One of the few democrats who I felt could bridge the gap between conservatives and liberals, Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis), has announced he will not run the land's highest office in 2008.
Feingold was the only Senator to vote against both the Patriot Act and the Iraq War. Although he opposed Bush in many ways, he supported a strong defense and simply did not see a war in Iraq as a protective measure for the country. Nor did he see Bush' surveillance programs as necessary to defeat the terrorists.Sen. Russell Feingold, an outspoken antiwar Democrat from Wisconsin and a longshot contender for president in 2008, announced that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president.
"I'm sure a campaign for president would have been a great adventure and helpful in advancing a progressive agenda. At this time, however, I believe I can best advance that progressive agenda as a senator with significant seniority in the new Senate serving on the Foreign Relations, Intelligence, Judiciary and Budget committees," Feingold said in a letter posted on his Senate campaign Web site today.
Feingold would most likely have run to the center of Hillary Clinton on social issues and on international relations, even though Clinton has been courting the conservative elements in the Democratic party and independents.
We are left now with a very uninspiring collection of possible candidates.
The only one of these people who feels "good" to me is Obama, but I fear his youth and inexperience make him the lest likely to be able to do the job. Maybe I am wrong -- I'd like him to prove to me that I am. He has been sounding very presidential of late, as though he has embraced his role as party leader despite his youth. And he is the kind of leader I like -- one who listens to a variety of viewpoints and factors them into his decisions.· Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware confirmed on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that he intends to seek the nomination but doesn't plan to establish an exploratory committee until early next year.
· Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said last week he would seek the Democratic nomination for president.
Other Democrats who are being talked about are Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, widely considered the front-runner; Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois; Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 candidate; former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who was Kerry's running mate; Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana; Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut; and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
The next few months will be interesting.
Among the GOP contenders:
· Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said today on NBC's "Meet the Press" that while he is taking the initial steps, such as setting up an exploratory committee that allows a potential candidate to raise money, he will not make "a decision until I sit down with my family." McCain, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in 2000, probably won't make his decision until early next year.
· Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, has said he is forming an exploratory committee to weigh his potential for the nomination.
Other potential GOP candidates include former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.
I don't know enough about most of these guys to have an opinion. I do know that Frist is an idiot (the Terry Shiavo thing clinched that viewpoint for most of us), McCain has sold his soul to the far right of the party's fundamentalists (he endorsed Len Munsil and Randy Graf in the AZ elections -- two guys who are often mistaken for white supremacists), and that no one knows who the hell Mike Huckabee is.
A blogger over Daily Kos watched David Gregory (NBC News Chief White House Correspondent) mention the possibility that Al Gore will run in 2008 during Tim Russert's show this week. The blogger claims to be a psychologist and read Gregory's body language and facial expression as honesty. This person believes that Gregory was telling the truth.
In the comments, a Seattle reader mentions that Gore has been in Seattle laying a networking foundation.
This may explain why some Dems who really had good shots at the nomination, like Feingold and Warner, have dropped out of the race. Only Hillary can give Gore a run for the spot on the ticket, and in the end the party would rather have Gore. Maybe this time it will be a Gore/Clinton ticket?
I think the 2008 election is the Democrats to lose UNLESS they nominate Hillary, who as we all know is toxic to about 50% of the electorate. It's surprising that Al Gore is flying so quietly under everyone's radar: He's the guy who will ultimately stop the Hillary express. He was shafted in 2000, was right on Iraq, has the experience, and has been a true visionary and leader on the environment.
ReplyDeletewww.minor-ripper.blogspot.com
Most liberals won't vote for her either -- she's too willing to sell-out her liberal base to get conservative support.
ReplyDeleteI wish Al Gore would run, but he seems pretty set against it. He WAS robbed in 2000, and many of us would vote for him again.
Peace,
Bill
I happened to get your blog page on my google alerts so I checked you out.
ReplyDelete...Let me just say that I am a republican in the upstate ovotef SC and all of the 08 hopefulls have made many visits to my area and are all trying thier best to court the "Bible Belt Buckle" vote. They have all donated substantial ammounts through their PAC's to our statewide candidates and Republican party organizations.
The only REAL candidates in our eyes are as follows...
First and current front runner is McCain...He will not likely win SC. Way to many people hate his guts here for him to win. He has to remeber that in the extremely conservative SC he can't act centrist. He lost to G.W.B here in 2000 and will probably loose again if he runs.
Second in the SC ratings is Mitt Romney. He is a PERFECT candidate and would easily win the nomination here in SC but...He is a Mormon. Many extreme conservatives confuse Mormonism as a cult. Because of their screwed up views on this, all Romney will have to do is prove to them he WILL NOT in any way further the mormon agenda if he wins the nomination. If he does this successfully then he has got the nomination from SC in the bag. If not, then he finishes second to Huckabee or God forbid John McCain.
Rudy- WAY TO LIBERAL TO WIN IN SC! DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE. I know several party leaders who have said they would resign if the party ever sponsored an event for Rudy. There's no way.
Huckabee- He could win the nomination but has screwed ot up for himself by not already having a network of supporters in SC. No one except party activists know who he is. If he had been visiting here more often and had a PAC with more people on the ground here with an infastrucure and a plan then he could have stood a chance.
Newt- He's got to much baggae. He's and idiot!
Jim Gilmore- Talk about a long shot! Not a chance buddy!
Pataki- Could be the dark horse in this race. He has some folks here on the ground already. He's got to make some moves and quick in order to be considered. I think SC could possibly go for him if he defines himself better. It's all a timing game for him.
Bill Frist- This man is just NOT presidentail material! Not a chance here in SC. Nice guy but NO.
Duncan Hunter- He will probably be the Dennis Kuccinich of the Republican presidential Primary. It's a hoot that he's even considering a run. But hell it's America and if he wants to waste his time and money then have at it buddy.
John Cox- Sorry John, We all saw what a disaster the Businessman President can be with Carter. Aint gunna happen for him either. His views are to wierd. He told us one meeting something about how he is opposed to businesses buying each other out. CRAZY!
Theese are my thoughts. Hope you enjoy.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about the field of candidates! Whomever is elected, he/she is sure to pull us up from the mud of the prior eight years.
Obama may be green, but, as he rightly says, the presidency is one job where anyone taking it is beset with unique challenges. What did Lincoln or Washington know when they were thrust into the job? The only person in the field with WH experience of sorts is Hillary -- and I think we could expect she would perform well, commensurate with Bill's stay on Pennsylvania Avenue. Besides, as YOU wrote, she would possibly be our first Integral president.
The only other possible Integral president is Obama. He is rather magnificent from all I have read and seen about him.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving us some insight into what is happening on your side of the fence.
Tom,
Yeah, I like Obama, too. I'm just afraid that too many voters will think him too young and inexperienced to elect him. He'll need to step up in the next year and really look like a national leader if he wants to run.
As far as Hillary is concerned, yeah, I was hot on her for a while. I'm not so sure anymore. She's too willing to sell out her liberal base to appear mainstream and non-radical. We all know she has the heart of a radical -- she can't undo her past. I think she might be integral, but I'm not sure about her integrity is the problem.
There might be a new man in the race with integral thinking and WH experience -- Al Gore. That will add a lot to the mix and might explain Feingold and Warner dropping out already.
Peace,
Bill
I have always liked Gore's thinking. If I were the only voter, he would be the next president.
ReplyDeleteMy only concern is that he seems not to excite others because of his reputation of being old hat and stiff and the old saw that persists that he claims to have 'invented the internet.'
I think he has undone his reputation for being unimginative, thank to An Inconvenient Truth, but it will be remembered that he took training on how to act, dress and appear in 2000. Some of Gore's instincts as a politician and debater ARE faulty. He is blamed for managing to lose to Bush in 2000 even as we were still enjoying [though near the end of] a very healthy period.
I'll need to look it up, but I am pretty sure Obama would be older than Kennedy, T. Roosevelt and Pierce were when they were elected presidents.
ReplyDeleteHe has a gangly look of youth, but he is older than he appears.
Of course, the reputation of Kennedy is that his inexperience was costly in how he managed Cuba at the beginning of his Administration, resulting the in Bay of Pigs calamity.
Regarding McCain, people might have been inclined to believe his, "Trust me on Iraq" speel 6 years ago, but not now. He's lost tremendous credibility by metamorphisizing into a bible-thumping, lunch with Jerry Falwell right winger in order to with the South Carolina primary vote. The "Straight Talk Express" is broken down and has a flat tire--he should have taken John Kerry's VP offer in 2004--it's the closest he'll ever get to the presidency...
ReplyDeletewww.minor-ripper.blogspot.com