Dan's Thoughts

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona)

Fourth term senator was originally elected to public office in 1982 into the House of Representatives. Served in Vietnam and gained national fame for being a prisoner of war for over five years by the VC. McCain was a 2000 Presidential candidate but came up short to Dubya in Republican primaries (Used the ethnic slur ‘gook’ on live TV amidst the primaries, basically opening the door for Dubs along with conservatives giving support for Bush claiming McCain was too ‘moderate’). One of only three senators to have served in Vietnam, and remains very close friends with John Kerry. It is believed that Kerry asked McCain to be his running mate in the ’04 elections, which would have been an unprecedented move, given McCain’s long support of Bush’s strategy and tactics as President. McCain declined the offer but still ridicules the “Swift Boat” commercials against Kerry (That many believe were the cause for his ’04 loss to Dubya) as “deplorable and inaccurate.” McCain remains a very influential republican in the senate, leading the fight to reform campaign financing. It is all but certain that McCain will throw his name in the hat for ’08, he has the name and the reputation, but Republicans in this day in age are strict right-wing conservatives that may feel that the Catholic McCain is too moderate for their tastes. If elected, he’d be the oldest elected President at the age of 72.

Rudolph Giuliani (R-New York)

Born in Brooklyn, the 2001 Time Person of the Year is a self-made millionaire resulting from several successful legal and consulting firms. Ole Rudy was Mayor of the City from 1994 to 2001, and gained national admiration for his leadership and aftermath through the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Most don’t remember that Rudy ran against Hillary Clinton in 2000 for the empty NY senate seat vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, but withdrew his candidacy due to a prostate cancer diagnosis. This collapse was also coupled with his confessed infidelities to his wife in the summer of 2001, plunging his NY approval ratings, despite his excellent track of reducing taxes and crime. All of which was quickly erased in September when he became ‘America’s Mayor’. Many speculated that he’d succeed George Pataki as NY Governor, as polls had him favored over would-be winner Elliot Spitzer, but Giuliani declined to run, leaving the door open for a 2008 Presidential run. His campaign, and I’m positive he’ll run, will be an interesting one to follow. He’s a Roman-Catholic (I think Kennedy remains the only Catholic President), but as a Republican he is Pro-Choice, Pro-Same Sex Unions, Pro-Gun Control, Pro-Stem Cell Research, and Pro-Environment. The Republican National Coalition for Life, have already announced their intention to oppose Giuliani or any other pro-choice candidate. If Rudy is able to pull the Republican nod, he’d stand quite a chance to take perpetually Democratic New York’s electoral votes, and possible set up a rematch of 2000 with Mrs. Clinton.

Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney (R-Massachusetts)

Won governorship of Massachusetts in 2002 and only served one-term, deciding not to see re-election in 2006. The Harvard man has led successful business operations, along with chairing the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games—of which have made Mitt a very, very wealthy man. In 1994, he challenged Mass-Democrat Ted Kennedy for his senatorial seat, and it was the closest margin of victory in Kennedy’s nine senate victories. Romney has spent the past year giving diplomatic speeches in key primary states, all but ensuring that he’ll be running for the Republican nod in ’08.

On to the Demssssssss

Hillary Clinton (D-New York)

The wife of former President Bill Clinton migrated north from Arkansas to establish residency in New York in 2000 to run for the US Senate. She handled Republican Greenhorn Rick Lazio and easily won re-election in 2006 by landslide over John Spencer. Mrs. Clinton spent more on her re-election bid than any other Senatorial race, a move that must be considered as extra insurance to ensure a 2008 Presidential run. The former first lady has already raised an exorbitant amount of money for her still unannounced campaign. She is considered by colleagues and opponents as the front-runner for ’08, but it will be certainly interesting to see if she can be the first woman to not only garner the nomination of her party, but actually win the Presidency and four (more) years in the White House. Are we ready for a woman President? Or are we more ready for a Black Male President?

Barack Obama (D-Illinois)

President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama! Sounds strange doesn’t it? Even unbelievable in today’s age but, it could happen, and the odds are growing everyday. The Junior Senator from Illinois (CHIIII TOWN) gained national superstardom with his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, earning enough support to potentially yield a Presidential run given only three years in the US Senate. I just finished his bestseller ‘The Audacity of Hope’ and his sentiments on many hot-button issues in America nearly mirror my own. He is very intelligent, but so humble. He obviously has faced some of the hardships many minorities in this country face, and that keeps him grounded, even given his rockstar status in the political landscape right now. Can he overcome his name? Can he overcome his ethnicity? Can he rise above the racist underbelly that is still prevalent in our society? Can he overcome the enormous cash raised by Clinton? He is fresh and bold, and unlike all other Dems seeking the ’08 bid, he didn’t have to vote on the Iraq issue because he wasn’t yet in the Senate, a huge advantage he holds over Clinton.

John Edwards (D-North Carolina)

Edwards was a one-term US Senator from North Carolina (1999-2005) and John Kerry’s Vice Presidential running mate in the unsuccessful 2004 election. Edwards announced his 2008 campaign in New Orleans two weeks ago, hoping to do what he was unable to in 2004, beat out his other Democrats and ensure the big at the convention (Slotted for Denver). He has the face, and he has some of the southern vote that almost certainly will not go to Clinton or Obama. He will need to pick up steam through the next couple months in order to generate the buzz circulating around Obama and Clinton, but he is a likable darkhorse that could definitely surpass the semi-controversial freshness of Clinton and Obama’s physical characteristics will create.

This is without question the most loaded pack of likable, and able, politicians to grace the Presidential stage in over twenty years. All six of the above merit serious considerations to the most powerful office in the world, and all have a chance to take that office in the next two years. I failed to include Gore and Kerry, not that they won’t run, or that I don’t like either (Contrarily I love them both), but I think the negative stigma of their failed elections versus President Bush won’t allow the public to endorse them again.

2007 is off to the races, stay tuned.