by NewsMax Intern Mark Magro
Friday Dec. 6, 2002

But if not Gore, then who? One possible candidate is Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who announced this week he was forming a presidential exploratory committee.

But before Kerry gets anywhere near the nomination, he'll have to contend with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who tops every other candidate besides Gore in Democratic presidential preference surveys.

Sen. Clinton is not only popular with minorities, she's guaranteed to generate enthusiasm with reporters, most of whom would like nothing more than to tout a come-from-behind Clinton candidacy as a replay of 1992.

Would the GOP counter with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, whose unexpectedly strong victory in North Carolina's Senate race has put her back on the map as one of the party's rising female stars?

Then there's National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. whose name crops up with increasing regularity among potential GOP presidential candidates.

Should she decide to make a White House bid, it could shake up America's political dynamic for decades to come.

Mark Magro attends St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School in Staten Island, NY

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