Presidential Prospects

If you look at the calendar, November 2008 seems light years away. If you read the newspapers, search the web, listen to talk radio or catch the evening news, the presidential election seems much, much closer.

Here in Tennessee Fred Thompson, TV actor and former U.S. Senator is virtually assured of the Republican vote on February 5th, 2008. Just how well Mr. Thompson fares in the other 49 states remains to be seen in light of the lateness of his accouncement in his quest for the presidency.

The other potential presidential candidate from Tennessee is Al Gore. According to The Boston Globe, some 1,000 signatures are in place in the Granite State in an effort to get Gore to enter the New Hampshire presidential primary. Just how far Mr. Gore decides to take this option remains to be seen.

What impact will these two Tennesseans have on their respective parties? Hillary R. Clinton leads the pack on the Democratic side, while former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently the front runner for the GOP. Thompson's impact is clear. Even this late in the game, the actor-turned-politician is a force no one in the Republican Party is ignoring. Gore on the other hand seems to be just a dim hope for the Democrats.

At the moment, the debate over early primaries has touched both parties. Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally serve as kick-off states for the presidential contests but other states like Florida are debating earlier contests to bolster their states political clout. Ultimately, the Democratic Convention takes place in Denver this August while Minneapolis-St. Paul will be playing host to the GOP in early September.

Yep. September 2007 is here and so is the race for the White House, even with election day being well over a year away.

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John Scofield