Vilsack kicks off Presidential race

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is making an early start to the Presidential race. It will be well over a year before delegates are even chosen. However, Vilsack does have good reason to do this. Outside of his home state he has very little name recognition, especially when compared to certain high-profile candidates like Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards, who are also believed to be candidates in the Democratic primaries.

Vilsack's only advantage, which looks to be a slim one, is that he hails from the state that holds the first race of the year, the Iowa caucuses. However, that did not help Senator Tom Harkin in 1992 when he ran. Harkin won Iowa, but everyone else had instead focused on New Hampshire, diminishing the importance of that race.

Vilsack is a moderate Democrat who aligns himself with the Democratic Leadership Council, so it will be interesting to see how the party faithful view him. They may see him as too moderate, a DINO (Democrat in name only) who is not in tune with their values. Personally, and this is a recurring theme with me, I like people who buck their party on occasion. Rubber stamping makes me think a robot represents me instead of a human being. We'll see.

If you want to read the Vilsack article, you can here.

Ace