New Hampshire is a quiet state known for its beautiful mountains and quiet wilderness. So why is New Hampshire getting so much news lately?
It is campaign time and the candidates for the race are out of the starting gate, early in 2007.
But it’s nearly 600 days until Election Day.
The New Hampshire and Iowa primaries were traditionally the first, but in 2008 many others including New Jersey, are moving their primaries up in an effort to become part of the attention grabbing race.
The buzz of next year’s race has been increasing and many of the potential candidates are grabbing campaign dollars.
American politics has become a pricey operation.
Hillary Clinton is estimated to raise $60 million by the end of 2007, in addiction to the $14 million that she has left over from her last Senate campaign.
Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have formed exploratory committees as a means of fundraising without declaring that they are officially running.
John Edwards was the first of the main candidates to officially declare his candidacy to bring attention to the government’s role in the Katrina disaster, doing so in New Orleans. Clinton and Barak Obama soon followed, both with announcements in their home states.
Giuliani and McCain have already formed exploratory committees. Giuliani might want to get the support of rich New York Independents before Clinton does. Mitt Romney has announced his candidacy in Detroit which has taken its fair share of economic hits. Perhaps, Romney announced his intentions because he needed to show his seriousness, if he wants to compete with Giuliani and McCain.
Nobody would sit back and watch others grab money and support if they wanted it more. When a late-blooming candidate goes on the campaign trail they would be greeted with “well I already told that person who was in Nashua last week and they got my vote.”
The ironic part about the amount of early actions is that many of the candidates are basing their platforms on past efforts that will never change.
Giuliani continues to tell fundraisers and supporters his accounts of 9/11; a wave that he continues to test, to see how far it will take him. Obama talks about stories of his childhood and Clinton talks about her husband’s administration.
Even the third string candidates like Edwards and Romney made announcements in two disaster zones that are not the topic of breaking news.
The fact that seven members of the U.S. Senate are running for president, many of which are the most powerful, makes you wonder who is working down there.
Will the flame burn out early or will the intensity just escalate?
With the most coveted office in the U.S. up for grabs it makes sense that everybody is ready to run the trail. Maybe they just think they can do better than the current president, because that’s not a tough act to follow.
This is the first presidential race in 56 years not to have an incumbent of either the president or vice president. With no obvious choice in mind, extra effort has to compensate the extra competition.
With a field of heavyweights in this race, it will take a lot of money, new stories and stamina to stay on course for the Oval Office.
Maybe now would be a good time to book a hotel room in New Hampshire for next January.
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