Posted on 04/23/2006 6:55:27 AM PDT by ncountylee
CONCORD, N.H. - While Democratic strategists debate which new face they should rally around to try to retake the White House in 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton or perhaps a less controversial man with experience as a governor -- at least two Democrats who had their shot and lost are laying the groundwork for another try.
Sen. John Kerry and his former running mate, John Edwards, both have said they are seriously considering another run. Former Vice President Al Gore, who lost to President Bush in the contested 2000 race, has discouraged the notion he will run again.
Gore isn't shunning the spotlight, though. He stars in a soon-to-be-released documentary on global warming, and earlier this year, he gave a high-profile speech accusing the president's eavesdropping program of violating the law.
But if any of these men goes forward with a comeback campaign, history is stacked against him.
In three cases since the Civil War era, a presidential or vice-presidential nominee on a losing Democrat or Republican ticket was able to win the presidency in a subsequent election: Grover Cleveland, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon.
The list of those who tried but failed is considerably longer.
William Jennings Bryan, Thomas Dewey, Adlai Stevenson, Walter Mondale and Bob Dole each won another nomination after a prior loss, but none succeeded in the general election. Bryan was a three-time loser.
Still others who made the ticket and lost were unable to secure their party's nomination when they ran again: Ed Muskie, Dan Quayle and Joe Lieberman.
The challenges are different for candidates who don't win the party's nomination and run again.
For Republicans especially, getting knocked out of the race before the general election has often been treated as a dues-paying experience.
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
Getting a "Kerry in '08" bumper sticker may be a good investment.
Where can I get a W-08 sticker ;-)
send me one too, if you find one......
I thought I'd see a pic of your Harley on your profile. Which one do you have?
I'll make my own. Just to piss off the libs.
He will be roadkill.
on the other hand, he might be positioned as the "lesser of the evils" of Howard Dean and Hillary.
If Sen. Kennedy runs in '08 (bizarre, but why not!), the press will call it 'Camalot'. We'll call it it 'Ham-a-lot'!
Watching Clinton, Kerry and Gore try to 'out-left' each other should make for great commedy. The folks at D.U. will go crazy trying to make a choice. With their respect for our system of government, perhaps they'll try to change it so we can have two vice-presidents. Or perhaps they'll try for three vice-presidents and refuse to assign a winner since it's so denigrating to the other 'children'.
Can we call it 'flim' "flam-a-lot"?
I'm watching now on the West Coast, thanks to your comments. Russert is asking him some interesting quesitons, based on Kennedy's past statements. Kennedy's squirming answers were a riot. His convoluted thinking is sad. He's lost in space.
It's amazing how many people are so ignorant of the laws of this country that they think it's actually possible for W to run for a 3rd time.
And if they have an inkling of the Constitution I tell the, "Oh we haven't used the Constitution for the past 40 years".
Only way that tub of lard could lose weight is if he had contracted some serious disease...you know, like the one that begins with A
did you see kennedy spouting the talking points on Larry King the other night? What a farce. He's engaging until he starts with the talking points...
No, I missed it. I can only stomach so much, if you catch my drift.
Try contacting the Florida Governor's office :-)
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