WithOnly 400 days to go before the voting begins . . .Hillary Clinton is the front runner

Hillary.

Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy on Saturday-- a wide open day for news, unless you are getting blasted to smithereens in Baghdad-- and did a good job getting attention.

Her video clip was a bit strained: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
and you could barely make out photos of Bill and Chelsea in the background as the camera panned across her cozy living room in Chappaqua. (By the way-- who was the last New Yorker elected president?)

"I'm In To Win" was refreshing and honest. No more monkeying around. Now she has a chance to define herself. There's a brief honeymoon period for everyone to take a fresh look as someone who is a familiar political fixture.

And what does she do with this precious and fleeting opportunity? She invites us to have a "conversation" with her.

Okay, it worked for her New York Senate "Listening Tour" in 2000-- but she was a carpetbagger back then. Wouldn't she fare better with less invitations to chat and more direction on where she wants to take the country?

Hillary's announcement was designed to grab the media spotlight from Barak Obama, who deftly grabbed headlines by announcing his Exploratory Committee the week before.

Barack

In his video; www.barakobama.com/video/ the first term Senator from Illinois artfully explains that he didn't expect to be in this position; but he finds himself at the center of things; and he needs to make a decision. So, he's going to chat with folks to learn what is on their minds.

Obama promises a new kind of politics, but what is he promising to do differently? Not raise money from lobbyists and wealthy donors? Not kow-tow to the Farm Lobby or Hollywood or the Pro-Choice lobbying groups that comprise core constituencies of the Democratic Party?

After two terms in the Illinois Senate and two years in the U.S. Senate, what qualifies Obama to govern?

Bill (no, not that one)

And then, before we could even change the channel to watch the Bears stomp all over the upstart New Orleans Saints, Bill Richardson jumps into the race on Sunday. Richardson is a true wild card. A Governor. An expert in energy policy. Credentials in foreign policy. But is New Mexico a state that means anything in the Electoral Vote count? Are we ready for a Hispanic President?

If you can find Richardson's official web site, please add a link here!

Joseph

Joe Biden looks good on the weekend talk show circuit. He’s strong in foreign policy, but he’s from a tiny state (have we ever elected a President from Delaware?) and he looks a bit long in the tooth.

Evan

Evan Bayh? Didn’t his father Birch run for President in 1976? When’s the last time the Dems elected a Senator to the White House (Yes, we all know — JFK in 1960)?

Russ

Russ Feingold? A Senator who has made his mark in campaign finance reform and opposition to the Patriot Act. He and Bayh would only need to finish 2nd or 3rd in Iowa and New Hampshire to be considered surprise contenders.

John

Then there are the Ghosts of Elections Past — John Kerry is making some noise in the U.S. Senate these days and trying to keep his 2004 organization intact. Yet the more George W’s popularity drops, the more incredulous Dems are that Kerry couldn’t manage to beat him last time out.

John

John Edwards continues to be dynamic on the stump, but what has he done to improve his very thin presidential credentials — a one-term Senator from North Carolina, previously a trial lawyer? He has founded the Center for Progress and Opportunity and a center on poverty at the University of North Carolina in the last two years. He has also traveled around the country more than any other possible 2008 candidate speaking to Americans on issues of poverty, opportunity, and the value of work. He may not make page one of the New York Times every day, but he does make page one of every local newspaper in every town he visits (those are the papers most Americans read).

Al

That leaves Al Gore -- the star of an Oscar-nominated film, "An Inconvenient Truth," has clearly made good use of his last few years in the political wilderness. Tan, beardless, and sounding some strong notes on abuse of presidential authority regarding the NSA’s wire-tapping scandal. Gore in ’08 with Richardson rounding out the ticket to pull in the growing Hispanic vote?

This is going to be fun!