Hoping For More Choices in the Presidential Race

As the campaign goes on I remain disillusioned by the choices offered by both parties. Looking at the top tier in the Democratic race, neither Hillary Clinton or John Edwards look like people I could ever really see as President. Barack Obama does impress me as someone who just might be Presidential caliber some day, and at least was right on Iraq  while Clinton and Edwards were wrong, but was thrown into this race before he was ready. I’m still hoping that we are offered additional choices. I’d welcome Al Gore in the race provided he runs as a combination of opponent of the war and government reformer rather than as the populist he sometimes tried to be in 2000. Otherwise I’m hoping someone in the second tier breaks out and shows both that they would make a good President and that they can beat the major candidates.

It is far too early to decide upon a candidate, and I want to take a much closer look at both their past records and what they do in the upcoming year before deciding. That said, at this stage Bill Richardson impresses me the most so far as is probably apparent from some of my previous posts on him. Richardson remains a long shot (as was Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter at this stage) but he plans to put up a fight. The Des Moines Register reports that Richardson will be the first Democrat to run television ads in Iowa:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is scheduled to begin airing television campaign ads in Iowa next week, the Democratic presidential candidate said at a party fundraising dinner in Denison Thursday.

Richardson will air two ads beginning Monday. One is a 60-second biographical look at the candidate; the second is a 30-second spot on his political career, including his foreign policy experience, aides said.

The ads are intended to increase name recognition among Iowa Democrats in the leadoff caucus state. Ads also will begin running in New Hampshire on Monday, although Richardson said more advertising money was spent in Iowa. Aides would not disclose how much money was spent on the ads…

Aides hope the ads will help separate Richardson from “celebrity” Democratic candidates New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Tom Reynolds, Richardson’s Iowa spokesman, said Richardson will run a grass-roots, “traditional Iowa caucus campaign.”

When Clinton or Obama appear in Iowa it is before large crowds. Richardson is at a disadvantage. Perhaps appearing in smaller groups, and even in the living rooms of caucus goers, as they are accustomed to seeing the candidates, will win some over. If Richardson has to run from behind, at least running on a stronger resume than his opponents might give him a fighting chance.

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