Presidential Election Involvement
Rendell was a potential candidate to serve as Senator John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 presidential campaign. Rendell's popularity, particularly in the suburban ring of counties around Philadelphia, was a key to Kerry's victory in Pennsylvania, one of the most hotly contested swing states in the 2004 presidential election.
On August 30, 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that while Hillary Clinton and other high-profile Democratic politicians were returning contributions from tainted political fundraiser Norman Hsu, Rendell said he intended to keep the $40,000 he had received from Hsu's fund-raising network. The newspaper also noted that last year Hsu hosted a 10-course dinner for Rendell at Per se (restaurant) in New York City, where meals cost $250 per person.
On January 24, 2008, Rendell announced his endorsement of Senator Clinton in the latter's race for the White House. He stated that, " really cares about moving this country forward. She also has the best health-care plan for America."
As one of Hillary Clinton's staunchest supporters, Rendell argued that many media outlets' coverage of her campaign were biased. On March 31, 2008 he congratulated Fox News on what he considered to be the best campaign coverage. Addressing Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy, he said, "I think during this entire primary coverage, starting in Iowa and up to the present, Fox has done the fairest job, has remained the most objective of all the cable networks." Rendell continued, "You actually have done a very balanced job of reporting the news, and some of the other stations are just caught up with Senator Obama, who is a great guy, but Senator Obama can do no wrong, and Senator Clinton can do no right."
Rendell endorsed Senator Barack Obama in June 2008 and made several campaign appearances on his behalf.
As state governor, Rendell was one of the 768 superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention.
After Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, Rendell was often mentioned as a possible Obama pick for Secretary of Energy or Secretary of Transportation. However, Steven Chu was selected for Energy Secretary and Congressman Ray LaHood was selected as Transportation Secretary.
Read more about this topic: Ed Rendell
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