US Presidential Campaign in Full Swing

The next presidential election is still more than a year and half away, but contenders from both major political parties are already campaigning hard for the White House.

This comes as no surprise to Craig Crawford, a political analyst for Congressional Quarterly magazine.

"It is a power vacuum and power abhors a vacuum, so there is such a rush to fill it because of that, I believe, and also the media has been, surprising to me, most eager to cover the campaign this early. I think that also fueled it," he said.

Democrats believe 2008 will be the year they reclaim the White House after eight years of President Bush.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and Clinton has made ending the war in Iraq her top priority.

"If he (President Bush) does not extricate us from Iraq before he leaves office, when I am president I will, beginning on the day when I am inaugurated," she said.

The eight declared Democratic candidates oppose the war but differ on how quickly U.S. troops should leave Iraq.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is currently running second in public opinion polls behind Senator Clinton. - VOA News