Tom Vilsack Drops Out of Presidential Race
Tom Vilsack may not have been the best speaker on the campaign trail, but he had serious credentials to bring to a presidential campaign. He's dropped out due to the difficulty of raising money. I know it's early but if Democrats want a wide open race, it's time to start contributing to the candidates and keeping them viable. Here's the story from Kay Henderson of Reuters in The Washington Post:
I wish Vilsack had stayed in. The other day, I saw a brief glimpse of a speaking style that he used that might have served him well. Over the years, I've seen a number of candidates grow into a much better candidate over the course of a number of months. Even John Kerry didn't make a serious move in the polls until December of 2003.
In any case, I'm getting a little concerned. One of the reasons a mediocrity like George W. Bush became president is that through his father's connections he essentially wrapped up the 2000 nomination before the first vote; a number of better qualified candidates dropped out because they couldn't raise $200 million, an outrageous sum back in 2000. Bush seem well set in early 2000 but he ran into trouble with John McCain (when McCain when still interesting) but had the money, the muscle and the sleaze to push on through to the nomination. Money and mediocrity won.
Now there's nothing mediocre about the field of Democratic candidates, including Bayh and Vilsack who have dropped out. But we could wind up with a candidate who isn't the best choice for the times we are facing. Hillary Clinton is a well-qualified candidate but she shows signs that she's following the George W. Bush method of simply wrapping up the money and otherwise largely ignoring the real issues of the day and bypassing the Democratic rank and file. She also shows signs that she's more concerned about what her contributors want rather than what's best for our country. Notice that Bayh and Vilsack are moderate Democrats and the only moderates left now are Biden and Clinton. In the end, the voters may indeed prefer a moderate, but we need a serious debate before the voting begins. I hope the remaining candidates stay in the race until there have been a few debates. But they need support.
Democrat Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa, dropped his longshot 2008 White House bid on Friday after he failed to keep pace with his big-name rivals in raising funds.
"It's really about money," Vilsack said at his Des Moines headquarters as he shut down his 3-month-old campaign operation.
(snip)
Vilsack is the second declared Democratic candidate to drop out of the 2008 race, following Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's withdrawal in December just weeks after entering.
"I came up against something for the first time in my life where hard work and effort couldn't overcome," Vilsack said. "I just couldn't work any harder, couldn't give any greater effort and it just wasn't enough."
I wish Vilsack had stayed in. The other day, I saw a brief glimpse of a speaking style that he used that might have served him well. Over the years, I've seen a number of candidates grow into a much better candidate over the course of a number of months. Even John Kerry didn't make a serious move in the polls until December of 2003.
In any case, I'm getting a little concerned. One of the reasons a mediocrity like George W. Bush became president is that through his father's connections he essentially wrapped up the 2000 nomination before the first vote; a number of better qualified candidates dropped out because they couldn't raise $200 million, an outrageous sum back in 2000. Bush seem well set in early 2000 but he ran into trouble with John McCain (when McCain when still interesting) but had the money, the muscle and the sleaze to push on through to the nomination. Money and mediocrity won.
Now there's nothing mediocre about the field of Democratic candidates, including Bayh and Vilsack who have dropped out. But we could wind up with a candidate who isn't the best choice for the times we are facing. Hillary Clinton is a well-qualified candidate but she shows signs that she's following the George W. Bush method of simply wrapping up the money and otherwise largely ignoring the real issues of the day and bypassing the Democratic rank and file. She also shows signs that she's more concerned about what her contributors want rather than what's best for our country. Notice that Bayh and Vilsack are moderate Democrats and the only moderates left now are Biden and Clinton. In the end, the voters may indeed prefer a moderate, but we need a serious debate before the voting begins. I hope the remaining candidates stay in the race until there have been a few debates. But they need support.
Labels: 2008 presidential race, Hillary Clinton, Tom Vilsack
posted by Poechewe at 2:51 PM
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