ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist Greensboro, NC | The Candidates running for President
Democrats: Hillary Clinton- Born October 26, 1947, Hillary Clinton is the junior United States Senator from New York. She is married to Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Before that, she was a lawyer and the First Lady of Arkansas. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Departing from the traditional role of the First Lady, Clinton was directly involved in policy-making during her husband's presidency. She headed the task force that proposed the Clinton health care plan, which was not enacted by Congress, and initiated the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Her prominent role has been at times controversial, and generated debate on the changing status of women in America.
In 2000, Clinton was elected to succeed Daniel Patrick Moynihan in United States Senate, becoming the only First Lady ever to run for public office and the first female senator representing New York. She was re-elected in 2006. As senator, she sits on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Special Committee on Aging. Although she has not stated her intentions, Clinton is widely seen as a potential candidate for president in the 2008 presidential election.
Barack Obama- Born August 4, 1961, Barack Obama is the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, he is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In November 2004, he was elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat. Recent opinion polls identify Obama as the second most popular choice among Democratic voters for their party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, after Hillary Clinton. He is married to Michelle Obama (née Robinson); they have two daughters.
Commentators have suggested that Obama's chances to be elected president would be better in 2008 than in 2012 or later. A December 2005 article published in The New Republic reasoned that, with no incumbent president or vice president in the race, 2008 offers Obama his best chance at winning the presidency. In an October 2006 editorial published in the Chicago Tribune, Newton Minow compared prospects for a 2008 Obama presidential bid to John F. Kennedy's successful 1960 presidential campaign. An editorial published that same month in The Economist presented a similar opinion.
In September 2006, Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. TIME magazine's October 23, 2006 issue featured Obama on its cover beside the headline "Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President."
In October 2006, following Obama's statement that he is considering a run for president, opinion polling organizations added his name to surveyed lists of Democratic candidates. The first such poll ranked Obama in second place with 17% support among Democrats after Hillary Clinton who placed first with 28% of the responses. In latest Gallup polling on December 07, 2006 Obama had 36% positive and Hillary Clinton had 37% while on the negative side Obama only had 17% but Clinton had 50%.
--------------------------------------------------- Republicans: John McCain- Born August 29, 1936, John McCain is an American politician. An influential Republican, McCain is currently the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona.
Born in Coco Solo in the American-controlled Panama Canal Zone, the son and grandson of United States Navy Admirals, McCain was educated at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He then served as a naval aviator, seeing combat in the Vietnam War, and first became a national celebrity after being held as a prisoner of war for five and a half years, from 1967–1973.
Upon his release and return, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Arizona's 1st district in 1982 and then to the United States Senate in 1986. He is currently serving his fourth term.
He was a presidential candidate in the 2000 election, but was defeated in the Republican primary by George W. Bush. On 15 November 2006, McCain announced he was forming an exploratory committee for a 2008 presidential campaign.
Should McCain win in 2008, he would be the country's oldest President in history at ascension to office, being 72 years old and surpassing Ronald Reagan, who was 69 years old at his inaugeration following the 1980 election. He has dismissed concerns about his age and past health concerns (malignant melanoma in 2000), stating in 2005 that his health was "excellent."[25][26]
McCain's oft-cited strengths[27] as a presidential candidate in 2008 include national name recognition, sponsorship of major lobbying and campaign finance reform initiatives, leadership in exposing the Abramoff scandal[28], military service (including years as a tortured POW), competing in the 2000 presidential campaign (where he won the New Hampshire primary), extensive fund-raising abilities, strong advocacy for President Bush's re-election campaign in 2004, and appeal to independent voters. He appeals to Democrats as well, and reportedly was asked by John Kerry to be the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004. In mid-November 2006 early polls showed him leading Hillary Clinton.[29] During the 2006 election cycle, McCain attended 346 events and raised more than $10.5 million on behalf of Republican candidates. He also donated nearly $1.5 million to federal, state and county parties [5].
In May 2006, McCain gave the commencement address at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. During his 2000 presidential bid, McCain had called Falwell an "agent of intolerance." With significant coverage during the campaign, McCain said that he would never back down from his earlier statement. His later appearance at Liberty University prompted questions about the McCain-Falwell relationship and a possible presidential run in 2008. McCain stated that Falwell is no longer that divisive figure and the two have discussed their shared values.[30] McCain delivered a similar address at The New School commencement in Madison Square Garden. McCain was received by boos, jeers, and several students and professors turned their backs or waved fliers reading "McCain does not speak for me."[31] McCain's speech mentioned his unwavering support for the Iraq War and focused on hearing opposing viewpoints, listening to each other, and the relevance of opposition in a democracy.[32]
In December 2006, McCain introduced the "Stop the Online Exploitation of Our Children Act" [33] that would require millions of commercial web sites and personal blogs to report illegal images or videos posted by their users or pay fines of up to $300,000. The bill would affect all "social networking sites", and due to the lack of concise definition of this term could encompass all sites to which users can post content. It has been speculated that negative reaction from online communities to the introduction of such liability may seriously affect the amount of any support McCain would be able to garner from online sources in any presidential bid. Given the importance of online publicity from both independent and campaign affiliated blogs and discussion groups in recent election years, this has been seen as a potentially serious stumbling block to McCain's electability. In a 2006 poll [34] McCain received only 31 out of a possible 100 points on the "technology score card" section.
Mike Huckabee- Born August 24, 1955, Mike Huckabee is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party. He was the governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007[2] and is a candidate for the 2008 United States presidential election; he announced his candidacy on January 28, 2007.
Huckabee is the author of several books, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, a public speaker, and a musician, playing bass guitar in his rock band, Capitol Offense. He is well known for having lost 110 pounds (50 kg) in a very short time and then advocating a healthy lifestyle. He and his wife, Janet, have three grown children: John Mark, David, and Sarah.
In 1992, in Huckabee's first political race, he lost to incumbent U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers (D), receiving 40 percent of the vote in the general election. That same election saw Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton ascend to the Presidency, making Lieutenant Governor Jim Guy Tucker the new Governor. Huckabee narrowly won a special election for lieutenant governor on July 27, 1993. He defeated Nate Coulter, who had been Bumpers' campaign manager the previous year (51%-49%). Huckabee became only the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Arkansas lieutenant governor, the first being Maurice L. Britt from 1967 to 1971.
Ron Paul- Dr. Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born 20 August 1935) is a 10th-term Congressman, obstetrician (M.D.), and a 2008 presidential candidate from the U.S. state of Texas, seeking the nomination of the Republican party.
As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and had previously served as the representative from Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.
Paul advocates a limited role for the federal government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" because he is a medical doctor who votes against the bills he believes violate the Constitution.[1] In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.[2] He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay, and refuses to participate in the congressional pension system.[3] He has consistently voted against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the Iraq War.
Conten
Suspended Campaigns: John Edwards- Born June 10, 1953, John Edwards was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and a one-term U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He is considered a potentially strong Democratic candidate for the 2008 Presidential election. The Associated Press reported on December 16, 2006, that he would soon announce his entry into the 2008 Presidential race, using New Orleans as a backdrop.
Edwards was a trial lawyer before entering politics. He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election and during his six-year term sought the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election based on a populist message.
He eventually became the Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate of presidential nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. After Edwards and Kerry lost the election to the incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Edwards formed the One America Committee and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and is also now a consultant to an investment bank in New York.
Mitt Romney- Born March 12, 1947, Mitt Romney is the 70th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He did not seek re-election in 2006, his term ending January 4, 2007.[1] Romney is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Romney is the former CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, and the co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm. In 1994, Romney led an unsuccessful Senate campaign against Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy. He also served as the CEO and organizer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Since 2004, Romney has been discussed as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.[26] Romney has spent a considerable amount of time giving political speeches in key primary battleground states. Romney also traveled the country during the 2006 election cycle to campaign for gubernatorial candidates as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, spending over 200 days outside Massachusetts.[27] While he did not run for reelection as governor, Romney set up a federal political action committee (PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC,[28] which has raised millions of dollars. According to a top aide, Romney will file to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission by January 3, 2007.[29]
Candidates Who Have Officially Withdrawn: Joe Biden- Born November 20, 1942, Joe Biden is an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware, in New Castle County. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the incumbent senior U.S. Senator from Delaware. Biden is currently serving his sixth term and is Delaware's longest-serving Senator. He has served as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is the probable Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the 110th Congress, and is considered a likely candidate in the 2008 presidential election.
Bill Richardson- Born November 15, 1947, Bill Richardson is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party and a potential candidate for President of the United States. He has served as a Congressman, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and U.S. Secretary of Energy; he is presently the Governor of New Mexico. He was also chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention that nominated John Kerry for the presidency.
Richardson won his second term as Governor of New Mexico on November 7, 2006 with 68% against former New Mexico Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl (32%). This gives him a place in history as New Mexico's most successful governor at the ballot box.
In recent years, Richardson has frequently been the subject of rumors that he was on the short list of possible vice-presidential picks by Democratic nominees, including Al Gore and John Kerry.
In 2005, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Richardson informed party leaders that he intended to run in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Fox News claims that Bill Richardson told them he is running for President, but Richardson said he would actually decide in January 2007.
Tom Vilsack- Born December 13, 1950, Tom Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and is currently serving as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002. On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election.
On November 30th, 2006, Tom Vilsack became the second Democrat to officially announce intentions to run for the presidency in the 2008 election. In his announcement speech, he said "America's a great country, and now I have the opportunity to begin the process, the legal process of filing papers to run for President of the United States."
Vilsack's campaign is making significant use of social media by maintaining an active MySpace profile, a collection of viral video clips on YouTube, a Facebook profile and a videoblog on blip.tv. Vilsack may be the first presidential candidate to take full advantage of social media, just as Howard Dean was the first to take full advantage of blogging, a subset of the larger social media space.
During the appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Stewart pointed out that Vilsack was "not, seemingly a [expletive deleted]," in comparison to current President George W. Bush. Since Stewart's view on President Bush is usually critical, it can be assumed that the expletive was meant in a negative way. Vilsack jokingly asked Stewart if he could use that as an endorsement.
Rudy Giuliani - Has officially endorsed John McCain- Born May 28, 1944, Rudy Giuliani is an American politician and attorney, best known for his service as the Mayor of New York City from 1994–2001. His role in leading the city during and after the September 11 terrorist attacks raised his national stature[1] and led him to be named Time's 2001 Person of the Year.[2]
The defining moment in Giuliani's career was his management of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. His public visibility in the days following the attacks earned him the nickname "America's Mayor."[3] Since leaving office as Mayor of New York, Giuliani has pursued business and legal interests, and has remained politically active by campaigning for Republican candidates for political offices at all levels. On November 13, 2006, he formed an exploratory committee to consider entering the 2008 Presidential Campaign.[4] and is expected to declare his candidacy. The committee filed papers with the FEC on November 22, 2006. However, some 9/11 Families are speaking out against Giuliani's run, citing communication failures and cover-ups of events that day.[5]
Giuliani, a millionaire, is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani Partners LLC, a security consulting company he founded in 2002, and is a partner in the Houston-based law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
Draft Rudy Giuliani for President, Inc., registered with the Federal Election Commission in October 2005, became the first federal committee formed with the sole purpose of encouraging former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to run for President of the United States in 2008.[43] Throughout 2006, various rumors circulated concerning a Giuliani campaign for President[44] and Giulani himself hinted at his intentions.[45] On November 13, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Rudy Giuliani filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., allowing him to raise money for national travel and for a Presidential campaign. The committee filed papers with the FEC on November 22, 2006
Early 2008 Presidential polls show him with one of the highest levels of name recognition and support. A recent Gallup poll found Giuliani to be the most "acceptable" nominee for Republicans, with 73% giving him a thumbs-up and 25% dismissing him as "unacceptable." By this measure, he led both Condoleezza Rice (68%-29%) and John McCain (55%-41%).[22] The same poll also found Giuliani leading the Republican field with 29% support, with John McCain at 24%, Newt Gingrich at 8%, and both Mitt Romney and Bill Frist at 6%.[46][47]
Decided Not To Run: Al Gore- Born March 31, 1948, Al Gore is an American politician, teacher, businessman, and environmentalist who was the 45th Vice President of the United States in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001. Previously, he had served in United States House of Representatives (1977-85) and United States Senate (1985-93) for Tennessee.
Gore was the Democratic nominee for President in the 2000 election. He won a plurality of the popular vote, with over half a million more votes than the Republican candidate George W. Bush, but was defeated in the Electoral College by a vote of 271 to 266.
Gore currently is president of the American television channel Current TV, chairman of Generation Investment Management, a director on the board of Apple Computer, and an unofficial adviser to Google's senior management. He lectures widely on the topic of global warming, which he calls "the climate crisis".
In the 12 December 2006 article, "Gore chases Oscar nod, possible 2008 bid," the Associated Press notes (in reference to a possible Presidential run in 2008):
'I am not planning to run for president again,' Gore said last week, arguing that his focus is raising public awareness about global warming and its dire effects. Then, he added: 'I haven't completely ruled it out.'
Gore's popularity has increased among grassroots Democrats, with Gore getting 68% of support among potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidates on a May 2006 Daily Kos poll, and 35% on July 13, 2006 AlterNet poll. A Gallup poll of August 2006 showed that nearly half of Americans view Gore favorably (48 percent to 45 percent). A CNN telephone poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation of registered or independent leaning Democrats in November 2006 has Gore with 14% support in a theoretical multi-candidate Democratic primary.
Newt Gingrich- Born 17 June 1943, Newt Gingrich served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Time Magazine selected him as the Man of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of Democratic majorities in the House. During his tenure as Speaker he represented the public face of the Republican opposition to Bill Clinton.
A college history professor and prolific author, Gingrich twice ran unsuccessfully for the House before first winning a seat in November 1978. He was re-elected ten times, and his activism as a member of the House's Republican minority eventually enabled him to succeed Dick Cheney as House Minority Whip in 1989. As a co-author of the 1994 Contract with America, Gingrich was in the forefront of the Republican Party's dramatic success in the 1994 Congressional elections, and was subsequently elected Speaker. Gingrich's leadership in Congress was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration and Gingrich presided over the House during the impeachment of President Clinton.
After resigning his seat under pressure from several sides, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst and consultant, and continues to write works related to government and other subjects such as historical fiction. He has expressed interest in being a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for the Presidency.[1]
Since the release of Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America in January 2005, Gingrich has been mentioned as a potential Presidential candidate for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He has made several trips to Iowa and New Hampshire to discuss his book and on April 1, 2005, David Yepsen wrote in the Des Moines Register that Gingrich was "setting a high standard for what other GOP candidates need to be talking about - and doing - if they want to win here."[citation needed] Gingrich has voiced criticism against the Republican Party, and has argued that the party must adapt if it is to remain a dominant force in US politics.
Last edited by motivez : 02-13-2008 at 12:28 PM.
Reason: updating
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12-16-2006, 01:55 PM
