U.S. News: Hillary May Not Run

Newsmax ^ | 11-30-04 | Carl Limbacher

[truthandlife]

Some Hillary supporters say the former first lady may not make a bid for the White House after all.

Though initial polls show Sen. Clinton as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in 2008, U.S. News & World Report says Hillary may not seek the job.

Paul Bedard's "Washington Whispers" column in the latest edition of U.S. news reports that ". . . some friends and allies advise against placing bets that the former first lady will be the nation's 44th president."

Citing these close friends to Hillary, the magazine says Hillary has made no commitment to running, and some say she is not in the race at all.

"She's not running," one supporter told Bedard.

Bedard writes: "The thinking in the 'don't run' campaign is that Clinton is well aware of the partisan feelings she generates. 'People love her or they hate her,' says an adviser. 'There's very little gray area to gain voters in.'"

Others say that Hillary's campaign would quickly get mired in the same scandals that rocked her husband's administration.

How long can Hillary hold out in hiding her intentions?

Not long.

Political pundits say that with the presidential campaign now on a full four year cycle, Democratic candidates will be locking up big money supporters and Democratic operatives in key primary states.

If a candidate doesn't make clear their intentions early, they risk losing the party's movers and shakers to early runners.

Dick Morris believes Hillary is indeed running. He notes that the recent inauguration of the Clinton library was the soft kick off her national campaign. He oberved that though the library was about her husband's legacy, Hillary conducted most of the major media interviews.

[ctdonath2]

or a strong third-party candidate

Bingo! Start watching for a suspiciously funded right-leaning third-party candidate. There's her winning strategy, both siphoning off opposition votes and creating a distraction.

[johnb838]

Gutless? Come on, lets not get into the sort of damned if she does and damned if she doesn't games that the leftists play with the president. If she chooses not to run, she is wisely accepting the reality of the political landscape. Why put yourself through that if you don't think you can win?

Although, now that I come to think of it, the new "smoky back rooms" are the pre-campaign financing comittments. If she's publicly saying maybe not it sounds to me like fundraising is slow and she's saying that the Soros types better get on the bandwagon or it's not going nowhere.

[PhilDragoo]

[Liz]

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Billy breaks the bad news to her (snicker).