Weighing Gore's Ambitions

Gore doesn't seem to be watching his weight these days, but Hillary 's watching:

Some members of Senator Clinton's team, concerned that the global warming warrior might jump into the presidential race, have been monitoring the former vice-president's girth. A svelte Gore is a presidential Gore, they reason. But they might not have much to worry about, judging from the stressed seams on Mr Gore's tuxedo on Oscar night.

"If he's running, he'll start losing weight fast," said a Clinton insider, who did not want to be identified. "Judging from where he is now, I'd say he's not running … "

What would James Carville say?

Carville Predicts Gore Will Run

According to ABC News' Political Radar, James Carville says Gore will enter the 2008 Presidential campaign:

"I think he's gonna run," James Carville told Don Imus Tuesday morning of former Vice President Gore's potential presidential ambitions.

Appearing as a guest on "Imus in the Morning" on radio and MSNBC, the former Clinton strategist said: "Running for president is like sex, Don. You don't do it once and forget about it."

Gore has been coy about his intentions. He has "denied" that he has plans to run, while also giving supporters hope that he might be persuaded to run.

Carville also repeated Hillary's claim that former President Clinton is the "most popular human being on Earth."

Rendell For Brownback

At the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Ed Rendell said he hopes the Republicans nominate Brownback for 2008:

Mr. Rendell is hoping the Republicans choose Senator Sam Brownback, the conservative of Kansas, as their presidential nominee. “Give us Senator Brownback, and we’ll be all right,” Mr. Rendell said. “It doesn’t matter who we nominate.”

Ouch!

Pataki To Visit New Hampshire

Conventional wisdom has it that former New York Governor George Pataki gave up on his 2008 presidential ambitions. Proving that such wisdom is no more reliable than wishful thinking, Pataki will visit New Hampshire later this week, where he will meet with Republican activists.

Which Presidential Wannabe Does The Average Democratic Voter Support?

Pollsters try to discover which Potential 2008 Presidential candidate the average Democratic voter supports:



Hat tip Jai.

Warner Backs McCain

Roll Call reports Virginia Senator John Warner, a prominent critic of the “surge” plan, will endorse McCain's 2008 presidential bid today.`

Warner's endorsement is interesting considering McCain is one of the staunchest supporters of the surge.

Warner "cited his long personal history with McCain -- as well as the importance of national security issues in the 2008 campaign -- as the chief factors that led to his endorsement."

The Most Popular Man In The World

At a San Francisco fundraiser, New York Senator Clinton called her husband "the most popular person in the world right now." The Democratic presidential front-runner also indicated former President Clinton, saying that as president she would "continue the tradition of using former presidents" as diplomats around the world.

This part of the Clinton's effort to make President Clinton's impeachment taboo:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband.

With a swift response to attacks from a former supporter last week, advisers to the New York Democrat offered a glimpse of their strategy for handling one of the most awkward chapters of her biography. They declared her husband's impeachment in 1998 -- or, more accurately, the embarrassing personal behavior that led to it -- taboo, putting her rivals on notice and all but daring other Democrats to mention the ordeal again.

That's the lesson Washington Post writer, Anne Kornblut, draws from Clinton's ferocious response to onetime Clinton fundraiser, David Geffen's, vicious shots at the Clintons in his interview with Maureen Dowd:

Bill Clinton's womanising is not over and the scandal associated with him could sink Hillary in a general election and allow a Republican to be elected

"I don't think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person," Mr. Geffen says, adding that if Republicans are digging up dirt, they'll wait until Hillary's the nominee to use it. "I think they believe she's the easiest to defeat."

Hillary has no common touch and cannot relate to ordinary people

"It's not a very big thing to say, 'I made a mistake' on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can't," Mr. Geffen says. "She's so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base. I think that America was better served when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms."

The Clintons are unprincipled liars

"Marc Rich getting pardoned? An oil-profiteer expatriate who left the country rather than pay taxes or face justice?" Mr. Geffen says. "Yet another time when the Clintons were unwilling to stand for the things that they genuinely believe in. Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."

[Excerpts Courtesy of the Telegraph]

Hillary overreacted to the Geffen interview. The impeachment of President Clinton and his success in surviving the affair prove that attacking Bill Clinton is a losing political strategy. Bill is still extremely popular among the Democratic faithful. By anointing Bill the world's most popular, Hillary has chosen a better strategy.

From California Yankee.

Hagel Remains Undecided

Senator Chuck Hagel is still undecided on whether he wants to run for president in 2008. Hagel told The North Platte Telegraph that he will announce his decision about his political future in a couple of weeks.

“If I decide to be a candidate for president, I would do it on the basis of a strong belief that I could get the nomination and I could win,” Hagel said.

[. . .]

In the next presidential election, Hagel said he believes Americans will judge all of the candidates based on three factors: Integrity, competency and a willingness to address the challenges and problems of America instead of being captive to party interests.

The Concord Monitor reports that Hagel already laid groundwork for a presidential campaign, donating thousands of dollars to GOP candidates in New Hampshire:

Nationally, Hagel is a regular on political talk shows and has a book under way that will hit shelves in the thick of next winter's campaign. He's been featured recently in GQ, Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine, and one website operated by Hagel supporters got 15,000 hits in the days after Bush announced plans to send more troops to Iraq - a plan that Hagel adamantly opposes.

Before reading these articles I was convinced that Hagel would not seek the presidency. Now I'm not so sure.

No Strings

Andrew Marcus has put together a highlight video of the Democrats' recent union-sponsored forum in Nevada.

There's the Clinton-Obama spat over Geffen's shot at Hillary, the race to retreat from Iraq, universal health coverage, and then there's Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Don't miss Kucinich.



Maybe Kucinich could use some strings.

Kyl Heads McCain's Exploratory Committee

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl will head John McCain's presidential exploratory committee in Arizona.

Vilsack Leaves 24

Vilsack's Withdrawal leaves 24 prospective 2008 presidential candidates.

Potential Republican 2008 Presidential Candidates:

1. Kansas Senator Samuel D. "Sam" Brownback


2. Illinois attorney John H. Cox


3. Former Virginia Republican Governor, Jim Gilmore


4. Former US House Speaker and Georgia Congressman, Newton L. "Newt" Gingrich


5. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. "Rudy" Giuliani


6. Nebraska Senator Charles T. "Chuck" Hagel


7. Former Arkansas Governor Michael D. "Mike" Huckabee


8. California Congressman Duncan L. Hunter


9. Arizona Senator John S. McCain III


10. Former New York Governor George E. Pataki


11. Texas Congressman Ron Paul


12. Former Massachusetts Governor W. Mitt Romney


13. Colorado Congressman Thomas G. "Tom" Tancredo


14. Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson


15. Former Virginia Senator George F. Allen


16. Former Senate Majority Leader and Tennessee Senator, William H. "Bill" Frist


17. Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating

Potential Democratic 2008 Presidential Candidates:

1. Delaware Senator Joseph R. "Joe" Biden Jr.


2. Retired Army General Wesley K. "Wes" Clark


3. New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton


4. Connecticut Senator Christopher J. "Chris" Dodd


5. Former North Carolina Senator and the Democratic 2004 vice presidential candidate, John R. Edwards


6. Former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, Albert "Al" Gore Jr.


7. Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel


8. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich


9. Illinois Senator Barack Obama


10. New Mexico Governor William B. "Bill" Richardson


11. Indiana Senator and former governor, Evan Bayh


12. Former Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. "Tom" Daschle


13. Wisconsin Senator Russell D. "Russ" Feingold


14. Massachusetts Senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, John F. Kerry


15. Former Iowa Governor Thomas J. "Tom" Vilsack


16. Former Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner

Vilsack Ending Presidential Bid

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is abandoning his bid for the 2008 democratic presidential nomination.

Vilsack's departure leaves ten prospective Democratic nominees.

Hillary's Unfavorable Rating Climbs In NY

Senator Hillary Clinton's unfavorable rating has climbed by a third, among New York voters, since her November reelection:

While the Democrat's favorable rating among New York voters remained at a robust 56 percent in the latest poll from Siena College's Research Institute, her unfavorable rating was at 40 percent, the highest in the last two years of Siena's polling and up from 33 percent in a January poll conducted just a few days after her presidential campaign announcement.

The Siena poll of New York Democrats found Clinton leading other Democratic contenders:

Clinton 44 percent
Obama 13 percent
Gore 11 percent
Edwards 8 percent

Do you think New Yorkers are unhappy that Senator Clinton is running for president or that she hasn't yet found a way to convince the anything-but-victory Democrats that she regrets supporting the liberation of Iraq?

The poll was conducted February 15-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

Romney Airs TV Ad

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney airs a television ad in parts of Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The 60-second spot describes him as a “business legend” who “rescued the Olympics” and “the Republican governor who turned around a Democratic state.”

Romney is catching up with fellow Republican presidential candidates Duncan Hunter and John Cox, who have previously aired television ads.

You can watch the Romney ad below:

Obama Related to George Washington

A genealogist has discovered that Illinois Senator Barack Obama has "ancestral ties" to Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter.

Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, has a number an ancestral pathways to one of Obama's 12th great grandfathers, the Honorable Laurence Washington, who over the course of five centuries became the ancestor of Washington, Carter, and others.

Cross-posted from California Yankee.

Giuliani Files Statement Of Candidacy

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani officially joined the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination by filing a "statement of candidacy."

Giuliani set up an exploratory committee in November to test the waters.

Why would he file a statement of candidacy and let us read about it in the BBC?

Cross-posted from California Yankee.