Campaign for 2008 Kicks Off in Bay Area: PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS LINING UP TO VISIT SILICON VALLEY, S.F.
By Mary Anne Ostrom, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Feb. 13–Presidential holidays are taking on a whole new meaning in the Bay Area this month. With Rudy Giuliani’s declaration in Santa Clara on Monday that he is “100 percent committed” to running for president, the former New York mayor kicked off a stream of visits here from White House wannabees.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Tom Vilsack are all making the rounds over the next week. On Presidents’ Day, next Monday, Obama, the Illinois senator, will make his first trip to the Bay Area since his weekend declaration that he’s running. The following Friday, Clinton is scheduled for a private visit at Google.
It’s a confluence of events not typically seen here, or at least not until closer to the primary election, still at least a year away. But the candidates are off and running already, in search of contributions and the cachet of Silicon Valley and Bay Area support.
A wide open race on both the Democratic and Republican side, excitement generated by high-profile candidates such as Giuliani, Obama and Clinton, and the strong likelihood California will move its primary up to next February accounts for the early barrage of attention. Also, most of the Democratic candidates are scheduled to appear at a Nevada forum next week, so the Bay Area makes a convenient fundraising stopover.
Since the state Senate is poised to vote as early as this week to move the California primary to Feb. 5 — up from early June — the state’s role in picking the next president probably will increase.
“You might as well plant a bus stop at the door to the valley. They are going to be stopping by here a lot,” said San Jose State University political-science Professor Larry Gerston. “We’re always a hotbed of fundraising, and there is no heir apparent to the presidency.”
On short notice, Giuliani drew a crowd of more than 500 to a Santa Clara hotel lunch on Lincoln’s birthday, where he told technology executives and venture capitalists in a Churchill Club address that Americans need to be reminded why soldiers are dying in Iraq.
“What America needs is probably a reminder of why this is happening, and why the sacrifice of those American lives — which is heartbreaking — is necessary,” he said. “It’s necessary because having a stable situation in Iraq will quicken our ability to defeat terrorism.”
Speaking of the ongoing threat of terrorism, Giuliani added, “This is not a figment of George Bush’s imagination; it’s life and death.”
Giuliani made a pitch to the heavily tech-oriented audience, saying technology developed in the valley is a key to spreading the principles of democracy around the world.
Tony Perkins, who runs the blog AlwaysOn and invited Giuliani to speak, said Giuliani’s California organizers have told him that building valley support is key to a California victory. Before lunch, Giuliani met with key valley Republican leaders, including venture capitalists Tim Draper and Floyd Kvamme, both of whom, Perkins noted, are fundraising pros in the valley.
Democrats, too, are making tracks here. On Thursday, about 150 people will gather at the home of venture capitalists and party activists Andy and Deborah Rappaport to raise money for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee.
“It is early. Still, with all the talk of the primary moving up it’s not so early,” said Deborah Rappaport. “A lot of attention is being paid to the superstar candidates and that has focused people’s attention on the races.”
Today, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, will address the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Next Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will meet with supporters at several gatherings in Palo Alto and San Francisco.
Obama is planning a three-day California swing beginning Monday in the Bay Area. He will hold a San Francisco campaign fundraiser luncheon and appear at a reception and dinner at the St. Francis Hotel for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s re-election campaign. He plans to meet with Bay Area backers and will end the evening at a small event for supporters in Portola Valley, said Wade Randlett, a San Francisco-based finance co-chair for the Obama campaign. As of now, none of the events are open to the public.
In addition to a planned meeting with Google executives Feb. 23, Clinton also has scheduled a big-bucks San Francisco fundraiser at the Sheraton Palace and will meet supporters at private homes in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Likely GOP candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain and former GOP Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is expected to formally announce his candidacy next week, also have recently visited Silicon Valley.
“Certainly to the degree that any candidate has a compelling story to tell about business development and innovation, this is the place not only to learn about those things but to tell that story,” said Deborah Rappaport.
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