The undecideds

Time to take stock of those who can't seem to make up their minds about their presidential ambitions.

Joe Biden: Biden is currently best known for successfully pusing the "Rave Bill", a clumsy attack on the Ecstacy culture, by attaching it to the worthwhile Amber Alert bill. Not exactly the best environment from which to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination.

Otherwise, there appears to be little in the way of buzz or other indication pointing to a possible Biden run, other than the fact he hasn't ruled it out. Still, Biden is the weakest of the undeclareds and would have the most negligible impact.

Wesley Clark: As everyone here already knows, he's my favorite in this race. He's solid on national security, well-spoken, presidential, pro-choice, pro-gun, pro-affirmative action, anti-PATRIOT Act, and believes strongly that the government should provide for the less fortunate amongst us.

But is he running?

Everything I've heard is that he's 50/50 on a run, and that a decision would be forthcoming after the war. However, the war ended quickly and still no decision. Clark probably has a lot of issues to sort -- his CNN punditry, family, fundraising, organization, etc. A presidential run is not something to be taken lightly, especially by someone with no other electoral experience (there is a learning curve). However, the window of opportunity is closing. The public's attention, once riveted by war, is now turning to other matters. And given the first primary is only nine months away, the elections will soon take center stage.

Gary Hart: The early word was that he didn't have the money, but recent steps seem to suggest that a) he does have money, or b) it doesn't matter. It looks like a run is imminent. Volunteers at several college campuses have started recruiting volunteer interns to help ramp up their organization (a good way to do it on the cheap). While the first of these emails, leaked earlier this week, drew a careful denial from the Hart camp, the fact that so many of these are surfacing points to a coordinated recruitment effort.

And why recruit if you aren't going to run?

Posted April 18, 2003 07:29 AM | Comments (63)