Hillary Clinton-can anyone beat her?

It has been made quite clear that for the first time, the candidate to beat is a woman. Former First Lady and Senator, Hillary Clinton has her sights on the White House and it seems that very few can bring her down.

Gaining popularity in straw polls and with an ever growing lead against other Democratic Front-runners Barack Obama and John Edwards , Hillary is following in the footsteps of her popular and very beloved husband, former President Bill Clinton.

On her campaign website, Clinton discusses her major issues; strengthening the middle class, providing affordable and accessible health care, ending the war in Iraq, promoting energy independence and fighting global warming, fulfilling our promises to veterans, supporting parents and caring for children, restoring America's standing in the world, a champion for women, comprehensive government reform, and strengthening our democracy.

Many of her issues are general and far reaching, pitching perhaps not to the far-left liberals but to to the undecided voter. However, will she be able to reach those voters as a female presidential candidate? Although she is the first, she does have quite a bit of experience in Washington politics as the First Lady and also as a Junior Senator from New York.

However, a lot of the things that may turn democratic voters off about her is her no-holds-barred powerful stance. She comes off as authoritarian in many ways, which may have spawned the apple-spoof campaign video against her.

However, with her popularity and her lead in the polls, it seems that Senator Clinton may be a tough contender.

Some may question her experience and her ability to hold her own among what seems to be an "all boys club" of international leaders. However, Clinton, who calls herself "a champion for women" does not seem concerned about her standing as a strong woman, saying on the popular show The View last week that she thought that even in countries where they do not respect women's rights that she has always been welcomed and respected. It also surprises me that more women's groups haven't latched on to the fact that this "champion for women" has stayed with her husband after half a dozen allegations of cheating or sexual harassment on his part.

I have to admit that there is something about Hillary that rubs me the wrong way. Maybe its her authoritarian attitude, her love of pantsuits or her seemingly gruff demeanor. I'm not sure. However, the point keeps coming up that she has more experience than candidates like Obama who really has only four less years in the Senate and is almost 15 years younger than her. Although I'm sure that you receive a big education from being a first lady, I don't think that should be her ticket to the presidency.

Stephen Colbert enters the race

Mock-conservative pundit and host of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert announced Wednesday that he will enter the Presidential race in South Carolina as a "favorite son" candidate. Although nearly no one believes that his candidacy is real, it is generating some serious buzz.

Colbert, who is famous for his O'Reilly-esque rantings on liberal politicians as well as his popular series "Better Know a District" coyly announced that he was thinking about-thinking about running on John Stewart's The Daily Show.

He rode into the popular Comedy Central late night show on a wagon driven by a sparkly Uncle Sam. He then opened a cold beer and propped his feet up on a bale of hay to prove that hey was a regular Joe. However, Colbert declined to announce on the Daily Show, saying that he wanted to do it on a "more prestigious show." Half an hour later, he announced his candidacy among a red, white, and blue balloon drop.

Colbert, who hasn't actually lives in South Carolina for years, has decided to run as both a Democrat and a Republican, which means he could "lose twice" he said to the Associated Press.

Colbert also has an interesting new take on campaign finance. He said on Wednesday that he could use a sponsor as he slowly lifted up a bag of Doritos. He proceeded to take a few bites claiming that he just loves the popular snack food.

The popular television host, famous for bashing the President at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006, who is obviously mocking the coyness of candidates when announcing their bids for the White House may be a surprising dark horse in the Palmetto State. Although it is yet to be seen whether or not Colbert will actually win any delegates in South Carolina--he may have some second tier candidates shaking in their boots.

Can Giuliani gain votes WITHOUT talking about 9/11?

Republican Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani has a reputation for strong leadership. Throughout the days that followed September 11th, 2001 Giuliani, then Mayor of New York, was a strong and stable leader not only to the city, but the nation as a whole. However, during the presidential race he has gotten a reputation as leaning too heavily on the support he has garnered from 9/11.

Taking a look at his website, there is no absence of 9/11 references, however he has a clear platform of his "12 Commitments to the American People" which include many cleverly worded issues like "Keep America on offense in the Terrorists war on us" instead of the cliche "War on Terrorism." Some of his other key issues are "Keeping Washington Accountable," "End Illegal immigration, secure America's borders and identify all non citizens." Although most of these issues are pretty standard primary-election issues, Giuliani is attempting to establish himself as a competent Republican.


In the past, the GOP was known as the party of competence, while Democrats were known as the party of compassion. Sad to say that the GOP lost quite a bit of credibility in the competence department with the 8 year embarassment of President Bush Jr. However, Giuliani has experience in a high-pressure demographic whereas candidates like Romney may fall short. During his time as Mayor of New York, Giuliani was re-elected by 57%...nearly a landslide by today's standards in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 1.

What this may say about Giuliani is his universal appeal. Giuliani is a conservative; saying on his website that if he had the chance to nominate Justices to the US Supreme Court, he would hope to nominate those like Alito, Roberts and Scalia who are arguably the most conservative Justices on the bench. Also, Giuliani's stance on the war in Iraq is that "an artificial time table would be a terrible mistake," which to many people sounds like there is no exit strategy at all, is much more pro-Iraq than any Democratic candidate out there. This may win him support with military-minded Democrats who are not in favor of pulling out troops. Although those kind of statements show that Giuliani is Republican through-and-through, his reputation as a strong leader during the dark times that followed September 11th, may gain him support of those swing or centrist voters.

Although I do consider myself a Democrat, I must admit that Giuliani is the only Republican candidate that I can picture myself voting for or being satisfied with being elected. He has an image of a strong leader and a competent national figure who could lead (albeit more conservatively) the country in the crucial years ahead.

John Edwards- can he beat the seemingly unstoppable Clinton and Obama?

John Edwards has been a familiar face on the political scene since his run for vice-president in the 2004 election. Also, he has been in the headlines for his wife's inoperable cancer, a problem that will no doubt endear him to thousands of cancer survivors but also has many people asking why he would want to make such a grueling run such a grueling position with the possibility that his wife is in her last years. However, Edwards has emerged as a contender to Clinton and Obama for the Democratic nomination but not without begging the question...can someone who lost the election as Vice-President win the Presidency?

Although it can be argued that the biggest obstacle Edwards faced on his way to the White House in 2004 was the presidential nominee, John Kerry, it may still be said that Edwards has obstacles of a different nature. Not only is he running against the first serious female and African American contenders for the democratic nomination, he is also up against both of their powerhouse fundraising machines. With Senator Clinton reporting her quarter fund raising at over 27 Million and Senator Obama's campaign raising 20 Million in the past quarter, the Edwards campaign is lagging far behind, raising an estimated 7 Million in the third quarter.

The announcements of third quarter campaign fund raising comes hand in hand with Edwards announcement that he will receive federal matching funds for his campaign. That means that the government will match every donation that he receives up to $250 per donation up to a certain amount where he will need to stop spending. Although in past elections, nearly every candidate took the federal match, no other Democratic forerunners are. For the candidates that don't chose to take Federal Funds, they will have no limit as to what they can raise or spend but Edwards will have a spending cap. This could ultimately leave him defenseless when different advertising campaigns come out and he has no money left to spend to defend himself.

Running third in the Iowa polls, Edwards still has a chance to bounce back. In a forum called "A Presidential Dialogue with John Edwards" hosted at the University of New Hampshire in Durham by MTV, MySpace and the Washington Post, Edwards received great reviews from the people in the audience as well as those responding online. This groundbreaking, multi-media forum allowed for Edwards to field questions from the audience in New Hampshire as well as those on Washingtonpost.com and MySpace simultaneously. He was also able to see pie-charts of how viewers perceived his answers (like, dislike, etc.)

During this debate he made many interesting points which, as a college student, really spoke to issues I am concerned about. He talked about a national plan to pay for college for everyone. What I really admired about him was his ability to explain to the audience how he was planning to put his plans into action, not just trumpeting them.

He also spoke about increasing funding to problems at home and the need to stop funneling money into the war in Iraq. Although many of the answers I had heard from other candidates before, I felt as though Edwards was trying to reach out to the young demographic and find a way to get across his ideas without talking down to the students or preaching. His personable candor was really nice to see and I look forward to hearing more about him in the coming months.

Mitt Romney-can the GOP front-runner overcome Mormons' bad rap?

Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, has become a surprising front runner for the Republican nomination for President. His surprising showing in early polls has him beating former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani who was thought to be a strong candidate because of the Nation's view of him as a leader after the tragedy of 9/11. However, Romney has gained support in recent weeks despite skepticism of his Mormon faith. As a member of the Mormon church, sometimes called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Romney is facing a lot of the same criticism that John F Kennedy faced as the first Catholic President. However, with stories in the news about Romney's great-great-whatever grandfather having more than one wife, the polygamy jokes seem never-ending and people are questioning whether a member of an extremely-conservative religious sect can lead a country so diverse in religious preference.

Romney's website paints the picture of any other Republican Candidate, talking up patriotism and commenting on the recent trip to the US and UN by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, past the slightly-corny front page of Romney supporters holding up giant, red, foam "Mitts" similar the the foam fingers at baseball games, is the underlying sense of hypocrisy when it comes to tolerance, especially relating to Iran.

On his page, a news article declares that Romney condems Iran and its leaders for intolerance, but Romney has been a great opponent of Ahmadinejad visiting the US. Although I can't say that I am an Iran supporter, I thought the point of his visit to the US and United Nations was to show our tolerance for non-violent conversations involving the Iranian leader. However, Romney has expressed his "outrage" against Ahmadinejad's visit saying that he shouldn't be allowed to vising the United Nations or Ground Zero.

An article written on the Slate.com called, "Mitt Romney's Clumsy Mormon Shtick" http://www.slate.com/id/2140539/ says "Mormonism is [Romney's] biggest political hurdle." Going on to call him "absurdly wholesome." You would think that his belief in conventional Mormon values would make him a solid bet to get the Mormon vote. However, a few Mormon-run websites have emerged with anti-Romney sentiments.

Mormons against Romney.org is a blogging website against the GOP candidate using a bible verse as some-what of a mission statement saying, "Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently; and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil." The website claims that Romney is unqualified for the position and is not a good representation of American Mormonism.

Romney has made many attempts to appeal to Iowa voters in this important time before the caucuses, even tailgating in Ames for the Iowa vs. Iowa State game and appearing at the Clay County Fair in early September. During these visits, Romney has talked about strong economy, strong values and the importance of family. These discussions all seem aimed at the small-town farmer and families. However, it makes me wonder whether a Mormon candidate has a chance in a state very populated with Proestant Christian values, some of which do not aknowledge Mormonism as Christianity. As the caucuses draw closer, Romney and other Republican candidates will have to make more attempts to relate to the hard working people of Iowa like many of the Democratic candidates have been able to do. But with months until the caucuses start, it is still anyone's game.

Barack Obama-Hopeful voice or Hollow promises?

Barack Obama, a Junior Senator from the State of Illinois has emerged at somewhat of a "designer" candidate in the 2008 elections. Widely endorsed by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Halle Barry, it is hard to look past his commercial appeal and famous friends. However, behind the campaign that has raised over $58 Million dollars (still 6 months out from the Democratic National Convention) is a man with little political experience, and many aspirations. Promising to end the war in Iraq, and strengthen America overseas many seasoned politicians think that Obama doesn't really know what hes in for. With little experience in the International arena, his plans to "Strengthen America Overseas," may seem like he is biting off more than he can chew. However, many people in the Democratic party are throwing their support behind Obama citing is vision and integrity to be qualities that will lead him to success not only on the campaign trail, but in the White House as well.

Obama is also getting alot of attention for bringing faith back into Democratic politics. Although widely satarized on shows like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, the lack of a strong religious voice within the Democrats has been noticeable. However, Obama has spoken openly about his Christian beliefs as well as the "uncertainty of faith" in a speech in June 2006. But will his religious convictions and displays of his own family values be enough to sway the more conservative vote?

Also, Obama speaks about improving schools and ending poverty in the US. Although this may seem cynical, I find it hard to believe that a Columbia and Harvard Law educated lawyer, teaching law at a premiere US law school (University of Chicago) ever finds himself strapped for cash or living pay check to pay check. On the other hand, no candidate that has the means to run for President has ever felt those kinds of pressures.

Even with the skepticism, I think that Barack Obama offers hope for the American public, more so than I saw in the 2004 elections with Kerry and Edwards. His optimism and hope for the future of the country is something that I think will resonate with young voters and may harken back to days of JFK and Bobby Kennedy. As the months move on we will see if Obama can gain more momentum agains Hillary Clinton, but he still may carry a large vote among Democrats.

*10.3.08- I have added a picture I took (on my cell phone...don't mind the quality) at the Obama speech in Coralville on October 2, 2007. He was speaking that day marking the 5 year anniversary of his opposition to the Iraq war.

Fred Thompson joins the race

As a regular watcher of Law and Order, I was excited to see the one and only Fred Thompson enter the race for President as a Republican candidate. In a throwback to Arnold Schwarzenegger's joining the Gubenatorial race in 2000, Thompson announced his candidacy from the comfort of Jay Leno's couch on the Tonight Show. Although his much anticipated entry to the race was shocking to almost no one, many people still are unaware of what he stands for as a candidate.

On his newly minted website Fred08.com, the former Congressman shares his views on the long reaching arm of the Government in a short clip titled, "Federalism," Thompson discusses the importance of not giving too much power to the Federal Government, which seems like a bit of a shoddy argument for someone running to be the leader of our government.

Like many other Republican candidates, Thompson emphasizes family values and is against gay marriage. Hopefully we can learn more about Fred Thompson as he builds his campaign in the coming months.