She's In

I never thought I would see the day when a woman, an African American man, and a man of Hispanic decent would have a serious opportunity to become a major political party's nominee for President of the United States. Man, have we come a long way. Now that is a line up that looks like America.

The first vote I ever cast for President was for a little know southern governor, Bill Clinton. He went on to lead our country to the most prosperous time in our
nation's history. His leadership and his common touch was revered and appreciated around the world. The woman who was at his side is now seeking to return to the White House as the Chief Executive.

The two term US Senator from New York is the first credible female candidate to seek her party's nomination and I whole heartedly support her. Rarely has there been a candidate who encompasses the intelligence, passion, and experience. Intelligence lead her from Yale Law School to one of the top law firms in the country. Her passion for children and women's issues lead her to be of the top advocates in her field. Her experience as a two term Senator has shown her value in Washington as well as on the world stage. Her talent as First Lady was valuable in
showing us her courage and grace.

Her views on the war, health care, education, and the environment mirror my own. I believe she will use the failure of the health care initiative in President Clinton's first term, as a learning experience to push Congress to enact
legislation that will overhaul the health care system, so that it provides for all of
our citizens. She has been vilified by republicans
and the far right for more than 30 years and she has beat them at every turn.
She is battle-tested and tough. She can lead with a velvet glove on her iron fist.

It was no accident Mrs. Clinton made her announcement on a Saturday morning. She made the announcement to make sure she was the lead story on all the Sunday newspapers. Most newspapers largest selling day is Sunday. This shows how smart and sharp her campaign team already is. Moreover, January 20th is
constitionally Inauguration Day, so in two years on January 20,2009, Hillary Rodham Clinton could be sworn in as the first female President of the United States.

In the political solar system, if Hillary Clinton is Jupiter, then Barak Obama is Saturn. Saturn to the cool planet with the rings. Obama is the cool candidate with the cool name. The first term US Senator from Illinois is a rock star on the democratic stage. With a movie star smile and the ability to speak to the hearts of the young and elderly and black or white citizens makes him Hillary's chief
rival.

In 1984 Jesse Jackson launched his bid for President with much fanfare, but fizzled soon after. Barak is a different animal. His ability to build collations
and raise millions of dollars makes him a very serious challenger. I only wonder if it is not to soon for him, with only serving two years in the US Senate. His lack of foreign policy knowledge and his sparce leglative record may hinder him. On the other hand, people may see his inexperience as a breath of fresh air. I hope he is ready for a combative and nasty campaign. Everything he has ever said and done will be scrutinized and exploited.

When Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico announced his canadacy for President he said, ""Our reputation in the world is diminished, our economy has languished,
and civility and common decency in government has perished," He spoke no truer words. Richardson may have the most experience in the field. The former
Congressman, UN Ambassador, Energy Secretary and current Governor has the most foreign and domestic policy experience in the party. In any other election cycle Richardson might be a top tier candidate, but Clinton and Obama are
clearly the stars of the group.

Richard is a compelling candidate because of this experience and his "folksy" demeanor. His ability to connect with voters is a key asset. His grasp of
issues and the ability to relate those issues to voters is exceptional. The
key issue to his canadaicy will surround immigration and how that plays to primary voters in lily white New Hampshire and Iowa. An early primary in Nevada will help him stay in the race. His ability on the stump will also play in the mix. A debate with Clinton and Obama would also be interesting, watching the two
men carefully attack the former first lady.

Their are some other credible candidates old white men (OWM) in or considering running for the nomination. The group of white men include former VP
nominee John Edwards, former VP Al Gore, and 2004 nominee Sen John Kerry.
Other candidates include, US Senators Chris Dodd and
Joe Biden, and Gov. Tom Vislick of Iowa,

The Republicans have a group of (OWM) that will also go though the primary season process. Not one of them has real star quality,charisma or talent to sustain the
White House. So the Democratic nomination process will be intense and
rocky and maybe, just maybe, Americans will make history in 2008.