The Washington Post’s The Fix looks at “Gingrich, Gore And Another Early Look At 2008.’ And WaPo political blogger Chris Cillizza sees some similarities between the former Speaker of the House and the former Veep.
Click on the link to read it all but we found these passages the most interesting.
Under the Democrats:
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Clinton’s hiring of Peter Daou and Jesse Berney — two prominent liberal bloggers — is yet more evidence that she is readying for a 2008 candidacy. Clinton’s problems with liberals over the Iraq war aren’t going away, and her team needs to figure out a way to placate the left before the Iowa caucuses where anti-war sentiment is sure to run high. We see more holes in Clinton’s candidacy now than we did a year ago, but without Gore in the race she is still the odds-on frontrunner.
And:
Al Gore: Why add Gore now? Because when we talk to strategists for every other candidate considering the race, one of the first questions they ask is: “What do you hear about Gore?” Talk to former aides and allies of the vice president and you get totally divergent responses. Some believe he will only run if drafted into the race in its latter stages; others are convinced that if Hillary Clinton looks like a winner, Gore will run in order to keep the party from moving more towards the ideological middle. Here’s a tidbit that makes us think that Gore might be seriously considering a bid: He not only did an automated call for Democrats in the California 50th special election earlier this month, but he also reached out to Democrat Francine Busby following her defeat in that race. We won’t rehash the arguments for and against a Gore candidacy; suffice to say that if he gets in, Gore would have to be considered the co-favorite for the nomination along with Clinton. And what an epic clash it would be.
Under the Republicans:
John McCain:Any regular reader of The Fix knows that we continue to be impressed by how well McCain and his advisers are playing the inside game. Every day that goes by without a clear “establishment” candidate running in opposition to him is a day that the Arizona senator, his staff or his surrogates are working to build bridges with individuals and groups who opposed him in 2000. The upcoming midterm elections will be a telling indication of whether McCain can make a reasonable case as the institutional candidate. If Republicans suffer major losses at the House and Senate level, it will open a lot of doors for McCain among folks who believe he is their best — and only — chance to hold the White House in 2008.
And also under the Republicans we found it interesting that one name wasn’t even on this list: former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani. Off the radar? Not a seriously contender (yet)?
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cgi-bin/mt/mtb.cgi/8318 –>
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.