ARTICLE: “White House hopefuls, activists are stirring: Political teams assemble in key states,” by Susan Page and Jill Lawrence, USA Today, 8 February 2006, p. 5A.

Yikes! A sad list of candidates on both sides. Frankly, only Hillary, McCain and Kerry seem heavyweights.

Kerry is one simply because he returns. Clinton is clearly one. McCain is the only celebrity the GOP has.

But all come with such baggage. Meanwhile, the lightweights are truly lite!

My name-association responses (GOP):

George Allen: Puh-leaze!

Sam Brownback: Impressive guy and amazingly practical given his intense faith, but I doubt an avowed evangelical can win even a nomination right now, despite the fact that Brownback would certainly rise above the designation.

Bill Frist: Zero excitement factor. As a Democrat, hard not to cheer him on.

Newt Gingrich: Smart as all get-out, but way too many enemies. I would expect to see him in a cabinet, though. Seriously.

Rudy Guliani: Possibly quite strong—as a Democrat. He’d lose the GOP base.

Chuck Hagel: You have to wonder here. Bit of a bridge-burner in his party. I find him off-putting and sort of arrogant, and yet I think he’s talented enough to overcome perceptions. Hard to dismiss, I guess, which is a strong sign this early.

Mike Huckabee: I have no idea how someone this unknown pulls it off. Running for something other than president, in my mind.

John McCain: The anger thing will be his downfall. Just a time bomb waiting to go off. Napoleonic complex since birth, so yeah, I’m saying he’s too short to be president.

George Pataki: Competent but too NY-ish. Just don’t see it. Tall, though.

Mitt Romney: Possibly quite strong. Big question on the Mormon thing. Hard to say, thus.

Now the Dems:

Evan Bayh: Needs to grow up quickly. First impressions do not impress me. Comes off as lightweight trying too hard to seem tough and commanding. If he’s so smart, he better start showing it more, and stop reading so obviously from scripts.

Joseph Biden: So amazingly off-putting. Totally a vanity ride. Very depressing to consider him as SECSTATE.

Wes Clark: Zero excitement. Doesn’t have a political bone in his body. Confuses mastering the art of political general with that of general politics. Too smart in intellect, and he knows it. Being president is a people skill he does not have.

Hillary Clinton: I just wish Emma Thompson could play her in the presidency. That would seal the deal for me. Tough enough and smart enough to pull it off. Just such a weird story, and that alone makes it so American. She is the first candidate I have ever considered giving money to—seriously. I’m just excited to watch the ride, no matter how it works out.

John Edwards: I really think he won’t wear well, and the natural confusion between him and Bayh will cancel each other out. I don’t know why I have no sympathy for him. He’s really pretty good and a great campaigner, but I have low expectations. Just don’t see him as presidential enough for now and can’t imagine what changes that perception.

Russ Feingold: Just too off-putting. You’d think I’d cheer the Wisconsin guy, but for now, I find him very hard to warm up to. He may surprise in debates and other public performances, but I think he’s just too left to win the general election.

John Kerry: I continue to think he’s smart as hell. Will be very interesting to see Hillary and he go at it. Good for the party to have a tough regular season, I think. Just not sure what will light the fire under his ass this time that didn’t last time. Then again, the regret factor on Bush may do that for him in the eyes of enough voters.

Bill Richardson: Don’t see it happening, despite his obvious charisma. Think he is first Hispanic (okay, “half-Hispanic”) national candidate though—for VP.

Tom Vilsack: It would have to be a war of attrition and self-destruction among the Dems for this guy to emerge. Not impossible, but not likely.

Mark Warner: Intrigues many. May quickly surpass Bayh as “thinking man’s” favorite dark horse. He’s such a break from the fear and loathing atmosphere of current admin, with his Clinton-like focus on bright futures, that he may quickly emerge as alternative to whoever survives the Kerry-Clinton wars.

Whew! Fun and completely impressionistic. Like picking Oscar winners in August.

Gotta tell you, though. Feel better for Dems than GOP on basis of talent. Might actually balance the GOP’s usual edge in organization, although hard to get much closer than last two elections, yes? So the talent factor may be big.