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I want to talk with you today about The American Dream we share -- its powerful history, its current condition, and most importantly, its urgent need for rebuilding.
It's been a while since I've spoken to your group but I think I can safely say that I am still the only person ever elected to statewide office in Virginia with a union card, two Purple Hearts, and three tattoos.
For the next few days, we're going to present the full text of speeches given by Democratic candidates for president. We did this back in 2007, and we still feel it's an important thing to do.
Yes, it's strange but true -- Donald Trump is now a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. That's a pretty breathtaking place for the Republican Party to find itself in, isn't it? But it cannot be denied. Trump is sucking so much oxygen from the nomination race, it's a wonder any of the other candidates are still drawing breath. Trump is not only the major subject all other candidates get asked about in interviews, he's also been climbing in the polling. Oh, sure, some of that is likely just name recognition, but not all of it. Like it or not (for the Republican Party), Trump's views on immigration are resonating with a certain slice of the party's base. This doesn't exactly bode well for any attempt by the Republican Party to reach out to Latino voters, of course.
Donald Trump is truly the gift that keeps on giving. For Democrats, that is. Democrats wake up every day to hear what Trump has recently said, and it's like a big old birthday present each time.
Is Donald Trump the new face of the Republican Party? While this notion would have seemed downright ludicrous a few months ago, it is now being seriously contemplated on both sides of the aisle. Granted, Democrats are a lot happier about this prospect than many Republicans are, for the simple fact that it leads to the question of what a debate with Donald Trump in it is going to sound like -- which is pretty much a dream scenario for Democrats and a nightmare for those Republicans who care about the future direction of their party.
The Democratic presidential field is shaping up into a one-on-one contest, at least at this early stage of the race. While Jim Webb, Martin O'Malley, and Lincoln Chafee are all now official candidates, none of them has managed to either distinguish themselves much or garner much of any voter support. Which leaves Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as the only two candidates capable of pulling in double-digit polling numbers among Democratic voters. Well, to be absolutely accurate, there are three Democrats who routinely manage this feat, but so far Joe Biden hasn't indicated whether he'll run or not. For now, it's Hillary versus Bernie, and the next few weeks could considerably sharpen up this contest.
It's officially a holiday since tomorrow's the nation's birthday and all, but since this column took a vacation last week, we thought we'd better get a new column out today. After all, it's been an eventful two weeks!
This week, the 18th and 19th people running for president announced their candidacies. Chris Christie became the 14th Republican candidate running, while Jim Webb became the fifth Democrat to enter the race. These announcements won't even be the final ones of this election cycle, as everyone fully expects both Scott Walker and John Kasich to also throw their hats into the Republican ring. I have to admit, though, that the sheer number of candidates has worn me down. I have what could be called "candidate fatigue" at this point. It's tiring even keeping track of this big a pack, and even though the campaign has barely begun in earnest, I'm already exhausted.
Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, just became the 13th Republican candidate for president. Whether this will prove to be lucky or unlucky remains to be seen. Even though the field is already incredibly crowded, Jindal will not be the last Republican to announce -- there are at least two other contenders who will likely jump in (Scott Walker and Chris Christie), with the possibility of a few more longshot candidates as well. The more crowded the field gets, the harder it is going to be for any one of them to stand out, which is precisely Jindal's main problem.