They’re commonly described as “also running,” with their names listed toward the bottom of news accounts about people so well-known that they can be identified by one name – Hillary, Obama, McCain and Rudy.
They are the dark horses in the running for the major parties’ presidential nominations.
We gather today to encourage, not ridicule them.
They will start – if they choose to run – in the second or third tier, behind those listed above as well as hard chargers John Edwards and Mitt Romney. A year before the Iowa caucuses, the Democrats and Republicans who are thinking of making a run for the White House in 2008 make for a crowded field.
Among them (see how many you recognize by one name) are Biden, Brownback, Clark, Dodd, Gingrich, Gravel, Huckabee, Hagel, Hunter, Kucinich, Pataki, Paul, Richardson, Sharpton, Tancredo, Thompson and Vilsack.
It’s a talented group. Any number of the dark horses are plausible figures with admirable résumés and tangible accomplishments. But to challenge for the prize, they must jostle the frontrunners in an environment that rewards name recognition and gazillion-dollar campaign treasuries.
Conventional wisdom suggests the big names will suck up all of the available campaign money just as quickly as they suck the air out of a room. Yet dark horse candidates can, and do, break from the pack. Jimmy Carter, then a relatively unknown governor of Georgia, did so in 1976. In 2004, Howard Dean of Vermont ignited an Internet fundraising revolution and briefly achieved front-runner status before wilting in Iowa.
Among Democrats considering a run, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the clear favorites, along with Edwards. Early leaders for the GOP nomination are Sen. John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Romney. These are all strong figures, but we hope voters will keep an open mind as they assess the lesser- knowns. Many are worthy of attention.
These Democrats have filed candidacy papers:
Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut: He has a wealth of political experience, serving 30 years in the U.S. House and Senate. Chair of the influential Senate Banking Committee, Dodd may be in danger of outliving his playboy image. Smart and witty, he is well-versed in foreign policy issues. He’s taken a keen interest in Central American issues, which found him cross-wise with President Reagan in the 1980s.
Former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska: Having served two terms from 1969 to 1981, he’s best known for putting the once-secretive Pentagon Papers into “public record,” entering 4,100 pages into the record of his Senate subcommittee in 1971. Gravel, now of Virginia, has long fought for universal health care. His current campaign themes also include abolishing the IRS and replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax and an immediate pullout from Iraq. Now he’s a dark horse!
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio: The six-term congressman “also-ran” in ’04. He’ll take the left flank, urging an immediate U.S. withdrawal with Iraq. Kucinich had a stormy career as Cleveland’s young mayor in the late 1970s but survived a recall election. He wants to repeal the Patriot Act, legalize gay marriage and create a cabinet-level Department of Peace.
Tom Vilsack of Iowa: The first Democratic governor of Iowa in 30 years, Vilsack served two effective terms and helped fund preschool, child care, and health care for children. He recently stepped down as chair of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council. Vilsack traveled to 22 countries during his years as governor, including visits to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dems with exploratory committees:
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware: First elected in 1972, Biden flirted with the presidency before bowing out in a to-do over plagiarism in a speech. He’s won admirers in both parties for his work on the Foreign Relations Committee and his tough talk on national security. He was a hawk on Afghanistan and originally Iraq, but he is against escalating troop levels there.
Bill Richardson of New Mexico: A governor with plenty of foreign policy and trouble-shooting experience, Richardson served President Clinton as U.N. ambassador and energy secretary. He’s trying to become the first Hispanic president and lays claim to helping create more than 80,000 jobs in New Mexico.
Republicans who have filed papers or formed exploratory committees:
Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas: Brownback is angling to be the candidate of the Christian right. He helped torpedo Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination because of what he considered an unreliable opposition to abortion. As an eager-beaver freshman congressman in 1994 he proposed abolishing the departments of education, energy and commerce. A supporter of the Iraq war, Brownback’s other main foreign policy concern is fighting disease in Africa and ending human-rights abuses.
Former Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia: The one-time chair of the Republican National Committee has described himself as a “consistent conservative” and a “tax cutter.” As governor he used $700 million a year in state money to reimburse localities for “tax relief” in areas where he didn’t have authority to cut taxes.
Duncan Hunter of California: A congressman since 1981, Hunter chaired the House Armed Services Committee during the last Congress, and has been widely panned for his committee’s utter lack of oversight of the U.S. war effort in Iraq. He’s a social conservative and considered a no-questions-asked military hawk.
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas: Paul ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988, in between congressional stints. He often bucks the GOP line by espousing well-honed libertarian views. He’s a free-market enthusiast, against gun control yet in favor of legalizing drugs and keeping out of the affairs of other countries.
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado: The Littleton congressman is thinking about running in an effort to raise the profile of his campaign against illegal immigration. He’s also been a leader in trying to normalize relationships and trade with Taiwan and has railed on human-rights abuses in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and East Timor.
Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin: Thompson was a four-term governor of Wisconsin who served effectively as President Bush’s secretary of Health and Human Services. As governor, he wasn’t afraid to raise taxes if needed and create new government departments. Yet he earned a reputation as reformer and pioneered Milwaukee’s school-voucher system. In the Bush cabinet, he was instrumental in sending billions to help AIDS-ravaged Africa.
And, of course, there’s also a handful of politicos who have yet to file any official paperwork but are still considering a run. Among them are such Democrats as the Rev. Al Sharpton and retired Gen. Wesley Clark; the Republicans include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New York Gov. George Pataki.
From these dark-horse candidates, a president could emerge. After all, this is the first time since 1928 that a sitting president or vice president didn’t at least temporarily run for the office, creating a huge vacuum for someone to fill.
