2008 RANKINGSHere
is my first installment of 2008 rankings for the Democratic nomination.
I'm not going to include the candidates are just in it to be in it. My
rankings will only include those who I believe can truly be competitive.
1.
Hillary Clinton, Senator from New York- Has the money, has the name,
and has the infrastructure. The only thing she doesn't have is support
of the blogosphere and support of indepedent voters. The latter may
come with time should she win the nomination, but I think it is going
to be hard for her to win without help from some within the progressive
community. They clearly flexed their muscle in the Democratic Primary
in Connecticut, showing that they have sway.
2. Barack Obama,
Senator from Illinois- Obama was built for the presidential stage, and
truly the only problem he is going to have in securing the nomination
is trying to outbest Hillary Clinton. If he can do it, he gives
Democrats their best chance of taking the White House.
3. John
Edwards, former Senator from North Carolina- He was the talk of the
town a few months ago in the Democratic community, but after the
showing that his campaign staff put up in the Florida Governor's race,
is anyone still believing that he can get it done down the stretch?
4.
Evan Bayh, Senator from Indiana- He has a personality that will work
well early on the circuit, especially in Iowa. He's spent a lot of time
in the primary states the past two years, and with a sizeable campaign
fund, I think he has a chance to win the nomination if he can seperate
himself from the field in ideology. Unfortunately for him,
centrist-thinkers like Vilsack and Edwards are going to throw their
hats into the ring.
5. Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme
Commander- Clark was way too green in 2004, so I have to believe that
he's learned from his mistakes. However, I don't know if there is a
yearning for a military-minded candidate in this election, given that
Democrats are not having to run against a war president and that Iraq
is likely to be in need of a political solution, not a military one.
6.
Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware- This guy has a worse case of
hoof-in-mouth than John Kerry, but that can make him loveable in some
circles. I've long said that Biden is my darkhorse in the field, and
with more and more people coming around to his partition plan in Iraq,
it looks like he is going to run strong.
7. Tom Vilsack,
Governor of Iowa- He was the first candidate to announce his
presidential bid, but I don't think there is clear evidence out there
that that will help him in fundraising. He does not have any name
recognition outside of Iowa, which means he is going to have to work
hard in NH, SC, and NV in order to just get his foot in the door.
Unfortunately, it may already be closed given how much money Clinton
and Obama are likely to raise.
2008 RANKINGS Here is my first installment of 2008 rankings for ...
