Here's how Associated Press starts its story on Tom Vilsack's Presidential campaign launch today, as carried by ABC News: "Vilsack launched his long-shot bid for the presidency." The poor guy's only been out for five minutes and he's officially only got Mike Gravel to go up against so far, and already he's a long-shot.
If John Edwards has poverty and Tom Tancredo has immigration, Vilsack has energy independence. "Energy security will revitalize rural America, re-establish our moral leadership on global warming and climate security, and eliminate our addiction to foreign oil," he said at his launch event in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Energy independence is undoubtedly an important national policy concern - but is it an issue that fires up voters in large numbers? I'm not sure. It feels just a little too abstract, a little too distant to be top of a lot of voters' agendas. Perhaps that suggests a lower opinion of American voters than I otherwise might adopt.
It's an issue Vil
I've just had the first email of the 2008 Presidential campaign. I am signed up to receive emails from all kinds of politicians. They all require me to give a US ZIP code, which is awkward when you live in London, so I give the ZIP code of the US Senate - 20052. Oddly, no one - not even the Senators - has noticed this yet.
The email is from Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack and in it she describes the first time she took Tom Vilsack to Mount Pleasant - not a euphemism for anything, but a place in Iowa where they ended up living. Mount Pleasant is where, this Thursday, Vilsack will announce his candidacy for President. He then spends most of the next few days in a plane, stopping occasionally to stretch his legs in Concord, NH, Pittsburgh (his original hometown), back to Des Moines, and then onto Las Vegas and Columbia, SC.
If you think you might want to go along, click on the link below for full details from the Vilsack 2008 campaign website.
Tom Vilsack for President Announ
Iowa Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack told CNN's Wolf Blitzer last week that he "welcomed competition" in the Iowa caucuses, says this story in the Quad City Times.
One doesn't get the strong impression that other Democratic presidential contenders regard Vilsack as particularly strong competition to them, even in the state he's been running for the last eight years.
Among other things, Vilsack boasted about his achievements in the field of renewable energy. "The state of Iowa is now the leader of renewable fuel production, and we're one of the leaders in wind production," he told Blitzer, apparently with a straight face. It's amazing how efficient those vast wind factories in Iowa have become.
QCTimes.com / News / Vilsack will welcome competition
Political Background: Governor of Iowa 1999-Present (retiring)
Recap: With big names like Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards, and John Kerry being mentioned, Tom Vilsack seems like a long shot at best. At least until one remembers that Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter were all former Governors. Vilsack was mentioned quite a bit in 2004 as a possible Vice Presidential Candidate and it considered an up and comer.
Vilsack is a member of the National Governors Association and is a former Chair for the Democratic Governors Association. Vilsack (a Catholic) is usually seen as sort of your down to earth rural sort of guy who's major legislative causes has been the fight against the percieved evils of big business. He has pushed for bills that back higher pay, health coverage, and other benefits. I would see him as your classic liberal populist who will likely wage the fighting for the little guy (ala Al Gore) sort of campaign.
With the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa) being a parti
As political columnist for the Des Moines Register, David Yepsen is considered to know what's what in Iowa politics, particularly when it comes to the Iowa presidential caucuses. He must also know Iowa Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack pretty well. So Yepsen's thoughts on Vilsack's presidential prospects count for something - and they may summed up, pretty much, as: fuhgedaboudit (or whatever the Iowa equivalent of that expression is - perhaps 'fuhgethanolaboudit'?)
Vilsack, Yepsen writes, will be expected to win big in Iowa, but polls show he probably wouldn't win at all - a serious rejection from, supposedly, the voters who know him best. "Vilsack has no particular expertise on the foreign-policy and defense questions of the day," Yepsen adds, piling on the misery.
The Governor has his strengths, Yepsen concedes, but when he writes them down they don't seem all that, well, presidential. "He's a decent trial lawyer who can give a moving speech," says Yepsen. Not quite bum
After a night like Tuesday, why rest on your laurels? The completion of the midterms (at least everywhere outside Virginia) means that the 2008 starting gun has been fired.
First off the blocks is Iowa Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack. According to Associated Press (carried by CNN), Vilsack "is expected to officially launch his 2008 presidential campaign Thursday by filing documents with the Federal Election Commission."
According to the statement that AP says will be released later today, Vilsack says: "Americans sent a clear message on Tuesday. 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 love empty political statements like that. They're so flexible - you can use them in any situation. Vilsack could have said the same thing if the Democrats had lost on Tuesday. He could have said it after the end of American Idol, if he wanted. You can u
We told you the other day about Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa officially announcing his candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for President in 2008. He says he wants to be bring "bold leadership" to America. You can listen to his "bold" message for yourself below as he spoke to a group in New Hampshire. I don't think Hillary or even Obama have anything to worry about.Vilsack is a goner before he even begins. Think about it -- as Governor of Iowa, if he wins the Iowa caucuses his win will be discounted by the media and others "because he is the governor - he should win." If he loses or does not win by a wide margin, the media will say, "If he can't win in Iowa - his own state - where can he win?" Vilsack may be getting in just to position himself for a possible VP selection by the eventual winner. But I think even that is very doubtful.
I covered Iowa Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack's formal announcement of his candidacy at the end of November - let's see what he's been up to since then.He kicked off his campaign with a five-state tour - taking in his current home state of Iowa, his birthplace of Pittsburgh, and the key early primary and caucus states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. He decided to deal with his status as a long-shot by relishing it - or, at least, pretending to. "I've always been an underdog," he insisted, as if to say it's the role he is happiest in. "I respect everyone and I fear no one," he claimed in South Carolina, arguing that "nobody does Main Street better than me". He expressed confidence in his goal of raising $1 million dollars by the end of the year (with about a day and a half to go, his own campaign site says he's 92% there). He also showed he has a sense of humour - including about his own name - and got to talk more about Iraq by appearing on 'The Daily Show with Jon
Former Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa at a speaking engagement. Photo by REUTERS. Today former Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa will announce that he is dropping out the Democratic field of candidates. He has struggled this year to raise money and he could not keep up with the high expenses needed to run a national campaign. He will announce today at 11:00 A.M. from Des Moines, Iowa.His withdrawal raises big questions about whether or not he will support another Democratic candidate and which candidates will be able to hire his Iowa-based talent which will be extremely helpful in winning the first Democratic primary.
