2008: At The Starting Gate

Since it is never too early to start talking about the 2008 presidential election, I’m going to give you my take. Those of us who have been through the Greek tragedy of 2000 and the “inept-off” of 2004 are definitely ready for the next chapter of presidential politics. And I don’t care what side of the aisle you are from; everyone (other than Michele Bachman) appears ready to shovel the Bush Administration out the door. With no incumbent to spoil the show, ’08 will have showdowns in both primaries as well as the general election. (’08 With 50% more mud)

Currently, Hillary Clinton is the odds on favorite at 3.25 to 1. Rudolph Giuliani is next at 4 to 1, followed by Barack Obama at 5 to 1, and John Edwards and John McCain are both 6 to 1. At this point it is hard to imagine someone out side of these five as the next President.

Hilary has tons of experience and the priceless ‘Clinton political machine’ (for better or worse.) Rudy still was the mayor of NYC on 9/11, and America still loves him for it. Obama has the charisma, he’s the rock star, he’s soooo hot right now. Edwards possesses a nice mix charm, experience, empathy, and fundraising ability. And although McCain is getting cozier with Republicans by the day, most American centrists still respect the straight-talking former POW.

But as good as it may look for these front-runners; each of them has serious questions surrounding their campaign. Will Hilary be able to dodge the “Ice Queen,” “Old Guard,” “Special Interest Panderer” characterizations? Does Rudy have the conservative chops to make the conservative base forget about his divorced-filled, Pro-Life past? Will Obama be able to sustain his momentum and overcome his lack of experience? Can Edwards shake-off the stigma of 04 and carve-out a substantive platform. Will McCain be able to maintain his hawkish stance on Iraq and still create enough individual velocity to escape the political blackhole created by the Bush Administration’s incompetence?

And we can’t forget about potential wild card Al Gore. He has enough money, name recognition, and experience to make him a legitimate contender no mater how late he gets into the action. His new found personality and sense of humor would have come in handy in 2000, but better late than never.

I think it will go like this:

Edwards over Obama and Clinton by the slimmest of margins for the Democratic nomination

Rudy over McCain in a landslide for the Republican nomination

And…

Edwards over Rudy in the General Election.

So there it is, feel free to leave your own predictions… or mock mine.