in 2000, losing the primary to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther. Obama, 45, is a member of the liberal United Church of Christ, though the regularity of his attendance is questioned.

Barack Obama Presidential Exploratory Committee

Gov. Bill Richardson, NM - Richardson, a former UN Ambassador and Secretary of Energy under President Clinton, has the executive experience many recent Democratic candidates have lacked. He is also seeking to be the first Hispanic-American nominee from a major party. Richardson spent many years in his youth in Mexico City, where his father was an executive with Citibank. Later, he was a US Representative from the 3rd district of New Mexico from 1983 to 1997, when he moved to his ambassadorial role. The 59-year old governor is also a former pitcher, having played for the baseball team at Tufts University.

Bill Richardson for President

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, NY - Clinton is the junior senator from New York State, and was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, when her husband, Bill Clinton, served as the last Democratic president. Clinton would be the first female nominee from a major party if she holds on to her front-runner status. Clinton voted for the war powers resolution for Iraq, and has only recently become an opponent of the war as public opinion has turned against it. She also voted for the USA PATRIOT Act.

The history of the Senator as First Lady, and the controversies surrounding the Clinton Administration are well documented. The most important initiative that Senator Clinton undertook during that time was heading up a presidential commission on national health-care coverage, the results of which were rejected by the Congress. The Senator, now 59, was a "Goldwater Girl" during the 1964 campaign, when she was 16, demonstrating her political evolution over the years. During the early 1970s she served as assistant counsel to Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, investigating the Nixon Administration during the Watergate hearings.

Hillary for President

Others mentioned as considering runs

Gen. Wesley Clark, (Ret.), AK
Sen. John Kerry, MA
Rev. Al Sharpton, NY

Republicans

Sen. Sam Brownback, KS - Serving since 1996, Brownback, 50, is in his second full term in the Senate. He had been elected in a special election to succeed Fmr. Sen. Bob Dole, who resigned the seat during his unsuccessful 1996 bid for the presidency against incumbent Bill Clinton. Brownback is a darling of the religious right, having referred to the decision in Roe v. Wade as a "holocaust", has sponsored legislation that would limit the ability of the courts to rule in cases dealing with separation of church and state, and is a leading opponent of same-sex marriage.

Prior to election to Dole's unexpired term, Brownback was a one-term US Representative and was Kansas State Secretary of Agriculture. He is a lawyer by profession.

Brownback for President

John H. Cox, IL - John Cox, 51, is a businessman, attorney and former talk-show host from Chicago. He has lost three previous campaigns, including primary races for US House in IL-10, and US Senate. He is pro-life "without exception, from conception to natural death." He also supports the passage of a Federal Marriage Amendment that would bar any type of same-sex unions. He opposes the Kyoto Treaty.

John Cox for President

Michael Charles Smith, OR - Smith describes himself as a "zealous moderate", stating that the Republican Party is wasting resources on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He would cut ties between the party and the religious right. The 45-year old is an Air Force veteran and was a village trustee in Illinois before moving his family to Oregon. His platform, which he calls "traditional Republican values", features many libertarian ideals; small government, fiscal conservatism and support for individual liberties. He believes that the social activism of the religious right steps upon these ideals.

Smith for U.S. President 2008

Fmr. Gov. Jim Gilmore, VA - Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002, Gilmore is a former US Army CoIntel agent and is currently a lawyer. The 57-year old from the Richmond area campaigned for governor on a platform of cutting the state's Car Tax and reimbursing local governments for the lost revenue. In fulfilling this promise he ran up the largest deficit in Virginia history. He chaired a congressional advisory panel on counter-terrorism during the Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations, and works in the counter-terrorism industry today. He also served as Chair of the Republican National Committee in 2001.

(no website found)

Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, NY - A former US Attorney and Mayor of New York City, Giuliani is most known nationwide for his leadership in the immediate aftermath of the 09/11/01 terrorist attacks. However, the former Hizzoner, aged 62, has considerable baggage as well. Two messy divorces. Support for gay rights (though opposition to gay marriage). Support for abortion rights. All of the things that will get a Republican elected mayor of New York City are the things that will not get him elected to anything nationwide. Giuliani is less-known for his abuse of powers to shut down peep shows on Time Square (leading landowners with little choice but to sell at dramatically undervalued rates to the likes of Disney) and gay bars and drag clubs in Lower Manhattan. As US Attorney, he prosecuted prominent mobsters as well as white-collar criminals Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken. His first campaign for mayor, in 1989 against David Dinkins, carried the endorsement of not only the Republicans, but also of the New York Liberal Party, which usually backs the Democratic nominee in most races, a testament to Giuliani's moderate image. He also served as a member of the Iraq Study Group.

Join Rudy 2008

Rep. Duncan Hunter, CA - Hunter has represented the north and east sides of San Diego (currently the 52nd district) since 1981. The 58-year old is a former Army Ranger and represents a very pro-military region. He was one of the beneficiaries of Reagan's coattail effect in 1980, defeating a nine-term Democratic incumbent. During his time in Congress, he has worked to prevent women from being allowed to serve in direct-combat roles in the military, has pushed for a "border fence" along the Mexican border, and has opposed free-trade pacts such as NAFTA, CAFTA and WTO. He is also pro-life.

Duncan Hunter '08

Sen. John McCain, AZ - McCain is a former Vietnam War veteran and POW (having been involved in the Forrestal incident, and later imprisoned in the "Hanoi Hilton"), and in his fourth term as Senator from Arizona. He succeeded legendary conservative icon Barry Goldwater in 1987, and the 70-year old senator has built up a reputation as a bipartisan moderate, whether deserved or not. It is true that he has often reached across the aisle to pass reforms, most notably the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. But he is a hawk on the war in Iraq, though he has opposed the administration's use of torture against prisoners (having been extensively tortured by the North Vietnamese, himself), and falls on the conservative side of many social issues. This is McCain's second campaign, having lost the Republican nomination in 2000 to the current president. McCain voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, calling same-sex marriage a states' rights issue. McCain was one of the "Gang of 14" who united to compromise on judicial filibusters, and is the last of the "Keating Five" Senate members remaining in the Senate.

John McCain 2008

Rep. Ron Paul, TX - Another second-time candidate, Rep. Paul, 71, was the Libertarian Party nominee against George H. Bush and Michael Dukakis in 1988. Paul has served in the House as a Republican before and since that presidential bid, and remains on good terms with the Libertarian Party. He voted against the war powers resolution in 2002, and has been a critic of the adminstration's use of the police powers granted by the USA PATRIOT Act. He opposed CAFTA and supports US withdrawl from the UN. Paul supports abolition of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard (Paul has extensive investments in gold and silver). He is in favour of medicinal marijuana use. Paul is pro-life but feels there is no federal role in legislating bans on abortion.

Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee

Fmr. Gov. Mitt Romney, MA/UT - Romney, 59, is former Governor of Massachusetts and had been the CEO of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee. He is a businessman by profession and the son of former Michigan governor and AMC chair George Romney. Romney is a socially-conservative Mormon, and had worked to attempt to submit a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to the voters of Massachusetts since it was due to become legal by judicial fiat in 2004. During his tenure as governor, Romney often travelled outside of the state and spoke of his distaste for the state that he led.

Mitt Romney, The Exploratory Committee 2008

Rep. Tom Tancredo, CO - Representative from Colorado's 6th district, Tancredo, 61, has been in office since 1999. Tancredo has long opposed bilingual education, and he served as a deputy in the Department of Education under President Reagan. He has also served on conservative think tanks. Tancredo had been a leader of the term-limits movement in Colorado, but broke a pledge to limit himself to three terms when he ran for, and won, a fourth term in 2004. Tancredo's major issue is opposition to illegal immigration, couching his immigration reform platform in the language of "national security".

Tom Tancredo 2008

Fmr. Gov. Tommy Thompson, WI - Thompson, a former governor of Wisconsin, elected to four consecutive terms (he left in the fourth term to join the G. W. Bush Cabinet as Secretary of Health and Human Services), pioneered at the state level reforms that would eventually make their way to the national level; welfare-to-work and school vouchers. The 65-year old had also pushed the much-maligned Medicare Prescription plan. He is a fiscal conservative. In the interests of full disclosure, Thompson hails from the same small town in Southwestern Wisconsin where I have family.

Tommy 2008

Others mentioned as considering runs

Fmr. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, GA
Sen. Chuck Hagel, NE - Hagel has hinted that, should he run, it would be as an independent
Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee, AR
Fmr. Gov. George Pataki, NY

An apology

I am working on a post regarding the 2008 presidential field to this blog. When I went to start the post, I had converted the blog over to whatever it is that's associated with its new ownership (Google). I don't manage the account that does the syndicated RSS feed, so I had no way to stop it from reposting all 21 past posts. And, in fact, I didn't even know that would happen with the conversion, so I wouldn't have known to stop it, anyhow. But I apologize for spamming all of your f-lists with the old posts, it shouldn't happen again, and if it does, let me know. If necessary, I'll set up a new feed that I'll be able to manage.