Challenge: Make this analysis of the 2008 presidential election credible

This is a hilarious list I found back in the day of potential US presidential candidates for 2008. I believe the list was last updated in 2005.

The top 6:

1.
Bill Frist - No one outside of politics really knows that he’s the Senate Majority Leader, and that could be a problem. Frist is really brilliant, but many in the GOP leadership view him as weak.

2.
Jeb Bush - He’s popular in Florida, and that’s a big win on the electoral map. He’s fluent in Spanish, and he’s the smart brother. That’s all bad news for the Democrats. Jeb’s run for the White House could be made easier or harder depending on what the American people think of the Bush name in four years. He’s also on the record as saying he’s not running in 2008, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

3.
Bill Richardson - Most Democrats in the populace probably don’t realize that he’s the frontrunner for their party in 2008, but he is. The American people don’t know who he is, but the leaders in his party know who he is. In fact, he’s one of those leaders.

4.
Hillary Clinton - She has a lot of power inside the Democratic Party, and that’s bad for the Democrats. Bill governed from the middle, but Hill governs from the far left, and that will keep her from becoming the President.

5.
Howard Dean - He doesn’t hide that he’s a leftist like Kerry tried to do, but the American people didn’t hide that they were right-of-center in the most recent election. If Dean accepts the role as chairman of the DNC, he probably won’t be running for President in 2008.

6.
John McCain - The good news is that he is popular. The bad news is that he is old (born in 1936). Being a moderate is good news outside the GOP but bad news inside.

And then...

14.
Mitt Romney - I have to believe this guy really wants to be President based on his record, but right now he’s probably last among Republicans with a realistic shot at the White House. He also claims he has no intention of running for the White House.

17.
Barack Obama - He’s probably too young to win the White House in 2008, and he’s already said he’s not running just yet. I would suspect he’s probably every Democrat’s (other than Hillary’s) top choice for VP running mate.

And here's the funny stuff (both funny in terms of how inaccurate this list is, and how ASB OTL 2011 is)

48.
Joe Scarborough - His show on MSNBC means he will stay in the media - literally. Could you imagine all of America becoming Scarborough Country?

49.
Newt Gingrich also makes his debut on the power rankings. I’ve slipped him in at number 49. He’s out promoting his new book, and he’s talked openly about the possibility of running in 2008. Because of his personal life though, I seriously doubt he makes it too far.

50.
Tom DeLay - Recent ethics investigations have done damage to the image of the House Majority Leader.

51.
Steve Largent - Now there’s an NFL legend and an NBA legend (Bill Bradley) on the list.

That's right, Gingrich is placed lower than talking head Joe effing Scarborough and just above of Tom DeLay and some football guy.

Finally, scandals are retroactively funny:

9.
John Edwards - Joe Lieberman ran on the Democratic ticket as VP candidate in 2000, and he faired poorly in his bid to be the Presidential nominee in 2004. The good news for Edwards is that he is younger than Lieberman, but the bad news is that Edwards is more liberal. Edwards will also most likely be out of national politics for the next four years.

29.
Rod Blagojevich - The Democrats like him, and he seems to be very popular. He’s currently the Governor of Illinois, and he formerly served in Congress and has a law degree from Pepperdine. He may be younger than John Edwards, but Blagojevich has put in a lot more work.

I only lament that no one made a list in 2009 about who would be running in 2012.
 
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