Governor Tom Vilsack (D) of Iowa announced yesterday his bid for the White House is 2008.  This made him the first Democrat to formally declare his running for the 2008 presidential election.

Tom Vilsack was born on December 13, 1950.  He is a member of the Roman Catholic Church and prior to becoming a politician, his profession was a lawyer.  His political career started when he was elected mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa in 1987.  He was later elected to the Iowa State Senate in 1992 where he served until his governorship began in 1998.

Vilsack's run the White House is considered to be a long shot indeed.  He has just about the experience that President Bush had to become president.  The main thing that is hurting Vilsack's chances is the fact that he is not widely known.  Compared to such president hopefuls such as Senator Hillary Clinton or Senator Barack Obama, Governor Vilsack is basically a nobody.

His main focus and objective if elected would be to rid the United States' dependence on foreign oil.  He intends to fund the research of alternative fuels and make them a viable resource.

If you are interested in knowing where Governor Vilsack stands on the issues, Click here to view his Ontheissues.org page.