2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Profiles
by: Kushang Vashi
With the 2008 election coming up within a year in November, Democratic hopefuls Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards will battle it out in primaries to become the next Democratic candidate. With the primaries coming up shortly, many are wondering, "Who are these Candidates?"
Democratic candidate Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii. He is currently a Junior Senator from Illinois. Before he was a Senator, Barack Obama was part of the Illinois Senate from 1997-2004. He attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He has no military background. Obama is a Christian from the United Church of Christ, who is married to Michelle Obama. They have two daughters. Their names are Malia and Sasha. In the 2008 Democratic primary election, Obama supports expanded health care, abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell research, and a pull-out strategy in Iraq. Obama opposes the death penalty.
Hilary Clinton was born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, IL. She is currently the Junior Senator from Illinois. Before being elected as a Senator in 2000, Clinton was the the Former First Lady of the United States and a Board Member of the Legal Services Corporation. Clinton is a well-known Democrat who attended Wellesley College and Yale University. She has no military experience and her religion is United Methodist. Her husband is William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the U.S, and they have one daughter named Chelsea. For the 2008 election, Clinton strongly favors abortion, hiring of minorities, gay marriage, and the replacing of oil and coal with other alternatives. Clinton opposes the death penalty and wants a pull-out strategy in Iraq.
John Edwards was born on June 10, 1953 in Seneca, South Carolina. Edwards is currently on the Council of Foreign Relations, an advocate for Breast-Cancer, and a political activist. Edwards was a trial attorney, the former U.S. Senator of North Carolina from 1999-2005, and the Vice-Presidential candidate for John Kerry in the 2004 election. He is an alumni form North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina. Edwards has no military experience and his religion is United Methodist. He is married to Elizabeth Edwards and has four children. The children's names are Wade, Catharine, Jack, and Emma Claire. Edwards supports universal health care and ending poverty in thirty years. He is against the draft and the war in Iraq.
Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, and John Edwards are three of the top contenders for the Democratic Party nomination as the first stop comes to Iowa for the caucus on January 14, 2008. With a better understanding of the three candidates above, it's the duty of Signature School students to make an impact in America's electoral system by supporting their favorite candidate or encouraging others to vote. The main question that many ask is, Who will win the Democratic nomination? Will it be one of the three candidates listed above or maybe someone else?
Sources:
www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama
www.ontheissues.org/Hilary_Clinton