Talent galore for the big election MARSHALL LOEB

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Commentary: There's a surprising amount of presidential timber
By Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch



NEW YORK (MarketWatch) --

....I would argue that we have more viable candidates for the highest office in the land than at any time in our recent history -- or at least any time I can remember. (And I have been following these quadrennial races fairly closely since the last days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was President from 1933 till 1945) ... Indeed, one can fairly easily pick out a lucky 13 would-be candidates from both parties -- five Republicans and eight Democrats, with many more in the wings.

Republicans

John McCain, age 70, Senator from Arizona ....

Chuck Hagel, age 59, Senator from Nebraska ....

Michael Bloomberg, age 64, Mayor of New York....

Rudolph Giuliani, age 62, former Mayor of New York ....

Democrats

Hillary Rodham Clinton, age 58, Senator from New York ....

Al Gore, age 58, former Vice President....

Joe Biden, age 63, Senator from Delaware ....

Bill Richardson, age 58, Governor of New Mexico .....

Evan Bayh, age 51, Senator from Indiana ....

Howard Dean, age 57, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee ....

John Kerry, age 62, Senator from Massachusetts.....

John Edwards, 53, former Senator from North Carolina.....

And it could be that the ultimate candidates are none of the above. There are many more leaders in both parties, and little known individuals can be quickly built up by modern media.
On the Democratic side, one thinks of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell or Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. On the Republican side, to name just a couple, there are Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Florida Governor Jeb Bush. But would the public want a third Bush in the White House?

Reporter Ismat Sarah Mangla contributed to this story
Marshall Loeb, former editor of Fortune, Money, and The Columbia Journalism Review, writes "Your Dollars" exclusively for MarketWatch.


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He makes it sound like we're gonna be given a choice.