Dennis Kucinich interview from Congressional Quarterly

[Freddie Stubbs]

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio this week became the second officeholder to announce a bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. And since the other candidate is retiring Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Kucinich is the first member of Congress to officially enter the Democrats’ presidential sweepstakes.

He also is the first repeat candidate for the party’s 2004 White House field. Kucinich did not gain serious political traction that year — earning less than 4 percent of the overall primary vote — and his candidacy was largely seen as a symbolic effort to represent the liberal activist wing of the party.

In an interview Thursday with Marie Horrigan of CQPolitics.com, Kucinich made it clear that he again will emphasize the trademark issue of his 2004 campaign: his fervent opposition to the Iraq war, which he described as “a Hydra-headed disaster.”

Kucinich contends he is the only current or likely candidate in the 2008 Democratic field to reject the war from the beginning and also to vote against funding the war. He touts this as a credential that will make him a much stronger contender in his second run than in his first.

more: http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/12/the_cqpolitics_interview_denni.html#more