16 People the Media Considered Presidential Contenders at This Time in 2006

Considering how many 2016 think pieces bombard our collective consciousness on a daily basis, it's useful to remember that we're a long way off from knowing anything truly worthwhile about how the next presidential election will play out.

Case in point: A Nexis search of media coverage from the summer of 2006 shows that, two years out from the 2008 presidential election, there was a lot of buzz about different candidates—mainly Hillary Clinton—but almost none about the man who now occupies the White House. And while most news outlets took Sen. John McCain as the given Republican nominee, there were some wacky propositions on both sides of the aisle.

Of course, political reporters and columnists are wont to prognosticate—it's practically in our job description, and it's the closest thing we have to celebrity gossip. Even the best of us gaze into the crystal ball from time to time, only to discover it's a knockoff.

So, if you need a reason not to take 2016 predictions too seriously—or to just ignore them completely—look back at these articles from the summer of 2006 that speculated about a variety of candidates, Republican and Democratic, who didn't even wind up in a party primary two years later.

Chuck Hagel?

"Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a potential dark horse candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, also will vote against the House-passed embryonic stem-cell legislation, said spokesman Mike Buttry.

'He's always been with the president on this,' Buttry said. The debate 'hasn't changed enough to be something he would vote for.' "

- Congressional Quarterly , July 17, 2006

(Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com)

John Kerry, Round 2?

"There is no legal restriction on Kerry's transferring all $14 million in the old presidential account to a presidential primary campaign, said former Federal Election Commission Chairman Scott Thomas.

Counting the $14 million in the two 2004 presidential campaign accounts and $179,000 in his Friends of John Kerry Senate reelection account, Kerry could have the largest war chest at the start of the 2008 presidential primary. Whether he does will depend how much Clinton raises and spends in her reelection race." - The Hill , July 19, 2006

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack?

"Cementing a set of national policy goals and bridging the party's factions could pay dividends for Vilsack, should he continue taking steps toward running in 2008.

'Vilsack's done the kind of things this year that put him in a stronger position, should he decide to run,' said Al From, the Democratic Leadership Council's founder and chief executive officer."

- The Des Moines Register , July 23, 2006

Former Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold?

"This time, with so many senators thinking about running, the primaries and potentially the general election could find the candidates squaring off against colleagues who are operating in close proximity. Mr. Kerry served in Vietnam around the same time as Mr. McCain, who defended him against Republican attacks during the 2004 race. Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, devised a landmark campaign-finance bill with Mr. McCain (and has since traveled with him and with Mrs. Clinton)."

- The New York Times , July 29, 2006

(Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com)

Dick Cheney? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Jeb Bush?

"There should be more heavy hitters, three in particular, and in each case a distinct anomaly keeps them out.

No. 1, the vice president. Apparently, Dick Cheney meant it when he said he had no aspiration for the top job. In consequence of this decision, he is likely going to be the most-studied vice president in history among those who did not go on to the Oval Office. And no, it's not a health problem. If he'd been working the past six years to prepare the way for his own accession, especially if that's what Mr. Bush had in mind also, then Mr. Cheney would be the front-runner (and as buff as the current occupant).

No. 2, the world-famous governor of the most populous state. Arnold Schwarzenegger has had his ups and downs in California, but were it not for his Austrian birth, and thus his constitutional ineligibility for the presidency, he would undoubtedly be a major contender. He dazzles crowds like the Hollywood superstar he is, and he has proved wrong all the caricatures questioning his substance.

No. 3, the very popular and successful governor of a big swing state. Jeb Bush may get to run for president one day, but not as his brother's immediate successor. Were it otherwise, party bigwigs and money would be flocking to Florida in a way reminiscent of the 1999 procession to Texas."

- The Washington Times , August 1, 2006

Joe Lieberman?

"Joe Lieberman is not a friend of the Bush administration. He may, however, remain the Democratic Party's last hope of recapturing the White House."

- The Baltimore Sun , August 8, 2006

Former New York Gov. George Pataki?

"Pushing an energy plan relying heavily on ethanol made from corn was sensible strategy for a relative unknown in the early caucuses in corn-growing Iowa, said Arthur Sanders, an analyst at Drake University in Des Moines.

'The hope for somebody like Pataki is that we end up with a lot of Republican conservatives dividing up the vote' while he builds up support with moderates, Sanders said. 'But then Pataki could be vying for the same voters' with another potential GOP candidate from New York - former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sanders said."

- New York Daily News , August 8, 2006

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner?

"Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's loss in a Democratic primary in Connecticut is not great news for former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner's presidential ambitions, a political analyst said yesterday.

Stuart Rothenberg, author of a widely read political newsletter, said Warner, like Lieberman, has portrayed himself as a centrist who can work well with Republicans."

- Richmond Times Dispatch , August 10, 2006