Democratic
Presidential Candidates |
Hillary
Clinton |
New
York Senator |
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Born:
10-26-47, Chicago, Illinois.
Experience:
8 years as First Lady.
8 years United States Senator.
Books:
It Takes a Village.
Living History. |
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Senator Hillary Clinton
has spent much of her adult life in politics.
At age 16 Hillary Rodham campaigned for
Republican presidential candidate Barry
Goldwater and was president of the Wellesley
College Chapter of the College Republicans.
In the late 60's she changed her point
of view and became a Democrat. She went
on to graduate from Yale Law School. She
joined the presidential impeachment inquiry
staff advising the Judiciary Committee
of the United States House of Representatives
during the Watergate Scandal. She married
Bill Clinton and eventually became Arkansas'
First Lady, but she continued to practice
law with the Rose Law Firm. In 1988 and
1991 the National Law Journal named Clinton
one of the 100 most influential lawyers
in America. In 1993 she became the nation's
first lady and was in charge of the failed
Clinton health care plan. In 2000 she
was elected to the United States Senate
from New York defeating Rick Lazzio 55.27%
to 43.01% and won reelection in a 2006
landslide. She voted for the Iraq War,
but currently stands for a major change
of course. Clinton currently serves on
the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Hillary
Clinton
official web site |
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John
Edwards |
Former
Senator |
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Born:
06-10-53, Seneca, South Carolina.
Experience:
2004 Vice-presidential candidate.
6 years United States Senator.
Books:
Four Trials. |
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Former Senator John Edwards
grew up in middle class North Carolina as
the "son of a mill worker". He
earned his law degree from the University
of North Carolina and became a personal
injury trial attorney. He represented families
and children, specializing in corporate
negligence and medical malpractice claims.
Edwards entered politics in 1998 after the
tragic death of his son and won election
to the U.S. Senate knocking off the incumbent
Republican, Senator Lauch Faircloth 51.2%
to 47.0%. Edwards served on the U.S. Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence and U.S.
Senate Committee on Judiciary. As a Senator,
he voted for the the Iraq War Resolution
and has recently admitted it was a mistake.
In 2000 Edwards ran for president and came
in second in the Iowa Caucus behind John
Kerry with a strong 32% of the vote. He
later dropped out and eventually was picked
by John Kerry as the Democratic Vice-Presidential
nominee.
John
Edwards official web site |
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Joe
Biden |
Delaware
Senator |
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Born:
11-20-42,
Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Experience:
3 New Castle County Council.
34
years United States Senator.
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The experienced senator
has serves as the Foreign Relations Committee,
Chair. Biden ran for president in 1988
but withdrew when it was alleged that
he had failed a 1965 introductory law
school course on legal methodology due
to plagiarism. Little of the incident
is made of today. He was instrumental
in the U.S. involvement in the Balkans
in the 1990's. He is in known for calling
Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic a "war
criminal." He fought for lifting
the arms embargo, NATO air strikes, training
Bosnian Muslims and investigating war
crimes. Biden's "lift and strike"
resolution helped lead to President Bill
Clinton's use of military force to end
the conflict. Voted for the war though
his resolution with Republican Senator
Richard Lugar which authorized military
action only after all diplomatic efforts
had been exhausted failed to pass. Has
always argued we need more troops in Iraq,
but now says it may be too late and only
a political solution will work. Has spoke
often of the idea of partitioning Iraq
into the mostly-autonomist states of Iraq.
Joe
Biden official web site |
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Barack
Obama |
Illinois Senator |
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Born:
06-06-61, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Experience:
6 years Illinois State Senate.
2 years United States Senator.
Books:
Dreams of my Father.
The Audacity of Hope. |
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Senator
Barrack Obama has come from nowhere
to establish himself as a legitimate
Democratic candidate for president.
His story includes a African father
who was born in Kenya and was a
goat herder and a Caucasian mother
born in the heartland, Wichita,
Kansas. Both parents were highly
educated as is Obama who graduated
from Harvard Law School. Before
coming back to America, Obama lived
in Jakarta, Indonesia where he attended
Basuki school in Jakarta from ages
6 to 10, where classes were taught
in the Indonesian language. His
father died in a car crash when
Obama was 21, and his mother died
of cancer in 1995. Obama gained
national recognition for becoming
the first African American to be
elected president of the Harvard
Law Review. He was sprung into the
United States political eye when
hey gave the key note speech at
the 2004 Democratic Convention.
Obama said, "The pundits like
to slice-and-dice our country into
Red States and Blue States; Red
States for Republicans, Blue States
for Democrats. But I've got news
for them too. We worship an awesome
God in the Blue States, and we don't
like federal agents poking around
in our libraries in the Red States.
We coach Little League in the Blue
States and yes, we got some gay
friends in the Red States. There
are patriots who opposed the war
in Iraq and patriots who supported
the war in Iraq. We are one people,
all of us pledging allegiance to
the stars and stripes, all of us
defending the United States of America".
Barack
Obama official web site |
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Christopher
Dodd |
Senator
Connecticut |
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Born:
05-27-44,
Willimantic, Connecticut
Experience:
6 Years United States Congress.
27
years Iowa State Senator.
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He
graduated with a bachelor's degree
in English Literature from Providence
College, served in the Peace Corps
in the Dominican Republic where
he became fluent in Spanish. Dodd
also served in the U.S. Army Reserve,
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's second congressional
district, Dodd was part of the "Watergate
class of '74". He was reelected
twice. He served on the House Select
Committee on Assassinations.
Dodd has severed in the Senate since
1980. He has served as General Chairman
of the Democratic National Committee.
Dodd voted in favor of the Iraq
War Resolution in 2002. He is now
against the war. He voted in the
Senate against continued funding
for the Iraq war.
Christopher
Dodd official web site
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Bill
Richardson |
New
Mexico
Governor |
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Born:
11-15-47,
Pasadena, California.
Experience:
15 years United States Congress.
1 year U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
2 years Secretary of Energy.
5
years New Mexico Governor.
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The
governor has a great resume with both
state governing and world political experience.
He brokered an agreement between President
al-Bashir and leaders of several rebel
factions in the Darfur region in Sudan
to a 60-day cease-fire, though it never
became materialized. Richardson has been
nominated four times for the Nobel Peace
Prize. He was selected by President Bill
Clinton to be Ambassador to the United
Nations and then the Secretary of Energy.
His tenure at Energy was tainted by the
Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal.
Richardson is the only Hispanic Governor
in the United States. As governor he passed
a broad personal income tax cut. He also
cut $230 million in bureaucratic waste
and invested in new opportunities for
New Mexico's children. He is a long shot
in Iowa, but is probably looking for a
vice-presidential nomination.
Bill
Richardson official web site
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