October 6, 2007 (1-5)

Analyze the Democratic field for the 2008 Presidential primary. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the top 4 major candidates, and project the winner. Defend and support your choice. Be careful not to tell me who you would or would not vote for, but concentrate merely on their qualities and who will win the DNC nomination. (you will be doing the same with the Republican field in your first blog of the second quarter)



The 2008 elections will certainly be an interesting sight to see. There are many very capable men running for this very important position in our modern government. Also, for the first time it seems very likely that we will be having not only those highly intelligent and qualified men running, as I mentioned earlier, but a woman as well. Hillary Clinton will be running on the democratic side this year, and she is one of the four top candidates for the democrats that I will be discussing.

As I mentioned, Hillary Rodham Clinton is doing extremely well in this election. She is best known as the wife of former president Bill Clinton (1992-2000). Regardless of whether she wins or not, this couple has surely been very influential on the U.S. Hillary is currently serves as senator to New York as of November 7, 2000. She was very involved in rebuilding her state after the September 11th attacks in 2001. She graduated from both Wellesley College and Yale Law School and is very well educated. She has also written many best selling books, including an autobiography and children’s books.

Another leading candidate is Barack Obama. At 46 years old, he and his wife have two small daughters. He definitely prides himself on being a family man, and I believe that this fact will get him very far in next year’s elections. He is a very strong leader in the fight for better schools and an improved education system. He is currently the Senator of Illinois, elected in January of 2005. “Obama graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science and a specialty in international relations. He went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.”(source)

Also running for the Democratic spot is 64 year old Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Delaware Senator. “Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of twenty-nine and is recognized as one of the nation’s most powerful and influential voices on foreign relations, terrorism, drug policy, and crime prevention.”(source) I believe that this Senator’s biggest challenge with the voters will be his age, he is definitely not 29 years old any longer. “Prior to his election to the Senate, Biden practiced law in Wilmington, Delaware and served on the New Castle County Council from 1970 to 1972. Since 1991, Biden has been an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on constitutional law.”(see previous source). He is also very well educated, having attended Archmere Academy, University of Deleware, and Syracuse University College of Law.

Our final candidate in the top four for the Democratic Party is Christopher J. Dodd. “Dodd served as a U.S. Representative from Connecticut from 1975 until 1981, when he became a U.S. Senator. He is now the state's senior Senator. He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.”(source) This candidate will also have the issue of his older age working against him. After attending Providence College, he joined the Peace Corps for 2 years and then the U.S. Army Reserve.

Out of all these very qualified candidates, I believe the two that have the best chance are Obama and Hillary. They seem to not only have the personalities and dedication that the president should have, but the education to back it up. However of both of them, I would be most likely to vote for Obama.