State Of Union Speech Will Bring Wannabes Out Of The Closet

The reactions to President Bush's State of the Union speech will be unusual in at least one way: The number of presidential wannabes clamoring for media attention will be extraordinary a full year away from the first primaries and caucuses, and a large number of the presidential candidates will be in the audience for the speech.

Among those expected to seek out the cameras are, for the Democrats, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd, and Republicans John McCain, Chuck Hagel, and Sam Brownback.

Non-senators who are also expected to air their views include Democrats Bill Richardson and Tom Vilsack, and Republicans Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee. All told, it will amount to the first large-scale presidential "cattle show" of the campaign and will enable Americans and activists in both parties to size up the competition.

By Kenneth T. Walsh