It is never too early to look ahead to the next presidential election.  The US is in a pretty rare situation in 2008 as both the Democrats and the Republicans (let’s save the debate about the merits of a two-party system for another post) do not have an incumbent candidate.  This assumes that Dick “The Firearms Expert” Cheney listens to his heart (oh yes, I went there) and does not run.  So, though I’m late to the game compared to many wonks and would-be wonks, it’s time to start speculating about prospective candidates.

First, for the Dems…  Some of my early picks include:

1.  Hillary Clinton – A very polarizing figure, but a heckuva fundraiser with a national profile and the support staff to fight a good fight.  Here’s betting that she’d have a tougher time with a national election than the Democratic primary…

2.  Mark Warner – As a Virginian I’m partial to our ex-governor because he delivers results.  He also delivered red-state Virginia into another 4 years of Democratic control in the form of Gov. Tim Kaine.  Could he do the same nationwide?

3.  Bill Richardson – An Hispanic candidate with great credentials (New Mexico governor, UN representative, etc.) who could do well with the growing Spanish-speaking population in particular.

4.  Tom Vilsack – Umm… I mean, the caucuses are in Iowa, so that’s helpful.  And he’s pretty popular.  But, could he change his name???

5.  Russ Feingold – The most liberal of these candidates, the Wisconsin senator is a fave in my book.  But he seems to be on the backburner right now.

Oh there are others, and I’ll write about them soon, but for now I’m bored.