Howard Fineman of Newsweek takes a look at whether Rudy Giuliani will run for President in 2008. Just the thought makes me cringe.

I hope he decides against it. He has nothing to offer except more of the same and worse than we've endured the last four years.

I'm not taking a Rudy candidacy seriously at this point. For one thing, he's touted as a social liberal (have they never looked at his civil liberties record as Mayor of New York?) because he has supported choice and gays in the past -- and that will make him unacceptable to hard core rightists.

More importantly, personal politics and ethics still count in the heartland and he'll never get past his Donna Hanover divorce issues and her allegations of infidelity and humiliation. His attempt to take credit for the drop in crime in New York will be revealed to be not his doing, but Bill Bratton's. Their long standing feud will play out. Rudy's support of Bernie Kerik for HSA chief will come back to haunt him and reflect poorly on his judgment when it comes to making cabinet appointments. Even many of the 9/11 victims don't support him.

by Last Night in Little Rock

While some people are, up their sleeve, saying that Jon Stewart should run for President in 2008, most Americans do not know that "The Daily Show, Global Edition" runs on CNN International on Sundays at 11:30 am GMT. It shows the high points of the previous week's shows. It has been on CNN International for over a year.

When CNN International only carries Larry King and the Daily Show, at least an American on the road can find some connection to the farce that is American politics.

Avedon Carol at Sideshow weighs in on last week's policy study (pdf) which said Dems can't win unless they become more centrist and less left.

I'm sick and tired of being told the base is too far left. What does the base believe in? Universal health care, universal education, safe and fair employment, a healthy economy that provides good jobs, regulation to prevent corporations from defrauding us, care for our environment.

I hate these kind of reports. Two "intellectuals" from the Clinton centrist era have issued a new report saying the only way Democrats can win is to abandon liberalism and take a centrist position like Clinton did in 1992. As an example, they give this:

They suggest that Democratic presidential candidates replicate Clinton's tactics in 1992, when he broke with the party's liberal base by approving the execution of a semi-retarded prisoner, by challenging liberal icon Jesse L. Jackson and by calling for an end to welfare "as we know it."

Who cares whether Democrats win if they are just Republicans in sheep's clothing? Why be a member of a party if its values aren't your values?

Conservative lawyer-blogger Beldar discusses the New York Times Magazine's puff piece today on New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, which posits that maybe the Dems need Sptizer on their 2008 national ticket. Spitzer is likely to be New York's next Governor.

....is Spitzerism useful only in the narrow context of Democratic law-enforcement officials running for higher office? Or is there, lurking somewhere in Spitzer's experience, an approach that Democrats around the country could mine for political success?

Beldar wonders whether Spitzer might make it on to an Edwards ticket in 2008. My answer is no, happily he won't. No way is Sptizer ready for a national ticket. He could be in line for the Attorney General spot in a Democratic Administration though.

Via Daily Kos: Right now with 5,000 votes it would be a Clark-Feingold ticket.

Update: Final poll results are here.

The Wall St. Journal (free article) reports that Republicans are unlikely to oppose Bush over the War in Iraq:

National security remains a potent unifying issue for Mr. Bush's political coalition, he retains overwhelming personal popularity among Republicans, and the party's leading candidate to succeed him strongly backs the nation's continued presence in Iraq.

"We can't afford to lose," says Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a maverick on other issues, but a Bush ally on Iraq. While "there's nervousness" among Republicans, he says "I do not see any significant erosion or inclination to jump ship."

So, John McCain is the leading candidate to replace Bush? We're in deep trouble. Suburban Guerilla points out this Arizona Star interview with McCain in which he supported teaching intelligent design:

On Tuesday, though, he sided with the president on two issues that have made headlines recently: teaching intelligent design in schools and Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who has come to personify the anti-war movement. McCain told the Star that, like Bush, he believes "all points of view" should be available to students studying the origins of mankind.

Actor Christopher Walken is running for President in 2008.

"Our great country is in a terrible downward spiral. We're outsourcing jobs, bankrupting social security, and losing lives at war. We need to focus on what's important-- paying attention to our children, our citizens, our future. We need to think about improving our failing educational system, making better use of our resources, and helping to promote a stable, safe, and tolerant global society. It's time to be smart about our politics. It's time to get America back on track."

Here's the press release, his bio and his platform.

Update: The Technologist says the website may be a fake. [hat tip Patriot Daily]

Speaking at the Aspen Institute, journalist and author Bob Woodward told the audience that he thinks Dick Cheney will run for President in 2008. Cheney will be 67. Woodward says Nixon was 68 when he ran, and Reagan was 69.

I thought Presidents were limited to two terms.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said on CBS's Face the Nation today he intends to run for President. (Crooks and Liars has the video.)

Democratic U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden said on Sunday he intends to run for president in 2008, two decades after he dropped out of the race amid charges he plagiarized a British politician's speech.... Biden campaigned for the 1988 Democratic nomination but withdrew early in the race after charges he plagiarized parts of a speech by British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock and exaggerated his academic record.

Joe Biden also brought us the Rave Act and has been a supporter of increased rights for law enforcement and wiretapping. He won't get our support. Here's his voting record on issues of import:

• Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Rated 60% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
• Rated 36% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003)

Biden also brought us this bill:

The California State Democratic Convention took place this weekend. CVCobb01 live-blogged Wesley Clark's speech and sat next to Clark's media advisor. He reports that Clark all but announced he is running in 2008 - enough so that he feels comfortable presenting it as fact:

I was going to put a question mark in the title after talking with General Clark's media advisor Eric. But I didn't hear the question mark. None of us did. I believe Clark announced his candidacy.

Ezra Klein is very enthusiastic about a Clark 2008 run: