Iowa’s Heavy Hitters Vouch for Vilsack

ABC News’ Mona Raphael reports: At Iowa Wesleyan College, before an energetic crowd of hometown supporters and some of the state’s political heavyweights, Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) became the first person to officially announce his candidacy for the presidency of the United States.

While introducing Vilsack, Ruth Harkin, wife of former presidential candidate Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), deflected Vilsack’s media-driven label as the underdog, long-shot candidate, saying, "I watched as he charged from behind in 1998," against Jim Ross Lightfoot, the GOP candidate that he eventually defeated.

"Tom Vilsack will win the Iowa caucuses this January," she asserted. Iowa’s Lt. Governor, Sally Pederson, also pledged her support for Vilsack, saying that she will support him in the primaries. Pederson was also the Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party until she resigned yesterday.

Vilsack’s ability to dominate his own state’s caucus — as Harkin was able to do in 1992 against then Gov. Bill Clinton — has been widely debated. Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), during an Iowa stop on his book tour yesterday, is quoted as saying that just because Vilsack is from Iowa, does not mean that he will dominate Iowa in the primaries.

After four kind introductions, Vilsack took the stage, and stated his case about why he wanted to run for president. In doing so, he openly criticized President Bush, saying Bush’s "first impulse is to divide and conquer" the American people and that he uses fear for political gain. Clearly emphasizing his platform of change and courage, Vilsack sent a clear message that he advocated swift change in Iraq, saying, "We must act now" to "take our troops out of harm’s way."

On domestic issues, he would fight for a healthcare system that "prevents illness with wellness," and a public education system that would move "beyond just standardized test taking." He also spoke often of new policy on energy security, saying that changes in this arena could "revitalize rural America" by increasing domestic ethanol and bio-fuel production.

He skillfully turned the label as a "long shot" candidate into a positive, saying, "I’ve always been an underdog and a long shot," referring to his rough childhood that saw addiction, divorce, and poverty.

Vilsack was speaking in Mt. Pleasant, IA, where his wife grew up and where his political career started in 1987 when he was elected mayor. Vilsack then rose to become a state senator and later a two-term governor of Iowa in 1998. Today marks the beginning of his five state Announcement Tour of early voting states, including New Hampshire and South Carolina.