Tom Vilsack: 2008 Dark Horse

The Des Moines Register recently took note of Governor Tom Vilsack's possible presidential aspirations on a recent visit he made to New Hampshire:

Iowans can expect to hear more in the coming months from Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack about his developing national message, something New Hampshire Democrats got a healthy dose of in the governor's first trip here as a prospective presidential candidate.

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At a luncheon later for Democratic legislators, Vilsack told retired lawmaker Gloria Seldin that every American had a right to health insurance, but that the nation would resist a single government program.

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"The Iraqis may not understand that at the end of all of this, it is their responsibility," Vilsack said, carefully noting his visit to Iraq in April. "The first step in the process is to make sure they understand it is their responsibility and ask them, require them, force them to show progress in recognition of that fact."

Vilsack may have to explain his Iraqi position more clearly since a majority of Iraqis appear to want the US to leave; but he is correct that Iraqis need to take charge of their future.

At a meeting of the New Democrat Network, Governor Vilsack seemed to get what many bloggers and Democratic activists have said about the need for Democrats to improve the way they campaign (he was recently at Yearly Kos, by the way); ABC News had the story:

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, another potential White House candidate, told the meeting of party progressives that Democrats should ignore the consultants and pundits and focus on Americans outside Washington.

"Listening to people out and around the country is how we should craft our message," said Vilsack, who stressed the importance of an upbeat outlook, an emphasis on shared sacrifice and the need for competent government in a post-Katrina environment.

Vilsack was elected governor in 1998 and is nearing the end of his second term; his bio says that in 1998 he was the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa in more than 30 years. He has two websites: his official governor's site and a PAC site called Heartland PAC.

A year from now we'll know who's serious about running for president. So far, the possible contenders for the Democratic nomination that are mentioned the most often include Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Russ Feingold, Mark Warner, Wesley Clark and John Kerry. Al Gore is also mentioned frequently but he may mean it when he says he's not running; that would make sense if he's serious about pushing his education program for global warming, but things can easily change in the next eighteen months. Other candidates mentioned are Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd, Evan Bayh and of course Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa.

As part of a continuing series on potential Democratic presidential candidates, I hope to cover Bill Richardson or Evan Bayh in the next couple of weeks. Updated 6.26.06: And also John Kerry.

Updated 6.26.06: Many thanks to Terrell of Alone on a Limb who has collected together posts from Cold Flute on the various potential Democratic candidates in 2008; go give him a visit.