WELCOME TO THE '08 CAMPAIGN

And welcome to PrezPolitics.

It's been just a week since the 2006 mid-term elections, and some of those races haven't even been settled yet. But the 2008 presidential race is already underway. In fact, it has been for some time.

Who's in:

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack , a Democrat, has announced his intentions to run, but one wonders how seriously he will be considered by voters.

This summer a poll of voters in his own state, done by The Des Moines Register, showed Vilsack polling at 10%, in fourth place behind former V.P. candidate John Edwards at 30%, Hillary Clinton at 26% and John Kerry (well before his ill-advised "joke") at 12%.

On the GOP side, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is in. So is Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Who's out:

Among the Democrats, former Virginia governor Mark Warner, thought to at least be able to make some noise in the race, stepped out before he stepped in. Ditto Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

Among the Republicans thought to be considering a run, no one has officially dropped but after last Tuesday you'd have to say Virginia Sen. George Allen and Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum are goners.

And then there are those presumed in the race, but not officially there yet, as outlined in this roundup by Reuters' political correspondent John Whitesides.

For those of you familiar with our former site NYPols, we'll be covering the presidential race as thoroughly as we watched the mid-terms unfold in New York. For those of you who are new to us, welcome! and enjoy!

Please feel free to comment at any time. I do give each comment a quick eyeball before it's posted to make sure it's not libelous or too distasteful. But no one gets censored for their politics or ideas.