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Kucinich to run for U.S. president

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Monday, December 11, 2006

American politician of the Democratic party Dennis Kucinich plans to run for president in 2008 the five-term congressman's spokesman, Andy Juniewicz, said Monday. Kucinich ran in 2004 and was last in nearly every primary and caucus of that year.

Kucinich began his political career as a Cleveland city councilman and later as the youngest person ever elected mayor of the Midwestern city.

The congressman made his decision to run, according to a written statement, because he felt his own party's leadership was not aggressive enough in opposing the Iraq war.

Kucinich, 60, is a staunch opponent of the Iraq war. He has advocated cutting off funds for the war, saying that voting for money to maintain or expand the war is incompatible with a position of opposition to it.

He also co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is a self-described "Wellstone Democrat." He has been praised as "a genuine progressive" by a Ralph Nader and in 2003, Kucinich was the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award.

If elected, he would be the country's first vegan president.

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