Riding on Democratic euphoria, Democratic governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa today announced a presidential bid for the 2008 presidential elections, becoming the first Democrat to officially do so.
In a statement, the Roman Catholic, two-term governor of Iowa said that “Americans sent a clear message on Tuesday. They want leaders who will take this country in a new direction” and that “They want leaders who share their values, understand their needs, and respect their intelligence. That’s what I’ve done as governor of Iowa, and that’s what I intend to do as president.”
I realise there is such a thing as an ‘Iowa-factor’, but I don’t think Gov. Vilsack will be able to ride that wave all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Strange things would need to happen before I’ll have the dubious pleasure of greeting Tom Vilsack as the 44th President of the United States. A poll held last June in his home state of Iowa showed him trailing John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as the candidate likely caucus participants would choose as the Democrat’s 2008 presidential nominee. 10% of the respondents favoured Vilsack.
Tom Vilsack is currently the Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Tom Vilsack was an Iowa State Senator (1992-98) and the Mayor of Mt. Pleasant, IA (1987-92) before being elected governor. He was thought to be high on the list of potential running mates for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential elections. Despite this, the Des Moines Register is afraid he’s a “Democratic leader unknown to the voters”. Recent nationwide polls seem to support this statement, with Vilsack ending 10th out of 10 Democratic candidates in a CNN poll held two weeks ago.
Vilsack reportedly stated that his biggest hurdle will be “raising big bucks”. From my armchair, it seems that problem is a breeze compared to the fact that my first thought upon hearing the news was “Tom who?”. He has a long, uphill battle ahead of him for the Democratic nomination in 2008, which, I’m sorry to say, he’ll lose to someone we know, such as the aforementioned Clinton, Edwards of Kerry, or even to Barack Obama, Joe Biden or Al Gore.
You heard it here first!
Still, Tom, if you do manage to scrape out a win - I’ll buy you a beer. Deal?
- Tags:democrats, election, nomination, politics vilsack
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