(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm)

Senator John McCain starts the 2008 contest as one of the leading GOP hopefuls. He built up a solid media following, and much public good will, during his failed insurgent run for President in 2000 against George W. Bush. Since then, McCain has seemingly moved back and forth between “straight-talking” insurgent and loyal GOP conservative. He loyally campaigned for Bush’s 2004 re-election even though he was friendly with fellow Vietnam War veteran John Kerry (and even went so far, along with Chuck Hagel, as defending Kerry’s war record and denouncing the Swift Boat Vet attacks). He briefly flirted with being Kerry’s VP runningmate as part of some unspecified national unity ticket against Bush-Cheney in 2004 - but then publicly said he wasn’t interested and began actively campaigning for Bush. With his heroic Vietnam War credentials, McCain is a Republican who can talk about the Iraq War from the perspective of someone who fought in past wars. That said, McCain’s current proposal - calling for a massive immediate increase in the number of US soldiers in Iraq—is not a very popular stance. He also walks a dangerous tightrope on some hot button social issues like gay rights: he opposes gay marriage but opposes the constitutional amendment to ban it, seems to support allowing states to recognize civil unions, all the while courting the support of both pro-gay rights activist and the Religious Right. Pundits are sharply split: one camp says the nomination is McCain’s to lose, while the other camp says the Dubya partisans and Religious Right voters simply distrust McCain for trying to appear as a maverick centrist in recent years before charging sharply back to the right in 2006-07 to regain their favor.

(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm)

US Senator Sam Brownback announced the formation of a Presidential Exploratory campaign in December 2006. He is the most socially conservative of the major Republican hopefuls. Brownback proudly touts himself as staunchly pro-life, anti-embryonic stem cell research and anti-gay rights. He is also one of the most outspoken federal legislators in support of US and UN armed intervention to stop the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region (Sudan). With the exit from the race of better-known conservatives like George Allen and Rick Santorum, Brownback is trying to capitalize on the opening by locking up key Religious Right activists in important early contest states.

(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm)

Former US Attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani launched his exploratory committee in November 2006. Early polls place Giuliani near the top of the GOP field, based in large part on the aura of strong and reassuring leadership he earned in the days following the 9/11 attack. He also has a reputation as a law-and-order Mayor who used community policing to drastically reduce crime rates in the city during his two-terms as Mayor. Social conservatives, however, have serious concerns with his pro-choice, pro-gay rights and pro-gun control views and his messy personal history (two nasty divorces and past allegations of adultery).

(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm) US Senator Chuck Hagel - a decorated Vietnam War veteran and wealthy former businessman - has cultivated the image of being an independent-minded maverick. Although he is a close friend of John McCain, and supported McCain in 2000, Hagel is himself weighing a possible White House run in 2008. While Hagel is pro-life and a fiscal conservative, he stands out from the other GOP hopefuls for his outspoken calls since early 2006 to withdraw US troops from Iraq. He frequently refers to Iraq as “another Vietnam” Here are some comments from a November 2006 column he wrote: “We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans … The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq. The cost of combat in Iraq in terms of American lives, dollars and world standing has been devastating … Our effort in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, partly because we took our focus off the real terrorist threat, which was there, and not in Iraq. We are destroying our force structure, which took 30 years to build. We’ve been funding this war dishonestly, mainly through supplemental appropriations, which minimizes responsible congressional oversight and allows the Administration to duck tough questions in defending its policies. Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility in the past four years. It is not too late. The United States can still extricate itself honorably from an impending disaster in Iraq.” He also differs with the Bush Administration by supporting an end to the decades-old economic boycott of Cuba, saying the embargo failed to dislodge Castro and harmed Cuban civilians. Some think Hagel may be positioning himself to make an Independent run for President, but Hagel strongly denies it.

(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm)

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announced his Presidential exploratory campaign in January 2007. Romney - former President of the successful 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics - has emerged as on the “first tier” candidates for the Republican nomination. A pro-choice and pro-gay rights GOP candidate in Massachusetts in the 1990s, Romney now styles himself as a strong social conservative who is pro-life and opposes same-sex marriage. Stil, some Religious Right leaders are wary of Romney’s devotion to the social conservative cause. Still, he’s raising a lot of money and initially appears to be the leading conservative alternative to McCain and Giuliani. GOP observers said Romney has assembled a very strong campaign team and field organization in the key early contests states.

(From http://www.politics1.com/p2008-gop.htm)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been busily criss-crossing the nation during 2004-06, discussing his need to the Republicans to return to being the party of bold ideas. He promises to make a decision on entering the 2008 Presidential contest by September 2007—but will be doing much to act like a candidate until then with his frequent speeches, active leadership PAC, and book tours. He clearly is a man of bold ideas (Note: Former US Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole liked to tell a joke in the mid-1990s that Gingrich’s office was filled with filing cabinets all labeled “Newt’s Ideas” and, on top of one cabinet, was a small shoebox labeled “Newt’s Good Ideas”). Gingrich also has personal baggage from several divorces and his resignation from Congress due to an extramarital affair. Still, he has solid name recognition and conservatives appreciate his loyalty to Reagan-style conservatism. Although not a candidate, national GOP polls regularly place him third behind Giuliani and McCain (and ahead of Romney).

Another candidate to emerge in the future.