Free Republic

And they're off! By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 18, 2006 Sometimes you are a hit. Sometimes you take a hit. One of the golden rules of campaigning is that every poll on the calendar is not a slam-dunk. The Des Moines Register conducted the first poll of the 2008 presidential race last week. It was based on interviews with registered Iowa voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic caucuses two years from now. Much ado has been made about John Edwards' robust first-place showing, Hillary Clinton's second place, John Kerry's distant third, and Iowa homeboy Gov. Tom...

Imagine that you are a presidential candidate seeking the nomination from one of the two major parties. The problem is that you are so dull that few people are listening to your boring message. What to do? Simple. Join the KOmmies by blogging for them and buying into their kookie conspiracy theories such as suggesting that the 2004 election was stolen from the Democrats in the state of Ohio. That's a sure way to make your lackluster self be noticed. The presidential candidate now performing the KOokie KOmmie act is former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, that you can see...

      MANCHESTER, N.H. - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was kicking back a wild berry smoothie and was midway into a cup of frozen yogurt when Kally Abrams, a self-described "real voter," told him to forget mass marketing and focus on intimate settings.       Political advice dispensed, she offered the "fresh face" and his first lady an open invite to supper at her house.       Vilsack, on his first trip Wednesday to New Hampshire exploring a presidential run, introduced himself to a business group over bacon and eggs and hobnobbed with party activists at a Flag Day dinner in the state's largest city.       He...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The governor of Iowa was working the breakfast crowd, the governor of Virginia was mingling with folks at cocktail hour and a former North Carolina senator, the Democratic vice presidential candidate last year, was holding court over lunch. The calendar may still say 2005, but Democrats are looking ahead to 2008, which is why Tom Vilsack, Mark Warner and John Edwards traveled from their respective home states over the weekend to the manicured grounds of Walt Disney World as they began the ritual of courting an influential audience of Florida Democrats. Never mind that President...

Democrats Test Themes for `06 and `08 By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer 11 minutes ago To hear Democrats tell it, an anxious and isolated public craves a sense of national community and would galvanize behind a leader who asks people to sacrifice for the greater good. John Edwards says he's that leader. Wait a minute, so does Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Ditto for Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. Edwards, Vilsack and Warner, all likely presidential candidates in 2008, are toying with the same lofty community-and-purpose message. And that says as much about the sour mood of the country as it...