Questions for the candidates
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By The Associated Press

The Associated Press asked seven Democrats and seven Republicans running for their party's 2008 presidential nomination a series of questions about their backgrounds, traits and tastes. Check out the personal side of the following candidates:
Democrats: Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Republicans: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo.

ALTERNATE CAREER CHOICE

DEMOCRATS:

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Democrats | Republicans | John Mccain | Rudy Giuliani | Barack Obama | John Edwards | Mitt Romney | SUV | Bill Richardson | Bill Richardson | Hunter | Elizabeth | Dennis Kucinich | Duncan Hunter | Tom Tancredo
Biden: Architect.

Clinton: "Continue to work for causes and issues I care about, in a setting like a university or foundation."

Dodd: Teacher.

Edwards: Mill supervisor.

Kucinich: Astronaut.

Obama: Architect.

Richardson: Center field, New York Yankees.

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: Farmer.

Giuliani: Sports announcer.

Huckabee: Bass guitar player for a touring rock band.

Hunter: Outdoor writer.

McCain: Foreign service.

Romney: Auto company chief executive.

Tancredo: President.

___

FAVORITE FOOD TO COOK

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: Pasta

Clinton: "I'm a lousy cook, but I make pretty good soft scrambled eggs."

Dodd: "An August New England dinner: Lobster, corn and tomatoes."

Edwards: Hamburgers.

Kucinich: Hot water, according to his wife, Elizabeth. Doesn't cook. A vegan, he favors fresh fruits and vegetables.

Obama: Chili.

Richardson: Diet milkshake.

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: Beef.

Giuliani: Hamburgers or steak on the grill.

Huckabee: Ribeye steak on the grill.

Hunter: Chicken fried venison.

McCain: Baby-back ribs.

Romney: Hot dog.

Tancredo: Doesn't cook.

___

DESERT ISLAND NECESSITY

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "Jill, my wife."

Clinton: "A good book."

Dodd: "Coffee with cream and sugar."

Edwards: "A book."

Kucinich: His wife, Elizabeth.

Obama: "Other than my wife and my kids, an inanimate object I would have to have would probably be a good book."

Richardson: "Blackberry and a Davidoff cigar."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: "Tarp."

Giuliani: "Books and music."

Huckabee: "Laptop with satellite reception."

Hunter: "Mrs. Hunter."

McCain: "Books."

Romney: "My wife, Ann."

Tancredo: "Boat."

___

FAVORITE REALITY TV PROGRAM

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "Don't have one."

Clinton: "American Idol."

Dodd: "'American Idol,' which I say often reminds me of running for president sometimes."

Edwards: College basketball.

Kucinich: C-SPAN coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives. No time for other TV.

Obama: "Other than the U.S. Senate on C-SPAN? I don't watch them too often."

Richardson: "Fox News."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: "None this season; too busy. Last season it was 'The Amazing Race.'"

Giuliani: Baseball.

Huckabee: "Nashville Star," USA Network's country music competition.

Hunter: Watches Versus, previously called the Outdoor Life Network.

McCain: Arizona Diamondbacks baseball.

Romney: "American Idol."

Tancredo: "None."

___

FAVORITE FITNESS ACTIVITY

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: Weightlifting.

Clinton: Speed walking.

Dodd: Cross training, tennis and biking.

Edwards: Running.

Kucinich: Walking fast.

Obama: Basketball.

Richardson: Horseback riding and tennis.

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: Elliptical trainer.

Giuliani: Golf.

Huckabee: Running.

Hunter: Hunting, fishing and hiking.

McCain: Hiking.

Romney: Jogging.

Tancredo: Hunting.

___

WORST HABIT

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "Too many to list. "

Clinton: Chocolate.

Dodd: "Running late, even when my staff does everything in their power to prevent it."

Edwards: "Drinking soda."

Kucinich: "Ask my wife, Elizabeth."

Obama: "Checking my Blackberry."

Richardson: "Straying from my diet."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: "Being late."

Giuliani: "Talking too much."

Huckabee: "Channel surfing on TV or radio."

Hunter: "Not turning off the Outdoor Life Network (now Versus) before I go to sleep."

McCain: "Coffee."

Romney: "Fidgeting."

Tancredo: "Cigar smoking."

___

"SLEEPING IN" TIME

DEMOCRATS

Biden: 8:30-9 a.m.

Clinton: "I feel lucky when I can sleep until 7 a.m."

Dodd: "With a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old?"

Edwards: 7 a.m.

Kucinich: 8:30 a.m., according to his wife, Elizabeth. But bedtime is usually 2 a.m. and the alarm goes off at 6 a.m.

Obama: 8 a.m.

Richardson: 7 a.m.

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: 7:30 a.m.

Giuliani: 8 a.m.

Huckabee: "Five a.m. is late for me. Most days I am up no later than 4:30 a.m."

Hunter: 7:30 a.m.

McCain: 8 a.m.

Romney: 7 a.m.

Tancredo: 8 a.m.

___

HIDDEN TALENT

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "Designing homes."

Clinton: "I love crossword puzzles."

Dodd: "Speaking Spanish fluently -- I picked it up while in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps volunteer."

Edwards: "Jump shot."

Kucinich: "Hits just as well against right-handers as left-handers."

Obama: "I'm a pretty good poker player."

Richardson: "Boxing trivia."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: "Auctioneering. Bull riding (once in college.)"

Giuliani: "Listening."

Huckabee: "Voice impersonations of dozens of celebrities."

Hunter: "Making rifle scabbards out of leather."

McCain: "Barbecue grill chef."

Romney: "Singing."

Tancredo: "After 30 years in politics, there is no talent that has not been exploited."

___

LAST MUSIC PURCHASE

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "My sister's playlist."

Clinton: Carly Simon's "Into White."

Dodd: Soundtrack to 'Jersey Boys."

Edwards: U2.

Kucinich: Likes Willie Nelson.

Obama: "The latest music purchase would probably be 'Ray' -- the soundtrack from the Ray Charles movie."

Richardson: George Strait, "50 Number Ones."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: Christian artist Michael W. Smith.

Giuliani: Verdi's "Macbeth."

Huckabee: Evanescence, the goth rock group from Little Rock, Ark.

Hunter: Favors country and gospel.

McCain: Likes "Sounds Of Summer - The Very Best Of The Beach Boys."

Romney: "Selection of Roy Orbison songs from iTunes."

Tancredo: "Frank Sinatra duet combo."

___

CARS YOU DRIVE

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: 1967 Corvette, a wedding gift from his dad in 1967 when Biden married his first wife, Neilia.

Clinton: "For security reasons, we drive in Secret Service vehicles but the Service lets us use a Ford hybrid when we're home in New York."

Dodd: 2007 Ford Escape hybrid, a compact SUV.

Edwards: Ford Escape hybrid. This spring, also reported having a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica midsize SUV and 1994 GMC truck.

Kucinich: Ford Focus compact.

Obama: Chrysler 300C, a full-size sport-luxury sedan.

Richardson: "Jeep Wrangler, although my security doesn't like me to drive."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: Ford Taurus in Washington and Honda Civic hybrid in Kansas

Giuliani: "I don't drive, I navigate."

Huckabee: 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck

Hunter: "Suburban with 274,000 miles on it."

McCain: Cadillac CTS, a midsize luxury sedan.

Romney: 2005 Ford Mustang convertible.

Tancredo: Toyota Prius hybrid, Cadillac, Mercedes, Buick.

___

HOME TASK THAT NEEDS TENDING

DEMOCRATS:

Biden: "Maintaining shrubbery."

Clinton: "Organizing my closets."

Dodd: "My 2 year-old who wakes up beginning at 3 every morning!"

Edwards: "Clearing paths in the woods."

Kucinich: The garden.

Obama: "Too numerous to list."

Richardson: "Taking out the garbage at the mansion."

REPUBLICANS:

Brownback: "Mowing the lawn."

Giuliani: "Cleaning the fireplace."

Huckabee: "Cleaning garage."

Hunter: "Finishing the rebuilding of our house that burned down -- a big task."

McCain: "Grilling."

Romney: "Clean the gutters."

Tancredo: Christmas lights.

___

LAST WORK OF FICTION READ

DEMOCRATS

Biden: "Runaway Jury" by John Grisham.

Clinton: "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Dodd: "The Broker" by John Grisham.

Edwards: "Exile" by Richard North Patterson.

Kucinich: "Einstein's Dreams" by Alan Lightman.

Obama: "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson.

Richardson: "The administration's energy plan."

REPUBLICANS

Brownback: "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson with David and Heather Kopp.

Giuliani: "The Beach House" by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge.

Huckabee: "My oldest son's screenplay."

Hunter: "The Democrats' proposal to balance the budget."

McCain: "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway.

Romney: "Term Limits" by Vince Flynn.

Tancredo: "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore.

___

PETS AT HOME

DEMOCRATS

Biden: A cat.

Clinton: "Seamus, our Lab."

Dodd: None because of family's allergies. Would like a dog.

Edwards: Golden retriever and chocolate Lab.

Kucinich: Pound-rescues Harry the beagle-basset, Lucie the beagle and George the cocker spaniel.

Obama: None.

Richardson: Cats Jake and Squeaky.

REPUBLICANS

Brownback: Two dogs, two cats and a fish.

Giuliani: None.

Huckabee: Jet the 9-year-old black Lab, Sonic the 1 1/2-year-old Shih Tzu.

Hunter: Two black Labs, Boo and Hunter.

McCain: Sam the English springer spaniel, Coco the mutt, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets and 13 saltwater fish.

Romney: Family recently lost Marley, a Weimaraner.

Tancredo: No longer has a pet.

___

BEST AND WORST GRADES OR SUBJECTS IN SCHOOL

DEMOCRATS

Biden: Favorite subject was American jurisprudence at the University of Delaware; least favorite was contracts at Syracuse University Law School

Clinton: "I always loved history and got good grades, but I never did well at math."

Dodd: Best, U.S. history. No answer on worst subject.

Edwards: Best, English; worst, chemistry.

Kucinich: Best subject, English; worst, biology.

Obama: Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law; D in 8th grade French.

Richardson: A in spelling; F in music.

REPUBLICANS

Brownback: Best, agricultural economy; worst, music.

Giuliani: Best, constitutional law and contracts in law school. Worst, tax in law school.

Huckabee: A+ (100 percent average) in debate; C in 9th Grade algebra.

Hunter: Favorite college subject was contract law. No answer on worst subject.

McCain: "I never got good grade."

Romney: A to F. "Fortunately, I got more A's than F's."

Tancredo: A+ in high school civics; failed high school French.

___

ITEM THAT MOST REMINDS YOU OF WHERE YOU CAME FROM

DEMOCRATS

Biden: "Rosary beads."

Clinton: "Olive burgers from the Pickwick in Chicago."

Dodd: "New England fall foliage."

Edwards: "Mills."

Kucinich: "Compass."

Obama: "Photograph in my office of the cliffs of Oahu's South Shore, where my mother's ashes are scattered."

Richardson: "Green chili."

REPUBLICANS

Brownback: "Wheat."

Giuliani: "My grandfather's pocketwatch."

Huckabee: "Trains. My childhood home was only about 200 yards from the train tracks."

Hunter: "Letters and articles by my Dad written over the past 60 years."

McCain: "Enchiladas."

Romney: "Family Bible that Dad and I used to take oath of office as governor."

Tancredo: Picture of his mother.


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