Democratic Representative, Dennis Kucinich at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, July 28, 2004. Kucinich, an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2004, launched another long-shot White House run on Tuesday with a call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, launched his second bid for the White House on Tuesday, becoming the second Democrat to announce his candidacy.

    Announcing his candidacy in Cleveland, Ohio, Kucinich said he would not "stand by and watch" U.S. troops being killed in Iraq.

    "We Democrats were put back in power to bring some sanity back to our nation," he said, referring to midterm elections last month in which the party retook control of the houses of Congress. Nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war started in March 2003.

    "We were expected to do what we said we were going to do - get out of Iraq," said the six-term member of the House of Representative.

    Kucinich, 60, was a vocal critic of the Iraq war and ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004. He has said that he was inspired to run because of his dissatisfaction with his party's strategy on how to handle the war.

    He has suggested that Congress stop funding the war, and has proposed a universal health care system and the creation of a national peace department.

    Kucinich attended Cleveland State University between 1967 and 1970, and got a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1974.

    In 1977, Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland at the age of 31, the youngest leader of a major American city. He was first elected to Congress in 1996, and was re-elected this year for a six term.

    On Nov. 30, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced his bid for the White House, the first Democrat to formally launch a campaign for the presidency in 2008.

    New York Senator Hillary Clinton, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, former Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Kerry, the Democratic candidate in 2004, were all potential candidates for the party's presidential nomination in 2008.