Evan Bayh ⇓ Declared that he would not be running.
Mark Warner ⇓ Declared that he would not be running.
John Kerry ⇓ Kennedy is acting fidgety about him. The dominant narrative of Kerry is still his bad joke at the end of October, and continues to set as the lens through which people see a 2008 run.
John Edwards ⇓ Declares a day early due to a website error. Engages in a photo op with the corpse of an ex-president still cooling.
Hillary Clinton ⇓ She is steadaily losing her aura of inevitability and front-runnerness. Thirteen months is a long time to be a front-runner, and it may be better to get it done now as to set up a comeback down the road.
Wesley Clark ⇑ The worse Iraq gets, the better he looks — and he keeps saying the right things about the escalation. But now that the Dems can win on national security, focus turns on what he offers for the domestic scene.
Barack Obama ⇑ Adoring crowds in New Hampshire, adoring crowds in Califronia churches, newstand covers alongside Hillary. Plus, Kos anointed him the winner. Obama is the rock star of the campaign, but who wants to be a rockstar in 2006?
Bill Richardson ⇔ Retains his status as an almost-top tier candidate. Quiet, but the more the GOP politicizes immigration and puts the Hispanics into a swing area, the better he looks.
Tom Vilsack ⇑ The first to declare his candidacy, which briefly reminded voters that he exists. Hence, a good week.
Dennis Kucinich ⇑ See Tom Vilsack
Joe Biden ⇔ An undeclared holding pattern in action. However, being the credit card candidate in January will likely be a bad thing.
Chris Dodd ⇔ An undeclared holding pattern in action. Can he run for president with pretty much the whole state ticked off at him over the 2006 Senate election?
Al Gore ⇑ Every interview seems to be better received, people still keep clamoring for him to run. However, if Obama becomes the new anti-Hillary, whence Gore?
Thanks Sabutai!
I’ve given up on being erudite or informative. I’m happy with amusing.
I would say John Kerry has had the Worst 2006. The “botched joke” has only given cover to people who weren’t enthusiastic about another run in the first place.
You said exactly what I was thinking. He has a great mind, but politics is about popularity too, and he is about as stimulating as watching paint dry.