With President Bush's second inauguration barely on the books, it may seem premature to start thinking about the 2008 election. But now is the time for testing the political waters, and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold , D-Wis., is doing just that.
It was in December 2004 that Eric Hungerford and Charles Wishman launched
www.DraftRuss.org, a website dedicated to, according to Hungerford, building a grassroots network that will be available for Feingold if he decides to run for president.
Hungerford, who is from Iowa City, Iowa, explained what caused him to start the site.
\This last election was very disappointing for me in terms of candidates and in terms of results,"" he said.
Feingold would make a good national candidate, Hungerford said, because ""[he] is the kind of guy who will stand up and explain where he stands. He'll make sense of an argument when everyone else is just throwing around buzzwords.""
According to University of California-Los Angeles political science Professor Joel Aberbach, Feingold does not have a high profile outside of Wisconsin.
""Other than the McCain-Feingold Bill, I doubt if many people know who he is,"" Aberbach said. ""He can rectify that I'm sure by campaigning ... but he doesn't start out with an advantage that people know a lot about him.""
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Thursday, Feingold said he would consider running in 2008, but only if he has a chance at winning the nomination.
""I would only run if I honestly believed that I was the guy that really could win, that I was the person who was the best candidate to run,"" Feingold said.
Feingold campaign manager George Aldrich outlined the senator's political future in a statement.
""There is no doubt that Senator Feingold will be looked at as a new voice for the party as it moves forward,"" Aldrich said. ""He has every intention of continuing to use his voice to build the party, to speak out on important issues and to advance a progressive reform agenda that not only has a lot of support in Wisconsin but across the country.""
UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Franklin pointed out that for Feingold, a 2008 run for president has ""perfect electoral timing.""
""Since he was just re-elected,"" Franklin said, ""he gets a free run for it in 2008 without jeopardizing his Senate seat.""
Franklin stressed that at this point in the process, Feingold and other presidential hopefuls are gauging public response.
""Like all senators that think about doing it, he has to test the waters and go out and see how many people can get excited about him,"" Franklin said.
Feingold's strengths as a national candidate, according to Franklin, include a reputation for independence and a middle-of-the-road political orientation.
According to both Franklin and Aberbach, Feingold is most famous nationally for co-authoring the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill.
Franklin explained that the passage of the bill, which Feingold had worked on for years, was a major victory.
""To his great credit, it was an issue that nobody thought would pass,"" Franklin said. ""That kind of tenacity is an admirable trait and certainly does speak well to Feingold.\
