2008 hopefuls:
The past two weeks witnessed unprecedented activity at the earliest
known date in jockeying for the nomination for President in history.
Clearly, the biggest winner may have been Iowa’s Governor Tom Vilsack
(D-IA). Vilsack hosted the Governors’ Conference in Des Moines and
then went to Indiana and became the head of the Democrat Leadership
Conference (DLC). Now, some people know his name at least.
"There is nothing wrong with our country or our party that a positive
agenda won't fix," Vilsack said.
Of course, Vilsack was upstaged with Hillary Clinton taking over the
policy part of the DLC.
On the home front, it appears that potential Democrat candidates are
not going to leave Iowa uncontested to Vilsack. Of all the Democrat
candidates, most put former Sen. John Edwards in the best shape from
the 2008 election in Iowa. Edwards will soon be back in Iowa speaking
to the Iowa Farmers Union convention.
He also seems to have the best remnant organization and intensity of
supporters from the 2004 effort.
Another new candidate who is making progress in Iowa is Virginia’s
senator, John Warner. He seems to be in Iowa about every two months.
Adding to his potential is the fact that only Sen. Hillary Clinton is
planning to not contest Governor Vilsack on his home turf of Iowa.
Many are suggesting that this could be a mistake on Hillary’s part.
Others are suggesting that Vilsack could lose Iowa outright. There are
a number of Democrats in Iowa that are not happy with Vilsack.
John Edwards and Hillary Clinton are probably the two candidates that
could end Vilsack’s run for President in Iowa. If Hillary stays out,
then Edwards would have to win S. Carolina and Hillary would have to
win New Hampshire to stay in. That would leave Missouri as a big
battle ground state that would show who had the strongest Southern
connections and ability to take the decisive Midwest Industrial Belt
as well.
Vilsack will be in New Hampshire for a Labor Day picnic. Vilsack is
like a number of individuals who would be President – he’s still not
sure that he will go the whole way in seeking the nomination, but
can’t afford to sit out the early organizing efforts.
There will be a number of individuals who in December of 2006 will be
sitting around with family, advisors and friends coming to the
conclusion that they have no chance of becoming President.
While Vilsack may be going to New Hampshire, Democrats are coming to
Iowa. Sen. Evan Bayh was in Iowa today and in a press conference in
Des Moines stated that he’s beginning his presidential campaign now.
The
Indianapolis Star offers this insight into Sen. Bayh, who has
raised $1.7 million for his presidential efforts:
Bayh spent nearly $500,000 of the money he raised, about two-thirds of
it on aides and consultants. That includes $11,375 to Richard Greene,
a Beverly Hills speech consultant whose past clients include Princess
Diana, race car driver David Coulthard, supermodel Naomi Campbell and
top executives of media companies.
Bayh has been criticized for a less-than-exciting speaking style, but
at least one political columnist has remarked this year that Bayh
seems to have improved in that area.
Bayh also spent:
-- $52,500 on a polling firm.
-- $51,070 on fundraising consultants.
-- $214,928 on five full-time and three part-time salaried employees,
including $9,474 paid to Tom Sugar, chief of staff for Bayh's Senate
office.
After salaries and consultants, Bayh's next largest expense was
travel. He and his aides spent more than $28,000 on airfare, hotels
and other travel expenses.
Bayh has been traveling around the country, speaking at Democratic
events in Colorado, Ohio and Wisconsin and conducting a campaign-like
visit in New Hampshire, site of the first presidential primary. This
week, Bayh will be in Iowa, which holds the first presidential caucus.
The big loser in Iowa to-date is Sen. John Kerry. Most of his
supporters and organizational people are lining up with Governor Tom
Vilsack or Sen. Hillary Clinton. Besides, Iowans are not big on
offering second chances.
Republicans
One of those whose presidential campaign may be short lived is Senate
Majority leader Bill Frist. His recent split with the President on
stem cell research has many conservatives equal in their dislike for
Frist as Sen. John McCain.
"This research is promising, embryonic stem cell research as well as
adult stem cell research, ... and now is the time to expand the
president's policies because it's promising research but it must be
done in a way that is ethically considerate," Frist told ABC's "Good
Morning America" program.
"One of the bills before us allows that to be done in that human
embryonic stem cells will be derived only, only from those embryos
that are not going to be adopted, that are not going to be implanted
but that will otherwise be discarded," Frist said.
Speaking of McCain, he recently reactivated his presidential campaign
and resigned from his do-gooder committee for campaign finance reform.
The interesting foray into the possibility of being the Republican
Presidential nominee is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He
will be at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 13. He is also helping to raise
money for President of the Iowa Senate -- Jeff Lamberti, who is
running against incumbent Rep. Lenorad Bosswell (D-IA-3rd).
In another development, GOPAC (a political action committee that
propelled Gingrich to Speaker) is going to help school board
candidates in Iowa, Colorado and Pennsylvania. This is a pilot project
that is partnering with Republican Women. Joe Gaylord, a former Iowan
who for years was head of the Republican
National Congressional Committee, helped start GOPAC.
Governor Pataki has announced that he is not
running for reelection in NY and has had several staff people in Iowa
for a number of weeks now. He is also currently threatening to veto
the morning after pill.
McCain is likely to skip Iowa and start in
New Hampshire as he did six years ago.
So far the Democrat candidates for President
are: Sen. Hillary Clinton, NY; Sen. John Kerry, Mass.; Sen. Joe
Biden, Delaware; Sen. John Edwards, N. Carolina;
Governor Mark Warner, Virginia; Sen. Evan Bayh, formerly
a two-term governor of Indiana; Governor Tom Vilsack, Iowa;
Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico; Governor Janet
Napolitano, Arizona; and Governor Phil Bredesen, Tennessee.
The following are probable Republican
candidates for president in 2008: Sen. John McCain, Ariz.; Sen.
Bill Frist, Tennessee; Newt Gingrich, Virginia; Sen.
Rick Santorum, Penn.; Governor Mitt Romney, Mass.;
Governor George Pataki, NY; Sen.Chuck Hagel, Neb.; Sen.
George Allen, Virginia; Ambassador Alan Keyes, Ill.; and
two individuals who are frequently mentioned despite saying they are
not running are: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
California; and Governor Jeb Bush, Florida.
U.N. power grab
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Min.) is sounding the alarm against the U.N.’s
attempt to take control of the Internet. Coleman sees this as just one
more corruption scandal waiting to happen. He entered the following
comments in the Congressional Record:
"My probe of the U.N. as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations revealed management that was at best, incompetent, and
at worst corrupt," said Coleman. "The first priority for the United
Nations must be fundamental reform of its management and operations
rather than any expansion of its authority and responsibilities. The
Internet has flourished under U.S. supervision, oversight, and private
sector involvement. This growth did not happen because of increased
government involvement, but rather, from the opening on the Internet
to commerce and private sector innovation. Subjecting the Internet and
its security to the politicized control of the UN bureaucracy would be
a giant and foolhardy step backwards.
"Recently, I introduced UN reform legislation with the Chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), known as the
Coleman-Lugar UN Reform Bill, to help put an end to a culture of
corruption that was exposed by the Oil for Food scandal, peacekeeping
sexual abuse scandals, and other instances of organizational failures
at U.N.," Coleman said. "Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the
world's most important technological wonders and economic engines is
out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with
no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or
China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of
information.
"In light of this report, I also plan to consult with experts and
stakeholders regarding Internet governance, and will assess whether
legislation is needed as a remedy," Coleman continued. "The U.S. is
willing to work with other countries that have an interest in the
management of their own country code domains but UN control is out of
the question. We will continue a dialogue with the rest of the world
on these issues as we go forward."
Secret agent listed in Who’s Who
Columnist Robert Novak in a recent column suggested that one of the
sources that confirmed that Valerie Else Plame was the wife of former
Ambassador George Wilson was the publication, “Who’s Who.” The
NY Times writes:
If not for Who's Who, it is not clear how Mr. Novak would have decided
to identify Ms. Wilson as Ms. Plame rather than the name she commonly
used.
In the Who's Who directory for 2003, personal information about Mr.
Wilson includes his origins in Bridgeport, Conn., and the names of his
previous wife and his four children. His current wife is listed as
Valerie Elise Plame, and the date of their marriage April 3, 1998.
There is no mention of her employer.
Big government
USA Today reports that the spirit of Lyndon Johnson’s Great
Society lives on:
The nation has so vastly extended taxpayer-funded Medicaid to the
working poor this decade that it has produced the biggest expansion of
a government entitlement since the Great Society was launched in the
1960s, a USA TODAY analysis has found.
