President George W. Bush?s second term has been riddled with embarrassment, controversy and plummeting approval ratings.
First there was the CIA leak scandal in which members of Vice President Dick Cheney?s staff were implicated. Then there was the revelation of a secret domestic wiretapping program that turned republicans against their commander in chief.
Bush?s nomination of Harriet Meiers for the Supreme Court further divided the party and it eventually failed to get approval from the Senate.
Smaller embarrassments like Bush?s inability to open a door and Cheney?s hunting accident in which he shot his friend have contributed to the president?s falling popularity.
Most recently, Bush suffered another embarrassment when CIA Director Porter Goss resigned. To make matters worse, Bush nominated a general to replace him, drawing even more criticism from his own party.
Democrats should be chomping at the bit to get to 2008. The Republicans are divided and the presidency will be up for grabs. There?s only one problem. Who, among the democrats, has the reach to grab it?
New York Senator Hillary Clinton seems to be the front-runner for the Democratic nomination so far. Forget the fact that the country just might not be ready to elect a female president, like it or not. Clinton bears the burden of her name. There?s a large portion of people in both parties that never want to hear ?president? and ?Clinton? used in the same sentence ever again.
Past candidates John Kerry, John Edwards, Al Gore and Howard Dean might run. They definitely have name recognition, but they all have a lot of baggage attached to those names. After all, they?ve all failed before.
Maybe Illinois Senator Barack Obama will make the grab. He?s relatively young, charismatic and extremely intelligent. Once again though, like it or not, this country might not be ready to elect an African-American president.
What the Democrats wouldn?t give for a pre-Monica Bill Clinton-type.
After all, the Republicans have one in John McCain. He?s popular across party lines. He?s seen as a war hero, but seems to be pretty skeptical about the current conflict. He?s got everything a candidate needs to win. If the Democrats want to come out ahead in 2008 they might want to consider asking McCain to switch teams.