Editing Tom Vilsack (section)

==2008 U.S. presidential campaign==
{{main|Tom Vilsack 2008 presidential campaign}}
On November 30, 2006, Tom Vilsack became the second Democrat (after [[Mike Gravel]]) to officially announce intentions to run for the presidency in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 election]]. In his announcement speech, he said "America's a great country, and now I have the opportunity to begin the process, the legal process of filing papers to run for President of the United States." Vilsack dropped out of the race on February 23, 2007, citing monetary constraints.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tomvilsack08.com/blog/archives/thank_you_video |title=Thank You Video |publisher=Tomvilsack08.com |access-date=September 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001101440/http://www.tomvilsack08.com/blog/archives/thank_you_video/ |archive-date=October 1, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>

[[File:Tom Vilsack 2008 campaign logo.svg|thumb|Vilsack's campaign logo]]
Vilsack's campaign made significant use of [[social media]] by maintaining an active [[MySpace]] profile, a collection of [[viral video]] clips on [[YouTube]], a [[Facebook]] profile, [[videoblog]] on [[blip.tv]],<ref name="kuhn">Kuhn, Eric. [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kuhn/vilsack-wants-to-appeal-t_b_36693.html Vilsack Wants To Appeal To ME and YOU.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911122058/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kuhn/vilsack-wants-to-appeal-t_b_36693.html |date=September 11, 2016 }} ''Huffington Post''.</ref> and a conference call with the podcast site [[TalkShoe]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://recordings.talkshoe.com/rss10102.xml |title=EPISODE69 – The Kurt Hurner Show |publisher=TalkShoe |date=August 12, 2008 |access-date=September 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507204925/http://recordings.talkshoe.com/rss10102.xml |archive-date=May 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> On January 27, 2007, Vilsack called into the Regular Guys Show hosted by Kurt Hurner to conduct a 15‑minute interview on his running for the Democratic nomination for 2008. Since then, Vilsack appeared again on the show, now The Kurt Hurner Show at Talk Shoe on August 12, 2008, this time as a supporter of Barack Obama for president taking questions from callers to the program for 30 minutes.

During the campaign, Vilsack joined fellow candidates [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Joe Biden]] in supporting the establishment of a [[U.S. Public Service Academy]] as a civilian counterpart to the military academies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uspublicserviceacademy.org/endorsements/ |title=Endorsements |publisher=Uspublicserviceacademy.org |access-date=September 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906025143/http://uspublicserviceacademy.org/endorsements/ |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Shortly after ending his 2008 bid for the White House, Vilsack endorsed Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] and was named the national co-chair for Clinton's presidential campaign.<ref>[http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=1416 HillaryClinton.com – Media Release] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127221131/http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=1416 |date=November 27, 2008 }}</ref>

===Views on Iraq===
Vilsack was critical of President [[George W. Bush|Bush]]'s execution of the war in [[Iraq]], but he hesitated to call for an immediate and complete pullout of U.S. forces: "I don't think we're losing in Iraq. It appears to be a draw. People are upset by the fact that their kids are over there and there doesn't seem to be any end to this whole process. It's not pacifism that makes people think this way. They're questioning the credibility and competence of the Commander-in-Chief."<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldberg |first=Jeffrey |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/05/29/central-casting |title=Central Casting |magazine=The New Yorker |date=May 29, 2006 |access-date=July 20, 2016 |archive-date=October 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006001541/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/05/29/central-casting |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Tom Vilsack withdrawal.jpg|thumb|left|Vilsack announces his withdrawal from the 2008 presidential race]]
On December 5, Vilsack announced that he favored withdrawing most U.S. forces from Iraq and leaving a small force in the northern region for a limited period. He said U.S. forces provided the Iraqi government with "both a crutch and an excuse" for inaction. He said U.S. withdrawal "may very well require them to go through some chaotic and very difficult times", but that he believed it the only way to force the Iraqi government to take control of the country.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://apnews.com/852a34fe45bf28898f8296657431bab5| title=Vilsack wants smaller U.S. force in Iraq| access-date=July 20, 2016| date=December 5, 2006| first=Beth| last=Fouey| work=Associated Press News| publisher=Associated Press Archive| archive-date=August 15, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815122127/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2006/Vilsack-Wants-Smaller-U-S-Force-in-Iraq/id-852a34fe45bf28898f8296657431bab5| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Views on energy security===
The Vilsack Energy Security Agenda set out a strategy to dramatically reduce U.S. reliance on foreign energy and to cut the United States' carbon emissions. It also called for replacing the Department of Energy with a new Department of Energy Security, to oversee and redefine the federal government's role in energy policy. The reorganized department would have acted as an institutional advocate for innovation in energy policy and was intended to ensure accountability as the nation works towards achieving its energy security goals. Through this new department, America's overriding objective in energy policy would have been to make America the unquestioned leader in clean energy, enhancing national security and economic strength.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.TomVilsack08.com |title=Tom Vilsack for President |publisher=Tomvilsack08.com |access-date=September 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023082924/http://www.tomvilsack08.com/ |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref>

In a 2007 lecture to the [[Commonwealth Club of California]], Vilsack stated:<ref>{{cite journal| title=On the Record| date=January 14, 2009| first1=Emma| last1=Marris| first2=Alexandra| last2=Witze| journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]| volume=457| issue=7227| pages=242–243| doi=10.1038/457242a| pmid=19148063| doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Iowa is one of the nation's leading producers of [[corn ethanol|corn-based ethanol]], and many people in my state have an economic stake in the expanded use of corn-based ethanol. But the reality is that corn-based ethanol will never be enough to reach our goals. Some have suggested that we import more sugar-based ethanol from Brazil and we should indeed consider all sources of available ethanol{{spaces}}... but if we are going to create energy security we can't simply replace one imported source of energy with another. That alone is not security{{spaces}}... the only way we can produce enough domestically is if we greatly improve the technology used to produce [[cellulosic ethanol]].}}