Former Iowa Governor and Democratic Presidential Candidate Tom Vilsack dropped out of the 2008 Presidential Race today citing financial constraints as the "only" reason for his decision. Apparently the campaign has been having financial constraints since Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama entered the races in mid to late January after which all the big donors flooded away from the "lower tier" candidates. Hillary is a money making machine. She has raised by far more money than any other candidate and the money just keeps on piling up, such as her "One Million in One Week Campaign" on her website. As of this afternoon, Hillary has raised over $450,000 with this online-only campaign. 

During his announcement speech, Vilsack pointed out how discontent he was at the fact that the campaigns these days have been so vigorously focused on money that candidates like himself just don't have the resources to continue. It appears as though Vilsack won't be the first candidate. It seems only the very beginning of the race as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are still in the "Exploratory Committee" phases of their campaigns.  It is interesting to observe how Clinton and Obama have completely dominated the scene, more so after Obama officially announced 2 weeks ago. The latest feud between Obama and Clinton that broke into the news 2 days ago just further displays how the Democratic primary race is dominated by these two politicos. 

It is safe to assume that Vilsack won't be the first early defector. Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Wesley Clark all seem to be on the radar of extinction especially the latter 2 because they seem to not be getting the endorsements and and financial resources that a nationwide presidential campaign demands. Opinion polls of who voters would most likely vote for within the Democratic primary have not really budged, and if anything, Hillary's numbers are growing. Her favorability nationwide has never been higher at 58% and the amount of people who say that a woman will be elected President within the next 5 years (including the 2008 and 2012 Presidential election) is at an all-time high of 2 out of 3 Americans. This actually has gone up from 50% back in 2005. This displays Hillary's growing fan base as people begin to see her as a viable, strong, serious, and most importantly winnable candidate. A solid majority of Americans just dont like Mitt Romney, John McCain and most of the other Republican candidates out there so basically the 2008 race is all about which candidate the Democrats choose.

The race is starting to heat up and the Hillary doubters are starting to fizzle back in droves. Let's not forget John Edwards. His campaign though seems to be at a standstill. It seems Americans just don't see him as a serious Presidential contender. His numbers haven't budged. He also has not been getting nearly the amount of publicity as Hillary and Obama have. If anything, Edwards has been getting negative publicity due to his recent firings of two campaign bloggers who were involved in an inflammatory anti-Catholic scandal. 

The Republicans: what to say about them? One might be intrigued enough to visit John McCain's "Exploratory Committee" website and notice how morbid, dark, and depressing it is. As we all know, image is key in politics these days and Hillary and Obama both have red, white and blue all over their websites. McCain, on the other hand, seems to like black and white. The organization of the site is also terrible, and his campaign video on the front evokes Nazi-like nationalistic propaganda. Mitt Romney seems to be in trouble with the Christian Right for his 1994 pro-gay, then 2003 anti-gay flip flopping accident. From current analysis, the Evangelical Christians are dissatisfied with Giuliani because he is not even a social conservative by any means and he refuses to pander to them, and also dissatisfied with McCain's reluctance to support a Federal Marriage Amendment. It seems the Republican Party is on the verge of collapse with this race between the more moderate Giuliani-esque fiscal conservatives and the more staunchly socially conservative Romney's, Tom Tancredo's, and Sam Brownback's of America. And who didn't see this coming? Even Mary Cheney did.

Published: February 23, 2007 

With the victory of Senator Jim Webb last November, Democrats in Virginia have officially designated Virginia as a "purple state" and rightfully so. Northern Virginia, outside the suburbs of greater Washington, DC is exploding with economic and population growth. This region is also a hotbed of growing progressive political leanings. At the JJ Dinner featuring speakers Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Congressman Bobby Scott and Senator Jim Webb, all were in attendance to endorse the candidacy of Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. This was Obama's first campaign visit to Virginia and the first endorsement from a sitting governor. As Virginia becomes a critical battleground state in 2008, this endorsement is significant.

Senator Obama's speech was poignant and well received by the audience. He frequently referred to education, his life story, and his message and motif of the "audacity of hope" which reverberated well with the crowd. Although it was interesting to see the various Edwards and Hillary supporters in the crowd who came just to see the show, over 25 University of Virginia Democrats came to volunteer at the event to show their support for the rising young star in the Democratic Party. It is worth noting also that there was much speculation at the event that if Obama were to win the Democratic primaries, former governor Mark Warner would be an unbeatable choice for Vice President forming a ticket that would crush any Republican ticket. Warner's enthusiasm, charm, and Bill Clinton-esque personality and political leanings would serve Obama well in Virginia which has a more moderate Democratic Party than say Hillary Clinton's New York base. 

All in all, the dinner was a huge success for Barack Obama. His rising popularity among Democratic primary voters seems only to grow as the field of the Hillary, Edwards, and Obama triumvirate travel the country trying to prove to Democrats and all Americans alike that they are the best candidate to move the country forward, end the war in Iraq, enact universal health care by 2012, and promote economic fairness. It seems from my observations at the College Democrats of America National Leadership Summit, the Democratic National Committee's Winter Meeting, and the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner that the 2008 Democratic candidates are the strongest and most diverse group of candidates that the Democrats have ever seen in American history. This is a testament to not only the changing face of the party but also of society as the possibility of a female or black president becomes ever-more on the horizon of reality.  

Published: February 18, 2007