Morris: Hillary Will Run for President

News MAX ^ | Monday, June 17, 2002 | Dick Morris

[vannrox]

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Morris: Hillary Will Run for President

Dick Morris
Monday, June 17, 2002

This is the second article in a series by Dick Morris based on his latest best-selling book, "Power Plays: Win or Lose – How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game." You can get "Power Plays" free or at a reduced price.

I predict that this decade Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Party nominee for president. While she may run in 2004, the likelihood is that she will make her bid in 2008.

Hillary begins with several playing field advantages. First, she enters the Democratic primaries with the solid support of blacks and feminists and strong backing from Hispanics and liberals.

In the Democratic Party, it is difficult to miss with that combination.

Another advantage she'll have is that in 2008 there will be a Republican primary at the same time as the Democratic contests.

With Bush likely to be re-elected in 2004, 2008 will see strong contests for the nominations in both parties. Why should this matter?

Because it means that the Independent voters will be divided between the two party primaries, just as they were in 2000.

If neither Bradley nor McCain had run and the Independents could have concentrated in either party's primary, neither Gore nor Bush would have been nominated. It was only because the Independent vote was divided that the favorite of the party's orthodox wing won in each case.

In 2008, they will be divided again, giving Hillary a strong edge.

And the general election?

Don't count her out. Most presidents run out of gas in their second terms. Count 'em – none have succeeded since Teddy Roosevelt.

Woodrow Wilson? The League of Nations dragged him down.

FDR? Court packing cost him any power he held over Congress in his second term, he couldn't get anything passed.

Truman? Korea made him impotent politically.

Eisenhower? Two recessions drained him of power and led to a huge off-year Democratic win in 1958.

LBJ? Vietnam.

Nixon? Watergate.

Reagan? Iran-Contra. He lost the Senate in 1988.

Clinton? Impeachment.

History shows that second terms just don't work.

By Bush's second term, the war on terror will be running on fumes as the U.S. will have ousted Saddam, conquered al-Qaeda and, for the moment, neutralized the domestic threat.

Bush doesn't really have a domestic agenda other than his tax cuts. So look for Bush to run out of momentum as 2008 nears.

All of these factors favor Hillary for a 2008 presidential run. At that time she will present an activist, if liberal, alternative – one that will be welcomed by the Democratic Party.

Read first article in series: Bush Stands on Principle.

Dick Morris Joins NewsMax Magazine!

Editor's Note: Find out what straregy Hillary will use to get back in the White House. This is revealed in Dick Morris' best-selling book,"Power Plays: Win or Lose – How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game." You can get "Power Plays" Free or at a great price – just click here.

[vannrox]

2008. You read it here.

[Ann Archy]

Get real...she's running in 2004. Will JEWS give her the money they did for her Senate race....THAT will be the big question mark.

If we can han on as a country until 2004, ands she wins....it's ALL over for us as a free country with commonsense.

[rmgatto]

Morris, circa 1999: Hillary will NOT run for the Senate.

[TomGuy]

There is still a lot of time between now and the pre-November 2004 election, and alot can happen.

Unless GWB is still polling in the 70% range, HillC will try for 2004. The major reason is the possibility of some other dream-candidate arising for 2008, and HillC wouldn't want to take that chance. She already has the Clinton political machine in full operation. She would love nothing more than, like BillC in 1992, to unseat a war-time, popular, President Bush from a second term. And she knows she would be the media-darling for 2004, just as BillC became in 1992. Don't count her out for 2004 and don't underestimate her resolve. She is cunning, determined, and has the political capital to be the one giving the acceptance speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention.

[anniegetyourgun]

This is news? Of course she's going to run in 2008....she's all they've got.

[Sungirl]

Jeez..I wish she'd run in 2004 and get her landslide defeat over with. I don't know if I want to look forward to seeing Ole Crusty in 2008....

[mewzilla]

She's going to make sure that she's all they've got. Unless the Democratic party grows both a brain and a conscience. And fat chance of that happening, hmmmm?

[Solid Oak]

The Clintons put their man as head of the DNC for a reason, and it wasn't for a run in 2008 (McCallife won't be head in 2008). I'm convinced she wants to go in 2004 if she feels GWB is vulnerable. Remember they upset his Bush senior, and he had a 90% approval rating when Clinton started his campaign. I think the Clintons feel they can upset anybody with the press on their side to spread their lies.

[GeorgeHL]

What a pitiful judgment of the Democratic party when their 'best'hope lies in a thunder thighed old hag!! I wish she would run off a short pier and have the stainmaker in one hand and that ugly troll of a daughter in the other.

[abclily]

By 2004 Miss Hitlery will no longer have the support of blacks and Hispanics. More and more of these minority groups are realizing that the democrats are manipulative users. The votes will not be there for Miss Hitlery, since Billy Blythe and Tommy Daschle have used up that political capital.

[anniegetyourgun]

You're right - not likely. All the older (yet hardly wiser) lib/dems have sold their conscience for power. And to think - most of them threw overboard their last shreds of decency for the likes of Bill Clinton. Sad, indeed.

As to Hillary, I think the only thing that could do her in would be a big name out of Hollywood. There are enough fools in this country who would vote for someone on the basis of such popularity. In fact, that's Hillary's only draw as well, because she certainly has no record - she slept her way to the top. Young people (and older Dems) would vote for her on the basis of name recognition alone. Just ask one of them why they would vote for her. They'll tell you "she cares" (just another version of "I feel your pain") but they have no evidence of that. In fact, there is not even any evidence that she works hard.

[mewzilla]

If it makes you feel any better, I only know of ONE Dem who voted for Algore. The rest (the minority) voted green or abstained, and the majority voted for Bush. I even know a couple of Dems who voted straight Pubbie.

[GeorgeHL]

PING

[Ipse Dixit]

Morris, circa 1999: Hillary will NOT run for the Senate.

Limbaugh: Ditto; plus (paraphrasing) "she's only running to keep the IC's investigators off her tail."

[anniegetyourgun]

Amazing. All the lib/dems I know voted for Gore, though the more reasonable ones now seem to regret it. But we don't have very many "reasonable" lib/dems out this way. In fact, yesterday I was driving down the street and saw a big handmade sign on the SUV in front of me. It looked like it had been there since 12/00. It said: Impeach Bush - and the Supreme Court that put him there.

They'll never get over it.

[surrey]

Come on Mark Fuhrman......get that Vince Foster ivestigation going NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[thepitts]

God help us.

[IronJack]

We need to be ready for it when she does. By then, the American electorate, with it's microsecond attention span, will have forgotten Slick and his Reign of Error. We need to let Godzillary fall all on her own, but make sure we never let her ooze away from her past.

Her presidency would be the most dangerous threat to America since Pearl Harbor.

[mewzilla]

Some of them won't. But I think many more have taken their brains out of neutral after realizing that the Dems have been peddling horse hockey all these years. But then I live in one of the red bits of the state. Maybe we're just more receptive to political epiphanies :)

[anniegetyourgun]

I'm not sure I could endure it.