Presidential Politics 2008

As difficult as it may seem to believe, polls are already being taken to determine the standing of possible candidates for president in 2008. According to this story from Fox News, the two leading contenders among the Republicans, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, both hold commanding leads over the Democratic candidates most often mentioned—Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John Kerry.

It has been assumed for a very long time that Hillary Clinton will run for president. She has name recognition and has apparently served the people of her state well as senator. No American political party has ever nominated a woman to carry their political banner. However, it seems as though most Americans are not opposed to the idea of a woman president in principle, although, when push comes to shove, people often tell the pollster what they think they want to hear. Hillary Clinton is not just any woman, however. She espoused and advocated a socialized system of national health care during the first two years of her husband’s presidency, an idea that was so popular that it cost Democrats control of the House of Representatives in 1994 for the first time in 40 years (and the Republicans still hold a decisive majority). She creates the perception of holding in contempt those who hold conservative values. The Republican national committee chairman, Ken Mehlman, recently described her as “angry,” and said that Americans don’t want an angry president. Hillary carries extremely high negative ratings. In a recent poll, a majority of Americans stated that under no circumstances would they vote for Hillary Clinton. Since she is well-known by nearly every American of voting age, it is unlikely that she can move those numbers in her favor.

The Republican race is going to be very interesting because of the unwillingness of Vice President Dick Cheney to run, leaving no incumbent (president of vice-president) in the race for the first time in a half century. Social conservatives are leery of Giuliani, who is pro-choice, even though he ranks highly on matters of national security. McCain has a reputation as something of a maverick, not always marching in lockstep with his party. Many conservatives are leery of McCain because of his co-sponsorship of the campaign finance reform legislation with Russ Feingold (D-WI). They feel that this was in violation of the First Amendment (freedom of speech). But McCain has an 86 rating from a conservative watchdog group, and has solidly supported President Bush’s judicial nominees. He has great crossover appeal, and, according to the Fox News poll, only 7% of Republicans say they would not support him. That’s a number, I suspect, that will shrink when the actual campaign begins.

How old will you be in 2008? I suspect that all of you will have reached your 18th birthday and will be eligible to participate in that election. The issues that we are discussing now—the war on terror, the danger of Iran, judicial nominations, gender and race issues, morality, marriage and abortion—are all at stake. One of the candidates in this article is likely to be our president as you begin your adult life. What issues are important to you? What kind of a leader do you want? How do these people measure up? Who’s your early favorite?