New Book, 'Contenders And Pretenders,' Evaluates the Growing Field of 2008 Presidential Candidates

[wyldwolf]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Contenders and
Pretenders: Who Will Run and Who Will Win the Race for the White House In
2008," by political analyst Rey Thomas, takes a critical look at the
Democrats and Republicans vying to become the next President of the United
States and presents readers with the pluses and minuses each contender
brings to their respective campaigns (available at Amazon, Borders, Barnes
& Noble and Contenders2008.com).

"Regardless of how much attention the top-tier contenders are receiving
right now, this is a wide open race," says Thomas, editor-in-chief of The
Thomas Political Report. "Much more than in years past, there are a
significant number of candidates who have a real shot to win their Party's
nomination. After what happened to Howard Dean in 2004, who went into the
Iowa caucuses certain that he had it locked up, this field of contenders
should recognize that a ton of money and big leads in these early
presidential polls don't necessarily guarantee future success."

In his book, in addition to scrutinizing the presidential contenders,
Thomas delves into other factors that will determine who will next occupy
the Oval Office, including the war in Iraq, immigration, and global
warming. Thomas also considers whether a sitting senator has a chance to
claim the top prize.

"John F. Kennedy, in 1960, was the last sitting senator to win a
presidential election," says Thomas. "That may spell bad news for Hillary
Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, yet offer some hope for Mitt Romney,
Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee and Tom Vilsack. Governors have had a
virtual lock on the presidency for close to half a century, and any senator
who supported the Iraq war, whether Democrat or Republican, is going to
have to face some serious criticism from the voters."

Thomas is also quick not to discount who he calls the "pretenders" in
this expanding field of hopefuls. "Candidates like Dennis Kucinich and Tom
Tancredo may not have a real shot to win, but they can make life very
difficult when they start talking about cutting off funding for the Iraq
war and getting tough on illegal immigration," says Thomas. "When the
candidate forums and debates begin, the pretenders are going to make sure
the big names stand front and center and tell the voters just where they
stand on all the issues, especially Iraq. It's going to be an exciting race
all the way to Election Day 2008."

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