Seems Tom Vilsack has been spending a lot of time helping Hillary. The Politico thinks he’s working to get a spot as VP is Hillary wins the nomination. He probably is, but I really hope Hillary is smarter than that. This election is going to be about change; America is ready for some big changes after all these years of Bush. In my opinion Hillary would be better served picking Obama or Richardson as her running mate. Obama has the youthful appeal and, of course, is African-American. Richardson has more experience than anyone on the planet and would be a huge boost for the skyrocketing Hispanic population in this country. I think having a Woman/Minority ticket (to put it bluntly) would look pretty darn good next to the inevitable Old White Man/Old White Man ticket of the Republicans.
Just How Much Money Is A Vilsack Endorsement Worth?Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help one-time candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.Clinton spokesman Mark Daley said he was uncertain how Clinton would go about raising money for Vilsack, but he conceded that at some point, she would have to contact her supporters. "Someone in her shop is going to have to reach out," Daley said.Vilsack and his wife, Christie, endorsed Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination at an Iowa news conference on Monday. Daley said there was no connection between the fundraising and the endorsement."There was no quid pro quo," Daley said. "They have a long history and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful."Read Article...Iowa Politics Vilsack President Clinton
In an earlier post, TDCAnalyist mused about the reasoning behind Fmr. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Only Tom Vilsack can know the full reasons for backing Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary. Some of it no doubt is Vilsack's relationship with the Democratic Leadership Council--an organization that helped vault Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992. I hate to be a skeptic here, but another reason might be what Time Magazine has reported: Hillary Clinton will use her financial networks to help Tom Vilsack retire his campaign debt of over $400,000. Of cousre, the Clinton camp denies any quid pro quo--which may be true. I don't know what the historical precident--if any--there might be of campaign frontrunners retiring the campaign debt of former rivals that endorse them. Perhaps it is a common transaction. However, this news does not sit well with reports of alleged quid pro quo of previous Hillary Clinton endorsements. A few weeks ago, a f
In 2008 news, former governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Earlier, I've argued that Vilsack's positions were closer to that of John Edwards, and I argued that Vilsack's exit from the race would hurt Hillary and help Edwards and Obama the most. The key question here is whether Vilsack's supporters are loyal enough to switch their support to Hillary at his command. That's the big question. If the linked article above is correct, though, then Edwards must be cheering about Vilsack's exit. No one can doubt, though, that this endorsement is critical for Clinton's campaign, as Edwards has held a substantial lead in Iowa for a long time.We can also speculate on why Vilsack endorsed Clinton. His positions and rhetoric, particularly about the war in Iraq, are closer to that of Edwards' and to a lesser degree, Obama. Vilsack claims he feels Clinton is the best candidate and is so thankful that she has helped him out so much along the way. This is laug
WASHINGTON — Today, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) announced her intention to make former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska completely irrelevant.
"I'm in," declared Clinton's Web site, "And I'm in to trivialize Dennis Kucinich to the point that his Wikipedia entry is actually, wholly deleted. Again"
11.8.06The almost completely unknown Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA) announced the day after the midterm elections that he will be a candidate for president in 2008. Although he may seem to be a major contender as Iowa has the first caucuses, he scores a meager 10% in most polls. For now, assume he does okay in Iowa and then disappears completely in New Hampshire.
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
Departing Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack gave his final Condition of the State address on Tuesday and my hunch would be that he said that the state he'd been governing for the last eight years is in pretty good condition. Waterloo NBC affiliate KWWL-7 reported that Vilsack "urged lawmakers to build on his efforts to increase teacher pay, broaden access to health care, and bring new high-tech jobs to the state." He also spoke about the importance of alternative fuels, a central theme in his national campaign. If there wasn't a joke in there about how Iowans will probably still see him around a lot, there should have been.Vilsack also used the occasion to make clear his views on the war in Iraq and, in particular, the President's plan to send more troops there. "Now the president and the Congress are poised to make a big mistake even bigger," he said, reported by the Des Moines Register. The Cedar Rapids Gazette adds that Vilsack called on the Iowa legislature to pass a resolution opp
11.8.06The almost completely unknown Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA) announced the day after the midterm elections that he will be a candidate for president in 2008. Although he may seem to be a major contender as Iowa has the first caucuses, he scores a meager 10% in most polls. For now, assume he does okay in Iowa and then disappears completely in New Hampshire.
It's beginning. The American dream is starting to shatter and fragment for a few delusional public figures. Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, apparently is dropping out of the Presidential race. I can only assume that he decided to can his bid for Commander in Chief when his own mother said, "I think I'm going to vote for Obama. Don't you think he's dreamy, Tim?"
Iowa is no doubt in a
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.
Associated Press (here on the ABC News website) is reporting that former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.This is understandable, if a little regrettable. Vilsack must have realised that he was making little impact on the race, against the likes of those better able to grab the media spotlight, and he may well also have realised that he probably couldn't afford to keep the campaign going for much longer. It's regrettable because I had grown to quite like his low-key, thoughtful approach - as much as I could see it was never going to energise enough voters to make his campaign workable.I'm not sure this changes the dynamic of the race much, since the 'Big 3' of Clinton, Obama and Edwards have been stealing the limelight (and much of the cash) anyway. However, it does leave Bill Richardson as the only Governor in the Democratic line-up - something I'm sure he'll be keen to capitalise on.
The Hotline is reporting that "three independent sources" have indicated that Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will drop out of the 2008 presidential race later today.We will update you as the story develops...Update: It's official.Edit: Darn it, Daniel! You beat me to it!Edit 2: Well, I might as well provide my own thoughts on Vilsack's dropping out. I agree with Daniel's assessment that Tom Vilsack simply wasn't contributing anything particularly unique to the debate. I'm guessing that the Democratic Party Forum in Nevada on Wednesday night was a major qualifier in Vilsack's mind in deciding whether or not to continue. Judging by the comparatively dismal applause he received that night, I can't say I'm shocked to hear that he's calling it quits.I don't see how Vilsack's leave will affect the rankings all that much. Bill Richardson's stellar performances at both the DNC Winter Meeting and the Nevada Forum, I think, push him into fourth place. As Daniel mentioned, being the
Personally, I never thought he had a chance because of his funny name that rhymes with the slang for a certain male body part. :) I know that's crass, but it's what went across the minds of men all over the country when they heard his name.So, now we have one governor left: Richardson. And, as I never tire of saying, only ex-governors and ex-vice-presidents have won since 1964. This is too important of an election to literally waste on another northern senator.Now Richardson needs to get Vilsack's endorsement...he knows him well from the governor's assn., of which BR is chair. Having Vilsack's endorsement would really help in Iowa. I'd say the chances are very good that BR has already spoken with him about it.
New Hampshire's Thoughts On News FromThe Land Of Ethanol And First CaucusesNo Wow FactorFormer Iowa governor Tom Vilsack's decision to abandon his White House bid drew disappointment here from his handful of early supporters as well as from those who feel the crowded early nominating calendar is squeezing out all but the richest candidates. But Vilsack's withdrawal doesn't seem to change much in the First Primary State.Curious what it would mean for Vilsack's home state, we checked in with a couple of pundits in the land of ethanol and the first caucuses.David Yepsen, veteran political columnist for the Des Moines Register, said it will have a modest effect on the Iowa caucuses. In 1992, Democrats downplayed Iowa because the state's Sen. Tom Harkin was in the field. But this year, "nobody was bypassing Iowa because Vilsack was in the race," Yepsen said. "The game was on, and Vilsack was running in third or fourth place in his own home state - which wasn't exactly making it any e
