by Jerome Armstrong, Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 06:03:33 AM EST
From annatopia:
Tags: Tom Vilsack (all tags)
Wow, I thought he never should have un in the first place to be honest and can't really see what he gained from being in it at all.
Yep. He has the most to gain from it because now he is the only governor in the race.
Unless Bayh decides to get back in but I think Bayh is aiming for the VP nod at this point
Maybe, but who would take him... I don't see him as a good match for Edwards or Obama... HRC possibly, but I still think she is going to go with Rendell or Vilsack or someone from a swing state... After all, there is a much better chance of her taking HRC or Iowa than Indiana... even if Bayh is the VP. I just can't see him bringing Indiana to the Dems UNLESS he is the Pres nom.
Maybe he is gearing for a cabinet position.
MSNBC is doing a segment on it right now. they are saying that vilsack felt he could not raise enough money to be competitive.
Will anyone notice? I mean even his support in Iowa was on the decline. Hey even I could have told him he wouldn't get serious media coverage, wouldn't be able to raise enough funds to have a chance.
it would be really interesting to see Vilsack challenge Grassley in 2010. really unlikely though. i think going from governor to senator feels like a step down.
I've heard the opposite... that Senator is actually the better position unless running for President... There are definately some that went this route... Allen did it, Bayh did it. I think the money is better plus the national exposure means some good lecture circuit opportunities in the future.
Governors and ex-Governors run for Senate all the time. If you're not running for President right away, it's often considered a logical step in furthering your political career.
Current or very recent Senators who used to be Governors include: Carper, Carnahan, Ashcroft, Allen, Bayh, Ben Nelson, Gregg, Bond, Voinovich, Alexander, Rockefeller...there have been plenty of others.
The last one -- Strategic Vision (Feb. 16-18) -- had it like this:
John Edwards 24%
Hillary Clinton 18%
Barack Obama 18%
Tom Vilsack 14%
Joe Biden 5%
Bill Richardson 3%
Wesley Clark 2%
Chris Dodd 1%
Dennis Kucinich 1%
Undecided 14%
This is a very big deal for the horserace in Iowa.
Vilsack actually had the potential to be competitive in Iowa as he'd become a safe harbor for activists who wanted to avoid having to committ to one of his competitors. Also, Vilsack had an absolutely dynamite Internet team.
My sense is that because of momentum you'll see Obama's numbers bump up a little bit (~4%), with Edwards (~3%) receiving a slightly smaller bump, and Clinton (~1%) on the trailing end.
Also, there's Stonyfield Farms CEO Gary Hirschberg of New Hampshire who endorsed Vilsack. He's a major activist and his support is now up for grabs. He endorsed Dean in '04, and has expressed preference for governors so expect him to look hard at Richardson.
Unfortunately, I think most of it will go to Hillary. A lot of his support was probably based upon high name recognition in Iowa, because people who pay more attention to politics are more likely to say they would vote for someone from out of state. That will transfer to Hillary.
Hopefully I'm wrong.
Regardless, I think it has now become time to put a cease fire on the McCain google bomb... or at least put it as a secondary thing right now. Its time to slime Guiliani... Yes, I think he isn't the big boogey man map changer the neocons seem to think he could be... afterall, Rudy has some big time baggage and once someone gets the ex wives talking, his sterling reputation will go down hill... plus, as long as HRC isn't the Nom... there are a lot of people in the west, south and midwest who simply don't like New Yorkers (especially from New York City) all that much.. kind of like the whole NE liberal thing... its irrational, but it does happen. Once a true campaign gets going against Rudy... Obama, Edwards, and Richardson will be able to tear Rudy apart.... Plus his lack of governmental experience takes that attack out of the general against Obama and Edwards... and opens him up to it in regards to Richardson.
And if, god forbid, I have to sit through another 4 years of the GOP, there are a LOT worse choices than Rudy... Better him than Romeny, Hagel, McCain, Brownback or Gingrich.
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