Democratic primary debate: June 28, 2007

• On Budget & Economy: Dennis Kucinich: Make any corporation with an American name pay taxes here.
• On Civil Rights: Hillary Clinton: We've come a long way on race, but we have a long way to go.
• On Corporations: Bill Richardson: Reward companies that pay over the prevailing wage.
• On Crime: Barack Obama: Need justice that is not just us, but is everybody.
• On Drugs: Joe Biden: Divert drug offenders out of prison system.
• On Education: Bill Richardson: Nobody asks how we pay for war; why do we ask on education?.
• On Environment: Chris Dodd: Make Katrina recovery a symbol of what we can do right.
• On Foreign Policy: Dennis Kucinich: If Darfur had oil, we'd be occupying Sudan.
• On Free Trade Dennis Kucinich: Democrats started NAFTA; Democrats will end it.
• On Health Care Barack Obama: Homophobia prevents talking about HIV/AIDS.
• On Homeland Security Mike Gravel: Cut Pentagon by more than 15%; we're squandering money.
• On Tax Reform Hillary Clinton: Why cut off payroll contribution at $95,000?.
• On Technology Bill Richardson: 250 science & math academies to limit technical outsourcing.
• On War & Peace: Hillary Clinton: NATO-enforced no-fly zone to end Darfur genocide.
• On Welfare & Poverty John Edwards: Poverty in America is the cause of my life.

John Barrasso (R, WY) takes seat in US Senate: June 26 & July 2, 2007

The spirit of Wyoming filled the U.S. Senate chamber on Monday as friends, family and political leaders from the state gathered to watch incoming Sen. John Barrasso raise his right hand and promise to well and faithfully carry out his new duties. "It was just fantastic, and humbling," Barrasso said.

Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Wyoming congressman, administered the oath. Current and former Wyoming GOP Sens. Mike Enzi and Malcolm Wallop stood behind Barrasso for the ceremony. And unlike a typical swearing-in day, when supporters of numerous newly elected senators must share limited seats, Wyomingites packed the gallery.

The bittersweet day also brought memories of the late Sen. Craig Thomas, who died June 4 during treatment for leukemia and whose seat Barrasso filled.

* * *

Thomas's passing kicked into gear a bizarre selection process for his seat (thanks to the Wyoming State Constitution), in which the majority party in the state legislature (in this case the Republicans) submits three names to the governor (in this case Democrat David Freudenthal), who chooses one to hold the seat until the end of the current Congress. The seat will be contested in November 2008 (when Wyoming's entire three-seat congressional delegation will be up for grabs). And, of course, the governor would pick the name thought to be most beatable by a Democrat.

Rather than bore the reader with the details of a two-week-long convoluted process that involved a 71-member state GOP central committee (Wyoming's secular smoke-filled-room version of the College of Cardinals) casting multiple rounds of votes in a process of elimination involving 31 declared candidates (many themselves members of the central committee), suffice it to say that Governor Freudenthal ultimately chose John A. Barrasso, MD, 54, Casper orthopedic surgeon and citizen legislator of five years standing.

Michael Bloomberg (I, NYC) changes registration: June 19, 2007

With an increasingly cacophonous buzz that he's contemplating an independent run for president despite public pleas to the contrary, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a clear step toward that third-party bid on Tuesday by changing his party registration from Republican to unaffiliated. "I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City," Bloomberg said in a statement, referring to how the one-time Democrat famously changed his party registration once before to run for mayor as a Republican. "A nonpartisan approach has worked wonders in New York,"

A Bloomberg aide tells ABC News there is a four-part test for the mayor to decide whether or not he'll get into the race after the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees are chosen next spring.
1. Both party's nominees need to have unfavorable ratings at least in the 40s.
2. 70 percent of the nation needs to think the country is headed in the wrong direction, as is the case currently. We're there right now.
3. At least 60 percent of those polled need to have their minds open to a possible third-party bid.
4. Lastly, 20 percent to 25 percent need to be open to the notion of President Mike Bloomberg.

Asked about a possible Bloomberg/Schwarzenegger ticket -- as their mutual friend, billionaire investor Warren Buffet has urged -- Bloomberg said that "the governor and I never have had that conversation." Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, is prohibited from ever serving as president, though the prohibition on someone not born in America serving as vice president is less definitive.

How credible a Bloomberg candidacy would be is another matter. A former partner at Salomon Brothers and self-made media maven, Bloomberg, 65, spent $73 million of his own money in his race for mayor in 2001. Worth more than $5 billion, he could spend less than a quarter of his net worth and be more than able to compete financially. But if Bloomberg runs, he doesn't want to make a point, as did fellow billionaire Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996. He wants to win. Whether or not he ultimately thinks he can will make all the difference in the world.

2007 House coverage - incumbent voting records : June 15, 2007

This week we add coverage of the voting records of the incumbents in the U.S. House for major votes that took place from late 2006 through May 2007. Click on the House page for any incumbent member of the House to see how they voted on each of the issues below.

Sen. Craig Thomas (R, WY) dies in office: June 4 & 11, 2007

The Wyoming Republican Party is taking applications from people interested in being nominated to succeed Senator Craig Thomas. The senator died last week while undergoing treatment for leukemia.

The Republican Party Chairman says the party intends to announce on Thursday who the candidates are. The party will hold a candidates forum on Sunday. The state Republican Central Committee will meet next Tuesday to select three nominees.

Governor Dave Freudenthal will choose from the three nominees a person to fill the senate seat. The new senator will be appointed to serve until early 2009. A special election in November 2008 will determine who completes Thomas's term, which runs through 2012.

Republican primary debate: June 5, 2007

• Debate slogans:
• Ron Paul: The champion of the Constitution.
• Rudy Giuliani: Apply motto "Live free or die" to our time.
  
  
• Debate on Iraq war:
• Duncan Hunter: Read NIE before war vote (then voted for war).
• Jim Gilmore: Senators should have read NIE before war vote.
• John McCain: Did not read NIE before war vote, but was fully briefed.
• John McCain: If new strategy not working by Sept., we still must succeed.
• Mitt Romney: Right to invade Iraq, but not what came after.
• Ron Paul: We're more threatened now by staying in Iraq.
• Rudy Giuliani: Iran's danger is handing nukes over to terrorists.
• Sam Brownback: Did not read NIE before war vote, but had briefings.
• Tommy Thompson: Let Iraqis vote if US should stay; re-deploy if "no".

Democratic primary debate: June 3, 2007

• Debate on Iraq war:
• Dennis Kucinich: Overturn the Patriot Act as unconstitutional.
• Barack Obama: We live in a more dangerous world because of Bush's actions.
• Barack Obama: Focus on battle in Afghanistan and root out al Qaeda.
• Bill Richardson: De-authorize the war; withdraw during 2007.
• Chris Dodd: Pushed the issue of having a date certain for withdrawal.
• Hillary Clinton: The War on Terror is not a bumper sticker but a real war.
• Hillary Clinton: The Iraq war is Bush's war.
• Joe Biden: Rather lose elections than to lose troops' lives.
• Joe Biden: Start to draw down troops immediately and all out by '08.
• John Edwards: The War on Terror is just a bumper sticker slogan.
• John Edwards: Insist a funding bill with a troops withdrawal timetable.

Sen. Fred Thompson (R, TN) hints at announcing: May 30, 2007

Politician-turned-actor Fred Thompson plans an unconventional campaign for president using blogs, video posts and other Internet innovations to reach voters repelled by politics-as-usual in both parties, he told USA Today. Thompson, a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, has been coy about his intentions with audiences, but made clear in an interview that he plans to run.

"I can't remember exactly the point that I said, 'I'm going to do this,' " Thompson says, his 6-foot, 6-inch frame sprawled comfortably across a couch in a hotel suite. "But when I did, the thing that occurred to me: 'I'm going to tell people that I am thinking about it and see what kind of reaction I get to it.' " His late start carries some problems but also "certain advantages," he says. "Nobody has maxed out to me" in contributions, he notes, and using the Internet already "has allowed me to be in the hunt, so to speak, without spending a dime."

Thompson could reshape a GOP contest in which each of the three leaders has significant vulnerabilities and none of the seven second-tier contenders has broken through. Without formally joining the race — he's preparing to do that as early as the first week of July — Thompson already is placing third and better among Republican candidates in some national polls. Dissatisfaction among one-third of Republicans with the 2008 field has opened the door for the candidate with Thompson's folksy tone, actor's ease before an audience and conservative credentials which drew comparisons to Ronald Reagan.

Bill Richardson (D, NM) formally announces campaign: May 21, 2007

With who knows how many TV cameras rolling, Gov. Bill Richardson today will officially announce he's running for president. We can't think of anything more lackluster - we know, we know, we know already he's running. So quit with the announcements.

The event is an opportunity for Richardson to get on TV. Again. And isn't that what it's all about?

His TV blips in recent weeks [he has aired two TV commercials] appear to have helped. Our guv is up to 10 percent in Iowa, according to a Des Moines Register poll released Sunday. A Zogby poll in New Hampshire also has Richardson at 10. Cool. Just 25 percentage points more and he'll actually be a contender. However, Richardson isn't a high scorer everywhere.

Republican primary debate: May 15, 2007

• Debate on abortion:
• Mike Huckabee: "Hate abortion but allow it" is like "hate slavery but allow it."
• Rudy Giuliani: Allowing choice keeps government out of people's lives.
• Sam Brownback: Opposes abortion even for women pregnant by rapists.
  
  
• Debate on energy:
• Tom Tancredo: Global warming could be from humans, or could be nature.
• Sam Brownback: Get more biodiesel & biofuels into system to prevent $4 gas.
• Ron Paul: Close departments of Energy, Education & Homeland Security.
  
  
• Debate on torture:
• John McCain: Torture is ineffective as interrogation & for world opinion.
• Mitt Romney: Double Guantanamo, to avoid terrorist access to lawyers.
• Rudy Giuliani: Use every method you can think of to interrogate terrorists.
• Tom Tancredo: Use Jack Bauer-like methods to protect Western civilization.
• Mike Huckabee: Islamic jihadists celebrate death; we have culture of life.

Media speculates wildly about Michael Bloomberg (R, NYC): May 14, 2007

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., continues to weigh a 2008 presidential campaign, and he is hinting that he might run as an independent — perhaps in tandem with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Hagel, one of the GOP’s sharpest critics of the war in Iraq, said, “I am not happy with the Republican Party today. It has drifted from the party of Eisenhower, of Goldwater, of Reagan, the party that I joined.”

Hagel said he would decide by late summer whether to get into the presidential race. He voiced support for the notion of a third-party or independent option in 2008, saying, “I think it shakes the system up. The system needs to be shaken up.”

Hagel acknowledged he had dined earlier this month with Bloomberg, who he said “is the kind of individual who should seriously think about this. I think he is.”

Asked whether he could envision himself on a ticket with Bloomberg, Hagel replied: “It’s a great country to think about — a New York boy and a Nebraska boy to be teamed up leading this nation.”

After months of speculation that he would enter the GOP presidential primary field, Hagel called a news conference March 12 to announce he had nothing to announce. This time he spoke more enthusiastically about a third-party approach. “I think a credible third ticket, third party, would be good for the system,” he said, adding that both Republicans and Democrats “have been hijacked by the extremes of their two parties.”

Republican primary debate: May 3, 2007

• Debate on abortion:
• Mitt Romney: Was effectively pro-choice until cloning changed his opinion.
• Sam Brownback: Glorious day for human liberty when Roe v. Wade is repealed.
• Tom Tancredo: Greatest day in history when Roe v. Wade is repealed.
• Tommy Thompson: Right to abortion should be left to states.
  
  
• Debate on evolution:
• John McCain: Believes in evolution but sees hand of God in nature.
• Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee: do not believe in evolution.
  
  
• Debate on war on terror:
• Ron Paul: Non-intervention is traditional American & Republican policy.
• Mike Huckabee: Our culture of life separates us from Islamic fascists.
• Duncan Hunter: Iran's behavior gives license to US to take necessary action.
• John McCain: Iran is sponsor of terrorism; US strike if they get nukes.
• John McCain: Follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell.
• Tommy Thompson: Elect 18 Iraqi provincial governments, & share oil revenues.

Democratic primary debate: April 26, 2007

• Joe Biden on Foreign Policy: Biggest threat to US is from North Korea, Iran, & Russia.
• Hillary Clinton on Iraq: Voted for Iraq war based on available info; now would not.
• Chris Dodd on Gay Rights: Supports civil unions but opposes gay marriage.
• John Edwards on Abortion: Gov't should not decide for women on partial-birth abortion.
• Mike Gravel on War on Terror: Fighting terrorism with a war doesn't work.
• Mike Gravel on Homeland Security: US is the greatest violator of the non-proliferation treaty.
• Dennis Kucinich on Impeachment: Impeach VP Cheney for taking US into Iraq War based on lies.
• Dennis Kucinich on War on Terror: Global war on terror is pretext for aggressive war.
• Barack Obama on Civil Rights: Put the Confederate flag in a museum, not the state house.
• Barack Obama on Foreign Policy: Europe & Japan are allies, but China is a competitor.
• Barack Obama on Iraq: Iraq has distracted us from Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Bill Richardson on Energy: Sacrifice for Apollo-like program for renewable fuel.
• Bill Richardson on Foreign Policy: Being stubborn isn't a foreign policy--diplomacy is.
• Bill Richardson on Iraq: Stop funding for Iraq war-it is a disaster and must end.

Jim Gilmore (R, VA) formally announces campaign: April 26, 2007

On the day of the Democratic presidential debate, Republican Jim Gilmore entered the fray, announcing he wanted to be the 44th president of the United States. Gilmore did so just in time to be a part of this week’s GOP presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Ten will share the stage.

If one can judge a politician by his words, Gilmore seemed prepared to be the Howard Dean of the GOP this time around, as far as reaching out online. He made his announcement in Iowa, but simulcast it on the Web at his Web site. Then he talked with voters online immediately afterward. “We also have a way of talking to people that’s a little different. We’re in a position now to talk to hundreds of thousands of people directly.”

Gilmore, 57, is a former Virginia attorney general, as well as being its governor from 1998 to 2002. He pegs himself as the “one, true conservative” running.” Gilmore was chairman of the Republican National Committee Chairman in 2001, and chaired a commission to look into the country’s terror response capabilities.

At a candidates forum in Iowa recently, Gilmore referred to three top contenders at the moment as “Rudy McRomney.”

McCain (R, AZ) formally announces campaign: April 25, 2007

Today I formally began my campaign for President of the United States. I promised the American people that I would do everything I could to provide the leadership and experience to guide our nation through these difficult times.

We've begun this campaign season earlier than many Americans prefer. So soon after our last contentious election, our differences are again sure to be sharpened and exaggerated. That's the nature of free elections. But even in the heat of a campaign, we shouldn't lose sight that much more defines us than our partisanship; much more unites us than divides us. We have common purposes and common challenges, and we live in momentous times. This election should be about big things, not small ones. Ours are not red state or blue state problems. They are national and global.

We face formidable challenges, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I'm not the youngest candidate, but I am the most experienced. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how Congress works, and how to make it work for the country and not just the re-election of its members. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it. I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't. I know how to fight and how to make peace. I know who I am and what I want to do.

I don't seek the office out of a sense of entitlement. I owe America more than she has ever owed me. Thirty-four years ago, I came home from an extended absence abroad. While I was away, I fell in love with my country. I learned that's what good for America, is good enough for me. I have been an imperfect servant of my country ever since, in uniform and in office, in war and peace. I have never lived a single day, in good times or in bad, that I haven't thanked God for the privilege.

Democratic primary virtual debate: April 10, 2007

• Barack Obama: Open-ended Iraq occupation must end: no military solution.
• Bill Richardson: Iraq policy is a massive failure; Iraq is in civil war.
• Chris Dodd: Require Congressional authorization before attacking Iran.
• Dennis Kucinich: Insurgency in Iraq is being fueled by US occupation.
• Hillary Clinton: Begin re-deployment out of Iraq in 90 days.
• Joe Biden: Biden-Gelb plan: UN & Muslim powers to enforce Iraq unity.
• John Edwards: No more debate; end war by Congress defunding it. end war.

Tom Tancredo (R, CO) formally announces campaign: April 2, 2007

Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was running to be California's governor on "The Tonight Show" and back in 2004, John Edwards launched his presidential campaign on cable television's "The Daily Show." Today, a Republican candidate went on an Iowa radio station to announce he's running for president.

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said he chose "talk radio" to make his presidential campaign announcement because the medium had given voice to his call for immigration reform. "It's been about eight years that I've been in congress and I have done probably 1800 or more talk radio shows...on the issue of illegal immigration," Tancredo said this morning on WHO Radio. "...It's given me a megaphone that I never would have had. It's allows you to talk directly to the American people. There's no filter in between...and I'm convinced that it is talk radio that has allowed us to get where we are today."

Tancredo calls illegal immigration a "crisis" of enormous proportion. "We are fighting far-flung battles in lands far away from the United States and we're doing that to defend the nation," Tancredo said. "But this battle over immigration is really to define the nation."

Tancredo estimates there are as many as 20 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. today -- about six times the population of the state of Iowa. "I think that this crisis is not only an economic crisis. I think that it threatens the very idea of America," Tancredo said. "...The melting pot is cracked."

Tancredo asserts that none of the other presidential candidates are offering the right answer and too many current leaders have "forgotten" and "ignored" illegal immigration. "It's one of the most serious problems facing the country," Tancredo said. "And therefore because this field does not offer me...that particular characteristic...I am going to run for President of the United States."

Tommy Thompson (R, WI) formally announces campaign: April 1, 2007

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson officially announced his bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination Sunday, telling ABC's "This Week" he is confident about his chances. "In Iowa, the polls last week came out that I was in fifth place and moving up and at 5 percent," he said, adding that things are starting "to coalesce, and I feel very, very optimistic about my future."

The former four-term governor of Wisconsin set up a presidential exploratory committee in December and filed a statement of candidacy in January. His campaign spokesman said last month that Thompson's formal announcement would come in early April.

Thompson, a senior partner in a law firm, said he is hoping to appeal to Republicans who feel that other GOP candidates are not conservative enough on economic and social issues. "I am the reliable conservative, my record shows that," he said. "All that people have to do is look at my record, and I am one individual that they can count on."

Thompson spoke Sunday about his stance on Iraq, saying he believes a timetable for troop withdrawal, as called for by the Democrat-led Congress, would give the terrorists in Iraq an opportunity to "hunker down" and "outlast the Americans." He said he would pull out U.S. troops only at the Iraqi government's request.

Thompson also said he thinks Iraq should be set up like the United States, with Iraq's 18 territories having elected leaders that would report to a federal government. "The Shiites would elect Shiites, Sunnis would elect Sunnis, Kurds would elect Kurds, and there would be a gravitation of people going to those things, and it would reduce this terrible internecine civil war," he said.

Oil revenues, he said, should be dealt with like the state of Alaska -- one-third should go to the federal government, one-third to the territorial governments, and the remaining third split "to every man, woman and child."

Sen. Fred Thompson (R, TN) speculation heats up: March 30, 2007

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson's possible run for the GOP nomination had Nashville talking this week . The local buzz surrounding a possible Thompson presidential bid has been deafening, and the pitch has gotten even more fevered in recent days.

Evangelical leader James Dobson questioned Thompson's Christianity [in the press this week], despite his baptism in the Church of Christ. [One analyst responded that "absent a public profession of atheism or a rebuke of evangelicalism" Fred will do just fine amongst the religious right.

Publisher Steve Forbes Endorses Giuliani: March 29, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani gained the endorsement Wednesday of a former GOP candidate billionaire publisher and flat-tax proponent Steve Forbes. Forbes ran for the White House in 1996 and 2000 as a Republican pushing a flat income tax rate. The CEO of Forbes Inc., said Wednesday that Giuliani's record as mayor of New York City "showed how exercising fiscal discipline, including tax cuts, lowers deficits, spurs economic growth, and increases revenue."

Giuliani said he and Forbes share "an economic vision that embraces supply-side economics, tax relief, and spending restraint." Back in 1996 when he was mayor, Giuliani dismissed Forbes' notion of a flat-tax as a "mistake," saying "the flat tax is not for me" because it would give states and cities more authority but less resources.

Democratic primary forum: March 24, 2007

• Forum on health care:
• Barack Obama: Address minority health needs by more coverage & targeting.
• Bill Richardson: All Americans need same coverage as members of Congress.
• Chris Dodd: Examine healthcare in context of income, education, & jobs.
• Dennis Kucinich: Competition between insurers only drives up profits.
• Hillary Clinton: 1990s healthcare reforms laid groundwork for today's reforms.
• John Edwards: Universal coverage makes US business more competitve abroad.
• Mike Gravel: Single-payer health care plan via vouchers you can add to.

IAFF presidential forum: March 14, 2007

• Bipartisan Forum:
• On Homeland Security:
• Barack Obama: Get first responders the healthcare and equipment they need.
• Chris Dodd: Give troops & first responders everything they need.
• Chuck Hagel: Pay attention to 2B people in poverty, or terrorists will.
• Duncan Hunter: Arsenal of democracy is leaving our shores.
• Hillary Clinton: Fund first responders with extra $1.7 billion.
• John Edwards: End $250 registration fee for veterans getting healthcare.
• On Jobs:
• Bill Richardson: Tax credit for creating jobs paying over the prevailing wage.
• Chris Dodd: Vibrant labor movement built the American middle class.
• Joe Biden: Bush tries to strip away 100 years of labor progress.
• John Edwards: Grow the union movement; unions made great jobs great.
• On Iraq:
• Chuck Hagel: Soldiers in Iraq deserve a policy worthy of their sacrifice.
• Hillary Clinton: If Bush doesn't end Iraq war, when I'm president, I will.
• Jim Gilmore: No pullout on a date certain; support the surge.
• John McCain: Al Qaeda may take over Iraqi oilwells.
• Sam Brownback: Islamic fascists want US out and caliphate in.

McCain (R, AZ) informally announces campaign: March 1, 2007

Setting aside any doubt, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona announced Wednesday he would seek the presidential nomination. McCain, who had a presidential exploratory committee, made the declaration on the "Late Show with David Letterman." "We are going to formally announce it in early April," a top adviser told CNN.

McCain has been a staunch supporter of Bush's deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops to Iraq. McCain has said several times that he feels the war in Iraq has been mismanaged for years. Recently, the senator said Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as one of the "worst" defense secretaries in history. "We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war," McCain said in mid-February. "The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously."

McCain recently said the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned and if elected he would appoint judges who "strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench," The Associated Press reported. "I do not support Roe vs. Wade. It should be overturned," the AP quoted him as saying about the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that gave women the right to have an abortion. (Read full story)

Vilsack (D, IA) drops out of presidential race: Feb. 23, 2007

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack withdrew as a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination today, saying he could not raise enough money to compete with his nationally known rivals.

"This process has become to a great extent about money, a lot of money," Vilsack said during a late morning news conference at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines.

"And it is clear to me that we would not be able to continue to raise money in the amounts necessary to sustain, not just a campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, but a campaign across this country," he said. "So it is money and only money that is the reason we are leaving today."

The news ends Vilsack's bid less than four months after he launched a federal campaign organization on Nov. 9.

Polls showed Vilsack trailing three better-known candidates in Iowa, scheduled to host the leadoff presidential nominating caucuses in less than 11 months.

Vilsack raised more than $1 million between his campaign launch in November and the end of the year, most of which came in a fund-raiser held in Des Moines during his ceremonial kickoff week.

Mitt Romney (R, MA) formally announces campaign: Feb. 13, 2007

Promising to build "a new American dream," Mitt Romney launched his bid to become the nation's 44th president yesterday by casting himself as an optimistic and forward-thinking Washington outsider with the experience and vision to lead the country into a new age of innovation.

Despite the bloody war in Iraq, a growing nuclear threat from Iran, and the ongoing specter of terrorism, he said, Americans should be bullish about their future. But he warned that the country would overcome its challenges only by adhering to traditional Republican values of limited government, lower taxes, military power, and strong families.

"Our hopes and dreams will inspire us, for Americans are an optimistic people," Romney said to friends, family, and supporters gathered at the Henry Ford Museum, which celebrates the automotive pioneer. "But hope alone is just crossing fingers, when what we need is industrious hands. It's time for hope and action. It's time to do, as well as to dream."

It's been clear for more than two years that Romney was preparing a run for the presidency. He created a political action committee in 2004 to help finance his early politicking around the country, and since then he's showered local GOP candidates and organizations with campaign contributions, carefully crafted his speeches and public appearances to appeal to national GOP audiences, and built deep grass-roots organizations in key primary states.

Barack Obama (D, IL) formally announces campaign: Feb. 10, 2007

Democrat Barack Obama declared himself a candidate Saturday for the White House in 2008, evoking Abraham Lincoln's ability to unite a nation and promising to lead a new generation as the country's first black president. The first-term senator announced his candidacy from the state capital where he began his elective career just 10 years ago, and in front of the building where in another century, Lincoln served eight years in the Illinois Legislature. "We can build a more hopeful America," Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery. "And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States."

Obama did not mention his family background, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia or that he would make history if elected president. Instead, he focused on his life in Illinois over the past two decades, beginning with a job as a community organizer with a $13,000-a-year salary that strengthened his Christian faith.

He said the struggles he saw people face inspired him to get a law degree and run for the Legislature, where he served eight years before becoming a U.S. senator just two years ago. "I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness, a certain audacity, to this announcement," Obama said. "I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. "Each and every time, a new generation has risen up and done what's needed to be done," he said. "Today we are called once more - and it is time for our generation to answer that call."

Rudy Giuliani (R, NYC) files FEC presidential campaign papers: Feb. 5, 2007

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani stepped closer to a formal bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 by filing new paperwork that signals he's moving beyond testing the waters for a run. A campaign spokeswoman confirmed that Giuliani, 62, is filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He had already formed a committee to explore a White House run, and the change puts him in line with Republican rivals including Arizona Senator John McCain.

Polls show that Giuliani would enter the race as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, helped by the nationwide praise he earned in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Even so, his support for issues such as abortion rights and gun control may hurt him with the Republican activists who dominate the primary-election process.

In his new FEC filing, Giuliani will take out the phrase "testing the waters," a term that allows politicians to explore a candidacy without needing to identify donors, the AP said, citing an unidentified official close to the campaign. Giuliani already has raised $1.4 million and had $1 million in the bank as of the end of the year, according to FEC filings. One of the biggest single sources of funds for the former mayor was the New York-based hedge fund Elliott Associates. Its employees and their spouses contributed at least $50,400, according to the filings.

Giuliani, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, currently is chairman of Giuliani Partners, a security consulting company he started in 2002.

Sen. Joe Biden (D, DE) announces presidential campaign: Jan. 31, 2007

Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. Wednesday officially launched his well-expected candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. It’s a bid predicated on one major assumption: that the race will focus greatly on Iraq and other international trouble spots, putting a high priority on candidates’ foreign policy credentials. And foreign policy experience is something that Biden —chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and scathing critic of how President Bush has handled the war in Iraq — can claim without contradiction.

Though Biden’s October 2002 vote to authorize Bush to launch military action against Iraq could be a sore point among some hardline antiwar Democratic activists, Biden has since declared that his vote was a mistake. He is far better known today for his outspoken criticism of the administration’s handling of the war. Biden is the chief sponsor of a non-binding Senate resolution — approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in a largely party-line vote earlier this month — that criticizes Bush’s plan to deploy additional troops to Iraq. That measure declares that it’s “not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq.” Biden supports restructuring Iraq into a loose federation of autonomous Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni regions in an effort to reduce the fierce sectarian tensions that erupted after the U.S.-driven downfall of dictator Saddam Hussein, have caused widespread and often horrific violence, and have stunted efforts to reconstruct Iraq into a functioning society. “I would respectfully suggest to you that the Democrats out there understand I am the only person with a plan that can get out of Iraq without our interests in the region not falling apart,” Biden said during the conference call.

This is, in fact, Biden’s second venture into presidential politics, though his bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination was troubled-plagued and brief. Biden joined a wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. He had success raising money, and in the summer of 1987 was moving up in the polls in Iowa, host of the precinct caucuses that traditionally kick off the nominating season. But Biden withdrew from the race in September 1987, as his campaign became consumed by allegations of plagiarism that were disseminated by a campaign aide to a rival contender, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis (who went on to win the nomination but lose the general election to Republican George H.W. Bush). Biden acknowledged that he borrowed material without attribution for a paper he wrote as a law student and that he had quoted some political figures without attribution in some of his presidential campaign speeches. In withdrawing from the contest, Biden said that he had made “mistakes” and that the “exaggerated shadow of those mistakes has begun to obscure the essence of my candidacy and the essence of Joe Biden.” In years since, Biden has drawn defenders who say the plagiarism claim was blown out of proportion and should not be considered a factor on his political resume. “I was very naive the last time I ran,” Biden said in the conference call. “And secondly, it was a very different world in which I was running last time.”

Gov. Mike Huckabee (R, AR) announces presidential campaign: Jan. 28, 2007

Blurring the traditional lines of partisanship, conservative Mike Huckabee launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination with a swipe at President Bush and a friendly nod to fellow Arkansan Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The former Arkansas governor assigned Bush some of the blame for failing to deliver on a 2000 campaign promise to be “a uniter, not a divider” and ease polarization in Washington. “I’m not sure that this administration really listened and responded to different points of view,” Huckabee said in a written interview with HOTSOUP.com, a politically minded social networking site. “Republicans were expected to follow without question and Democrats were ignored and therefore felt slighted.”

Huckabee, a Baptist minister who hopes to win support among social conservatives, passed up a chance to take a jab at two favorite targets of the right – Bill and Hillary Clinton. Would she be a good president? “We could do worse,” Huckabee replied, “but the good news is that we could do better and that’s why I’m running. I do think it’s a huge mistake for Republicans to hope she’s the nominee for they will underestimate her at their peril.” Did he ever vote for Bill Clinton as governor or president? “Never did,” replied Huckabee who, like the former president, was born in Hope, Ark. “Regardless of politics, one has to have respect for the fact that Bill Clinton overcame tremendous challenges in his upbringing through a turbulent childhood and yet was able – not once, but twice – to be elected president. He embodies the American dream and we should never take that from him.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R, CA) announces presidential campaign: Jan. 25, 2007

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, made his presidential bid official Thursday in South Carolina. "My fellow Americans, with the support of our families, with faith in God and with the goodness of the American people let's begin this race for the American presidency and let's win," Hunter said at a breakfast event in Spartanburg.

Hunter has allies with deep pockets in South Carolina. His supporters include textile magnate Roger Milliken, who supports Hunter's promise to protect U-S manufacturers. Hunter also is a strong foe of illegal immigration, an issue that plays well in South Carolina.

Hunter is a 14-term conservative and set up a presidential exploratory committee just last week. He announced his intentions in October and, since then, has been making the rounds in the early primary states that include Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

John Kerry bows out of race: Jan. 24, 2007

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats' losing presidential candidate in 2004, does not intend to run again in 2008. Kerry intends to seek a new six-year term in the Senate.

Kerry, 64, who lost the White House when Ohio voted for President Bush by 118,601 votes on election night in November 2004, was attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting and unavailable for comment. His decision leaves a field of nine Democrats running or signaling their intention to do so, including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, and Kerry's 2004 running mate John Edwards. The Republican field has a similar number with Bush constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

Kerry's 2004 campaign drew widespread criticism from fellow Democrats after his defeat. His critics said he had failed to make a forceful enough response to Republican criticism as well as charges by conservative groups that he did not deserve the medals he won for combat in the Vietnam War.

The Massachusetts senator stirred unhappy memories for Democrats last fall, when he botched a joke and led Republicans to accuse him of attacking U.S. troops in Iraq. He apologized, then hastily scrapped several days of campaigning for fellow Democrats as party leaders urged him to avoid becoming an unwanted issue in a campaign they were on the way to winning.

Polls showed Kerry trailing his Democratic rivals. Last October, an Associated Press-AOL News poll had Kerry at just 1 percent and recent surveys indicated he had gained little among Democrats. In a CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday, 51 percent of Democrats said they would not like to see Kerry run in 2008. When asked who they would support, only 5 percent said Kerry, placing him fifth and far behind leader Clinton at 33 percent.