How the Brits see it

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2008: The race begins
By Richard Allen Greene
BBC News, Washington

In US politics, there's usually an incumbent running for the White House - if not the president himself (and so far it has always been a "himself"), then his vice-president.

George W Bush with his wife Laura
Mr Bush will have to leave the White House when his term ends
But with George W Bush constitutionally limited to two terms and Vice-President Dick Cheney ruled out on health grounds, the race for the White House is wide open for the first time since 1928.

And the race is so expensive and demanding that, though Election Day 2008 is more than two years away, candidates already need to be making their plans and hiring their teams.

Here are the people presently considered the most capable of making a serious run.

DEMOCRATS
Evan Bayh
Joe Biden
Wesley Clark
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
Russ Feingold
Al Gore
John Kerry
Bill Richardson
Tom Vilsack
Mark Warner
REPUBLICANS
George Allen
Jeb Bush
Bill Frist
Newt Gingrich
Rudolph Giuliani
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Condoleezza Rice
Mitt Romney

EVAN BAYH

Who is he? Two-term senator from the solidly Republican state of Indiana in the Midwest, and its governor for eight years before that.

Evan Bayh
Evan Bayh: Could be too dull
Why take him seriously? On the (as-yet undeclared) campaign trail in the key state of Iowa, he has emphasised his ability to win over voters in traditionally Republican states - which any Democrat hoping to capture the White House must do. Liberals are likely to respond well to his voting against Bush nominees to the Supreme Court, and conservatives may appreciate his principled defence of the Iraq war.

What's going to stand in his way? Sen Bayh does not set crowds alight with his passion, to put it mildly. His style has been described by admirers as folksy - and by critics as ho-hum, nondescript and boring.

Did you know? Evan Bayh's father Birch Bayh also represented Indiana in the Senate, from 1963 to 1981.

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JOE BIDEN

Who is he? Long-time senator from the small north-eastern state of Delaware, and one of the Senate's leading foreign-policy heavyweights.

Joe Biden
Joe Biden: Senate heavyweight
Why take him seriously? Top pollster Frank Luntz says Joe Biden's "poised and practised oratory will keep him one of the front-runners and his definite stage presence will keep the public's attention". He also won praise from focus groups for his direct admission that he had been wrong to vote to give the president authority to go to war with Iraq.

What's going to stand in his way? Sen Biden is a famously rambling speaker who can sound like a professor lecturing students. And he dropped out of an earlier race for the White House when he admitted he had lifted lines from Neil Kinnock without crediting the British Labour leader.

Did you know? Joe Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29 - before he was even eligible to be a senator. He turned 30, thus meeting the age requirement, before he took his seat.

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WESLEY CLARK

Who is he? Former Nato Supreme Allied Commander in Europe who led the anti-Serbia campaign in Kosovo in 1999. He ran for the 2004 Democratic nomination for president.

Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark: Military man
Why take him seriously? Gen Clark has a high profile, having been prominent on television as military analyst for both CNN and Fox. He has said he voted for Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as well as Democrat Bill Clinton - and so might be able to attract votes from across the spectrum.

What's going to stand in his way? He has never been elected to office and did not make much of an impact on the 2004 race. Americans have elected only one professional military man to the White House in living memory - WWII victor Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.

Did you know? Like fellow Arkansan Bill Clinton, Gen Clark was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He holds a master's degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE).

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HILLARY CLINTON

Who is she? Former First Lady now serving as senator from New York - the first former first lady to go on to hold elected office.

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton: Leader of the pack
Why take her seriously? Unbeatable name recognition and unmatched fundraising ability make Hillary - no surname necessary - the clear front-runner for the Democrats. She has tried to stake out a position as a centrist in her six years in the Senate - and has raised an estimated $40m for her Senate re-election campaign.

What's going to stand in her way? If Bill Clinton remains a divisive figure in American politics, that goes at least double for Hillary - some estimates say one in three Americans would never vote for her. And the US has never yet elected a woman president.

Did you know? Is there anything we don't already know about Hillary Clinton?

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JOHN EDWARDS

Who is he? Former lawyer and one-term North Carolina senator who ran for vice-president with John Kerry in 2004. He now runs an anti-poverty centre.

John Edwards
John Edwards: Southern charmer
Why take him seriously? Supporters and detractors alike agree that Mr Edwards is an excellent speaker - a man the Washington Post's politics blogger Chris Cillizza dubbed "the most naturally talented politician in the field". He has national name recognition based on his 2004 run - and the experience that can only come from having been through the process before.

What's going to stand in his way? Audiences - even sympathetic ones - tend to find Mr Edwards too slick. His poor-boy-made-good routine can also come across as patronising.

Did you know? Mr Edwards helped to depose key witnesses during the Senate's impeachment trial of of Bill Clinton in 1999.

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RUSS FEINGOLD

Who is he? Junior senator from the Midwestern state of Wisconsin and one of the Senate's most outspoken liberals.

Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold: Outspoken liberal
Why take him seriously? Sen Feingold wins rave reviews from angry Democrats for his push to censure President Bush and his vote against the Patriot Act - the latter of which put him in a minority of one. At least three separate websites have been set up to urge him to run. Diehard party activists are already hailing him as the Howard Dean of 2008.

What's going to stand in his way? The problem is that Howard Dean didn't win in 2004 - not even his own party's nomination to stand against George W Bush. Sen Feingold has also proven unpredictable, staking out liberal positions on the Iraq war, domestic surveillance and gay rights, but also backing President Bush's nominee to be chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Did you know? Running against better-funded opponents in his first race for Senate in 1992, Mr Feingold ran television commercials that showed him being endorsed by an Elvis impersonator and demonstrating - literally - that he had no skeletons in his closet.

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AL GORE

Who is he? Vice-president for eight years under Bill Clinton and the loser of the most controversial presidential election in more than a century, against George W Bush in 2000.

Al Gore
Al Gore: Back in the limelight
Why take him seriously? Gore backers never fail to point out that more Americans voted for Mr Gore than for Mr Bush in 2000. He has kept largely out of politics for the past six years - but with a new film about the environment generating buzz at Cannes in May 2006 and opening across the US after that, he is back in the spotlight.

What's going to stand in his way? Mr Gore has said repeatedly that he is not going to run for president in 2008.... although many believe he could be persuaded to change his mind.

Did you know? Al Gore shared a room with the actor Tommy Lee Jones when the two were students at Harvard, and Jones gave one of the speeches officially nominating him for the presidency in 2000.

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JOHN KERRY

Who is he? Junior senator from Massachusetts who lost the 2004 presidential race to George W Bush.

John Kerry
John Kerry: Second chance?
Why take him seriously? In 2004, Sen Kerry recorded the second-largest number of votes ever cast for a presidential candidate. (Unfortunately for him, the man he was running against recorded the first.) He has kept his political team together and has used his mailing list and funds to help campaign for other candidates, who will in turn be in his debt. And he has maintained a high profile as a Bush critic since losing the 2004 election.

What's going to stand in his way? F Scott Fitzgerald's nostrum that there are no second acts in American lives will certainly be put to the test if Sen Kerry runs again. The Democrats in particular are unforgiving of men who have run for the White House and lost - giving Sen Kerry an uphill battle to convince them he is not yesterday's man.

Did you know? Sen Kerry is the fourth senator from Massachusetts to run for president in the last 12 elections - and there have been only seven senators from Massachusetts in that period. Ted Kennedy failed to capture the party nomination in 1980, as did Paul Tsongas in 1992. John F Kennedy won the White House in 1960.

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BILL RICHARDSON

Who is he? Governor of the south-western state of New Mexico who was US ambassador to the United Nations under Bill Clinton before becoming his secretary of energy.

Bill Richardson in a 1998 file photo
Bill Richardson: Relevant experience
Why take him seriously? Gov Richardson's resume may make him the ideal candidate in an age when voters are concerned about high gas prices and possible conflicts with Iran and North Korea. His Latino heritage may also win him votes with the country's largest minority population - one which both Republicans and Democrats need to compete for.

What's going to stand in his way? Gov Richardson is reportedly larger than life in small groups, easily able to connect with many different types of people - but in front of crowds he does not always demonstrate much charisma. And the small, out-of-the-way state of New Mexico is not a natural launching pad for a national campaign.

Did you know? Gov Richardson has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times.

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TOM VILSACK

Who is he? Governor of the Midwestern state of Iowa, which is among the first in the nation to vote in presidential primaries.

Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack: Home-state advantage
Why take him seriously? Tom Vilsack is the first Democrat in more than 30 years to be elected governor of Iowa - and the Democrats are looking for candidates who can win in traditionally Republican territory. Pollster Frank Luntz found voters in Iowa to be impressed with his sense of humour.

What's going to stand in his way? Gov Vilsack is an unknown nationally, and did not wow anyone outside of his home state in Luntz polling - with his emphasis on his Christian faith going down particularly poorly.

Did you know? Gov Vilsack was orphaned at birth in 1950 and placed in a Catholic orphanage before being adopted in 1951.

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MARK WARNER

Who is he? Former venture capitalist who served one term as governor of the solidly Republican state of Virginia.

Mark Warner
Mark Warner: Red-state success
Why take him seriously? Mr Warner was an extraordinarily popular and successful governor who was named one of the nation's five best by Time magazine. His ability to help his deputy Tim Kaine to succeed him cemented his reputation as a man able to win in Republican territory. He is independently wealthy - and Washington Post research shows that only Hillary Clinton among Democrats has a larger staff working on getting him elected in 2008.

What's going to stand in his way? Mr Warner is not yet nationally known, and his four years as governor of Virginia - which limits its governors to one term - do not constitute a wealth of experience, particularly in foreign affairs or security. He can come across as physically ill at ease.

Did you know? His venture capital firm provided the initial backing for the communications firm Nextel - the success of which made an already wealthy man extremely rich.

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GEORGE ALLEN

Who is he? Rock-solid conservative senator from Virginia, a state he governed from 1994 to 1998.

George Allen
George Allen: Conservative credentials
Why take him seriously? George Allen was an effective chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helping his party to pick up four seats in the Senate - and earning the gratitude of his party. He is a charismatic speaker who has already begun to put campaign staff into place, and is among the top Republicans in terms of fundraising for 2008.

What's going to stand in his way? The New Republic magazine ran a lengthy profile of Sen Allen in May 2006 alleging that he was all but obsessed as a young man with the Confederate flag - a still-controversial symbol which many Americans associate with racism. He is also facing a tougher-than-expected re-election campaign, distracting him from national ambitions at a time when opponents are laying the groundwork for White House bids.

Did you know? Sen Allen's father was a legendary American football coach also named George Allen, and his son often incorporates sports metaphors into his speeches.

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JEB BUSH

Who is he? President Bush's younger brother who is coming to the end of his second - and, by law, last - term as governor of Florida.

Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush: Not ready to run?
Why take him seriously? Mr Bush has been a popular governor of the nation's largest swing state - one that could back either a Republican or a Democrat. As a Bush, he would have an immediate and massive fundraising network in place. He is popular with Christian conservatives, speaks Spanish, and is known for his grasp of detail. President George W Bush has said he would make a "great president".

What's going to stand in his way? Mr Bush has said he does not plan to run for president in 2008. The Los Angeles Times has argued, however, that he would be a dream vice-presidential candidate, particularly for a Republican presidential nominee who does not rouse the excitement of Christian conservatives.

Did you know? Gov Bush's given name is John. His nickname derives from the initials for his full name, John Ellis Bush.

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BILL FRIST

Who is he? Two-term senator from Tennessee and the Republican leader in the Senate.

Bill Frist
Bill Frist: Rapid rise
Why take him seriously? Sen Frist has risen fast, becoming his party's leader in the Senate not long after his election, partly thanks to the strong support of President Bush. He has a family fortune to rely on, thanks to his father and brother's founding of a chain of for-profit hospitals, and a strong record of campaigning on health issues including Aids and prescription drug benefits.

What's going to stand in his way? Experts disagree about how effective he has been as Senate majority leader, with some arguing that his presidential ambitions distracted him from pushing the president's policies and nominees through. Christian conservatives wonder about how conservative he really is, despite his intervention on their side in the Terri Schiavo case - which in turn turned off more liberal potential supporters.

Did you know? Sen Frist is a surgeon who has performed more than 150 heart and lung transplants and who once came to the aid of a police officer who was shot on Capitol Hill.

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NEWT GINGRICH

Who is he? Former congressman who led the 1994 Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, making him the first Republican speaker of the House since 1955.

Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich: Republican revolutionary
Why take him seriously? Mr Gingrich has kept busy as a writer, speaker and consultant since he left Congress in 1999, and was hinting even before President Bush's second inauguration that he was considering a 2008 bid. He retains the admiration of many Republicans for his role in breaking the 40-year Democratic lock on the lower house of Congress.

What's going to stand in his way? Mr Gingrich left Congress in 1999 and has not held office since then, so he does not have an obvious launching pad for a White House run.

Did you know? Mr Gingrich was a history professor for eight years before being elected to Congress and has written nine books, mostly on policy but including a fictional alternative history in which the Confederacy wins the key Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.

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RUDOLPH GIULIANI

Who is he? Former mayor of New York City who shot to international prominence for his firm leadership on 11 September 2001.

Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph Giuliani: "America's mayor"
Why take him seriously? Mr Giuliani emerged as a hero of 9/11, prompting Time magazine to name him Man of the Year for 2001. Even before then, he was credited with bringing down New York's crime rate - and since leaving office he has been an active fundraiser and campaigner for other Republican candidates, keeping his stock high.

What's going to stand in his way? "America's mayor" may be a law-and-order conservative, but his positions on gay rights, abortion and gun control are comparatively liberal, which does not endear him to the party's right wing. He has tried to make allies among the Christian right, but has not reversed his stance on the issues.

Did you know? Mr Giuliani was preparing to run against Hillary Clinton for a Senate seat in 2000 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, forcing him to quit the race.

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MIKE HUCKABEE

Who is he? Governor of Arkansas since 1996 best known nationally for his dramatic weight loss in response to a diagnosis of diabetes. Also named to Time magazine's list of the nation's best governors.

Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee: Dramatic change
Why take him seriously? Gov Huckabee has carved out a place for himself as a health advocate following his own turnaround from fat to fit. As an ordained Baptist minister who says his faith is inseparable from his politics, he may be a magnet for conservative Christian votes - especially if competing against a social liberal such as Rudolph Giuliani.

What's going to stand in his way? His Evangelical faith has led him to take positions that do not appeal to all Republicans, such as an increase in the state's minimum wage - which drew fire from fiscal conservatives. It is also not clear that he can keep up with better-known names when it comes to fundraising.

Did you know? Gov Huckabee plays bass guitar in a band called Capitol Offense.

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JOHN McCAIN

Who is he? Maverick senator from Arizona who ran against George W Bush for the Republican nomination in 2000 and has had a complex relation with the president ever since.

John McCain
John McCain: Straight talker
Why take him seriously? John McCain is one of the highest-profile figures in Washington, known for sponsoring key measures against torture and in favour of campaign finance reform. Most observers say he currently leads the pack of potential Republican nominees by a large margin.

What's going to stand in his way? He is known for his outspoken style - his 2000 campaign was dubbed the Straight Talk Express - which has not always won him friends in his own party. Although Sen McCain says unequivocally that he is a social conservative, his frequent skirmishes with the Bush administration have made him more popular with liberals than with conservatives.

Did you know? Shot down as a Navy pilot over Vietnam in 1967, Mr McCain refused to be released ahead of other prisoners of war - earning himself five years of captivity, two in solitary confinement.

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CONDOLEEZZA RICE

Who is she? President Bush's high-flying secretary of state, and his national security adviser before that.

Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice: High-flying insider
Why take her seriously? Top figures around the world have suggested she is presidential material, including First Lady Laura Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Former presidential pollster Dick Morris had a bestselling book based on the idea of a Hillary-Condi contest up in 2008.

What's going to stand in her way? Ms Rice has often said she is not planning to run for president. Despite her glittering career, she has never been elected to public office - and the US has never elected an African-American or a woman president. Would voters be ready to smash two barriers at once?

Did you know? Ms Rice is an accomplished classical pianist whose mother taught music and chose a name for her based on the Italian for "with sweetness".

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MITT ROMNEY

Who is he? Republican governor of Massachusetts who made headlines for the state's law making health insurance mandatory.

Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney: Olympics saviour
Why take him seriously? Gov Romney may have cracked one of the most intractable issues facing America - the millions of people with no health insurance in a country that does not have a national health system. He won acclaim for taking over the organisation of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics when planning looked on the verge of collapse, delivering a successful and profitable event. Washington insiders list him among the leading 2008 contenders in terms of money and organisation.

What's going to stand in his way? It is not clear that Gov Romney's health-insurance model can be applied nationally, as Massachusetts is a small and wealthy state. Some voters may be put off by the fact that Gov Romney is a Mormon - a religion that some consider outside the mainstream.

Did you know? Gov Romney's father, former Michigan Governor George Romney, ran for president in 1968, but failed to secure his party's nomination.

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