Clinton’s Talks With Democrats May Signal Bid for President

[Ignacio Upton]

By PATRICK HEALY
Published: December 3, 2006

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun a calculated series of meetings with top New York Democratic officials to signal that she is likely to run for the presidency in 2008 and to ask for their support if she does, according to one state Democratic official who spoke with her and two others who have been briefed on her plans.

Senator Clinton met last week with Charles B. Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation, in what her advisers said was an effort to meet with most New York Congressional Democrats by the end of this month to discuss her plans.

On Friday, she also spoke with Herman D. Farrell Jr., the chairman of the State Democratic Party, Mr. Farrell said, and she plans to meet with Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer as early as today. Mr. Farrell confirmed that Senator Clinton briefed him on her 2008 intentions; Mr. Rangel declined to describe their conversation.

Senator Clinton’s outreach was disclosed and confirmed yesterday by three New York Democratic officials, all on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by the Clinton camp to release the information. One of the officials said he was contacted by Senator Clinton directly about her plans. The two others said they were informed by senior Clinton advisers that she was entering a new phase of contacting officials to line up support for a possible presidential bid.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/nyregion/03clinton.html?ref=nyregion

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. There is 0 chance that anyone who's on record as supporting the Iraq War

will be president. And that's as it should be.

[LoZoccolo]

3. *yawn*

You know there was a thread yesterday...something about George McGovern and Eugene McCarthy...like something...Viet Nam... :boring:

[TwentyFive]

6. What? 70% of New Yorkers don't count?

Hillary will take the presidency in a landslide. The people love her!

[cali]

14. Hardly.

Hillary isn't only the most divisive politician in the country, she's the most divisive politician within the dem party. Win in a landslide? Hell, she won't even win in the NH primary.

[freefall]

21. I pray you are right!! n/t

[juajen]

23. Please, no more Hillary bashing

Don't we have pugs to beat up on?

[w4rma]

56. If she is going to run in the primary she is going to get smashed. (nt)

[Bucky]

18. Hey, you forgot the "bleeding sarcasm" smily

The people love her!

As evidenced by threads at DU (and FR)

[baby_bear]

2. I just hope she pays attention to her new responsibilities

Now she is in the majority, and she will be the head of a powerful environmental subcommittee that oversees EPA hazardous waste and risk assessment programs and policies and finances.

If she continues to act like a minority senator with an eye on the presidency, she will fail.

I am hoping she will see where her priorities should be, and where she has abundant opportunity to affect federal policies for the better in the next two years.

But I am afraid she will be distracted. I hope I am wrong.

b_b

[Tellurian]

13. Perfect..I hope she can do some good with the EPA..

and perhaps give AL the assist, if he decides to run.
A dynamic duo is what the world needs now.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. Please don't run, Hillary. n/t

[TwentyFive]

5. This must be the worst kept secret in politics. Of course she's going to run - and win!

The Kucinich crowd on this board hates Hillary. They are deluded into thinking an anti-war candidate can win.

Hillary is a military hawk because that's the only way a Democrat can win.

America loves guns, war, the death penalty, prisons and violence. I don't agree with her on this issue among others, but I'm willing to give her a pass because she must convince swing voters she's 'strong on defense.' Get used to it.

[Pirate Smile]

9. You are fooling yourself if you think it is just the Kucinich crowd that

is concerned about Hillary winning the nomination.

That said - the intra-party battle will be in the primaries and caucuses. After that, I'll support whom ever is the Dem nominee.

[cali]

15. Get used to the fact that

many, many activist dems- not just the Kucinich crowd, as you so sneeringly put it, are adamently opposed to Hillary- and we will do everythng we can to see that she is NOT the nominee of our party.

[Eurobabe]

22. I confess to being really torn on this issue

I think the Democrats who voted to go to war with Iraq should have been more smart and said let's not rush to judgment on this one. Were they duped? I don't think so, I think many went along for political reasons (upcoming election 04).

So now that they are in control of House and Senate they owe it to the American and Iraqi people to OPEN UP THE DAMN BOOKS and investigate *'s motives, let's get it out in the open. Under the microscope. All of it. Prove it that you who voted for the war were duped and CONNED.

I don't hate Hillary, I am just unsure about her candidacy. Just my .02

[high density]

55. It's not the Kucinich crowd!!

Clinton has a serious image problem. She's not "strong on defense." She voted for a war that was based on lies and made this country less safe. I just don't see any ability for Clinton to turn any red states blue and that seems like a serious problem. I don't "hate" her but I think there are much better potential candidates out there for President. The only people who seem to really love Hillary are the fucks on cable news.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. Well, if Clinton gets the nomination

it could put Spitzer in a very good position for 2012.

[Emillereid]

8. NO! NO! NO!

I will support no candidate who doesn't have the balls to repudiate the Iraq war and their stupid vote for it. I find it amazing that even at this late date, with the vast majority of Americans finally finding themselves on the right side of this moral divide, that Hillary has yet to get it -- and in her astonishing inauthentic way -- she manages to triangulate and obfuscate the issue instead. We need someone who knows how to speak the truth; a grown-up to lead during these perilous times!

AL Gore '08,
The World Can't Wait!!!

[freefall]

10. In October '06 she made a statement in support of torture!

I dread the possibility of a Clinton candidacy. Since I was a child I have wanted to see a female president in the US but I will do everything I can short of voting for a Republican to see that Hillary isn't it. I don't want just any woman; I want an honest progressive woman who will represent the interests of people rather than corporations and Hillary isn't it!

Peace,

freefall

[The Roux Comes First]

12. I totally agree. There are of course plenty of women

I would not want as even a candidate, never mind a president, but it is way past time. I don't see HC as either representing the principles we should be supporting in terms of human rights vs. corporations (as one example), nor as a potential winner.

[freefall]

20. Welcome to DU, The Roux.

I sure hope you are right and that Hillary is not a potential winner. First, I hope she doesn't win the nomination!

:hi:

Peace,

freefall

[buddysmellgood]

11. KICK AND RECOMM... oh....I thought this was a Gore thread.

[Bucky]

19. !

Boink, my good sir. Boink indeed.

[BlueManDude]

16. Whomever can beat Hillary is my candidate.

[Ronnie]

17. I think she's great.

...

[LTR]

24. Adviser: Clinton actively weighs '08 bid

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun active consideration of a 2008 run for president and has personally asked some fellow top New York Democrats for their support in the event she goes ahead with such a campaign, a top adviser said Sunday.

"As Senator Clinton said, she was going to begin actively considering a presidential run after the election. That process has begun," said Howard Wolfson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061203/ap_on_el_pr/clinton2008&printer=1

[MannyGoldstein]

25. Has Zell Accepted The VP Spot Yet?

Her defense of the Iraq war has been breathtaking. And all of those "free" trade agreements... her sole sponsorship of a law to criminalize flag burning... her thumbs-up to both "Patriot" acts...

The Bush/Clinton dynasty - 20 years are not enough.

[OneBlueSky]

26. I don't think she'll win the nomination . . . further, she's probably . . .

the most beatable candidate we could put forward . . . just her name is enough to raise millions and millions of dollars for Republicans and to energize their base . . . a lot of people on the left don't have much use for her, either . . .

[Turbineguy]

29. Unfortunately she would be

the GOP's secret weapon against the US.

[searchingforlight]

27. New York, New York

That makes three New Yorkers. The rest of the country will love that on both sides - "Our New Yorker is better than your New Yorker". Can you say "John McCain"?

[NOLADEM]

28. BLAH BLAH BLAH....Fucking declare already....You aren't baiting anyone with anticipation

Jebus fucking Christ lady. Just declare already. We knew you were running when your husband left office.

Just end the bullshit charade and declare already so I can begin my effort to defeat your pro-war DLC bullshit in the primary.

UGH.

I miss the Big Dog, but I hate what the Clintons now seem to stand for.

[xiamiam]

30. talk about DENIAL...why cant she do something constructive instead of proceeding ..

the Republicans would love to see her run...as well as the bought and paid for media puppets..i'm sorry, but Hillary is as delusional as Bush if she thinks her bid for the presidential nomination is anything more than a gross waste of time...aren't there more important things for her to do than start campaigning again?..for example, try to figure out how to get us out of this war she has supported...i am so sick to death of politics as usual...

[skipos]

31. HELLLLOOOO President McCain!!! nt

[durtee librul]

32. Well there goes my vote

if we get her shoved up our collective a**es by the DNC. I cannot stand her. I am sure she is a great senator and maybe someone should send her a copy of the book, "The Peter Principle."

Can't handle it and I couldn't agree more with the posters above who said she is the most beatable candidate we could put out there.

If she TRULY cared about this country, she wouldn't even be thinking about running as she would be smart enough to figure out it would be a slam dunk for any repug running against her and they would handily defeat her.

Stay in the Senate, Hil, you're needed there more than at the top of the ticket this time. Maybe in '12....but not now.

[xiamiam]

33. exactly..every word...the same people who believed the "lies which led us into war"

are the same people who dont have the foresight to see that this is a losing proposition...i am very skeptical of their judgement...

[Pastiche423]

47. Uh, that should be

DLC not the DNC.

She'll not get my vote either.

[Neshanic]

38. President McCain, VP Hayworth. That will be the result.

Do you think that Mccain will not pick that freak to be VP?

Don't bet on it.

Hillary...sweetie, no, it's not the right time. This coming from a gay Democrat that keeps on hearing "it's not the right time."

[goforit]

43. And may the PNAC continue alive and well.

[gauguin57]

34. Hillary: give your money and support to electable Dem, in exchange for SCOTUS appt.

Don't make us go through it again, Sen. Clinton, please. Not another GOP prexy, which is what we'll have if you're the nominee.

We all know it.

So, throw your support and your DLC money behind a Dem who can win, in exchange for an eventual nomination to the Supreme Court. Where you can be yourself, instead of trying to be everyone to all people, and thereby coming off as a phony to both sides of the political spectrum.

[mikehiggins]

35. I stand corrected

there is someone who would make me vote for Lieberman in the primary if he was the last one standing in opposition to Hilary, unless he was her pick for V.P.

And I like Senator Clinton a whole lot, personally. She is doing a great job here in NYS, but run for President? She has to be the most polarizing candidate possible, and the number of people on the right who would trample their own children to death in order to get to the ballot box to vote against her would be more than matched by the number of disgruntled Dems who will stay home, or pack their bags to emigrate to Canade.

This is a losing proposition from the word go. If DeLay isn't in jail in 2008, he could beat her.

[truthisfreedom]

36. Despite the large DU contingent opposing her run...

she'd make a great president.

[Mudoria]

39. I agree, I really don't see another

Dem candidate I'd waste time going to the polls for.

[w4rma]

46. Vice President Gore, Gen. Clark, Sen. Edwards, and Gov. Schweitzer are all much better candidates.nt

[Tinksrival]

37. Is it just me or has Hill fence sitting hurt her with Democrats?

In her six year stint as a Senator I have hardly heard her as a stand out Democrat on issues. Is it just cause I am not in New York?
Even in the lead up to the election I don't recall much leadership coming from one of the most well known and lucrative Dems in the party.
Is this some kind of strategy? If it is it sucks, imho.

[caledesi]

40. I want to win again. Sorry Hillary....I want Obama with ANYONE

of our great candidates. VP or P...don't care. Yes, there has been a lot of hype about him, but did you ever go to youtube and watch the vids, especially stumping. He's the best politician since Clinton; he has that IT factor. Just look at the audience. When you see people nodding...you know you are connecting. K don't want to hear about "experience"...just read his books...this guy has lots of experience. Take a look at that clown we now have?

[shanti]

48. he's not ready yet

for the top position, IMO, maybe vp tho. my vote would go to gore for pres, well, at this time anyway.

[caledesi]

41. I want to win again. Sorry Hillary....I want Obama with ANYONE

of our great candidates. VP or P...don't care. Yes, there has been a lot of hype about him, but did you ever go to youtube and watch the vids, especially stumping. He's the best politician since Clinton; he has that IT factor. Just look at the audience. When you see people nodding...you know you are connecting. I don't want to hear about "experience"...just read his books...this guy has lots of experience. Take a look at that clown we now have?

[Liberal Veteran]

42. I will vote for her IF she gets the nomination....however....

....I'll most likely be voting for someone else in the primaries.

[mdmc]

44. Big Dog = "Iraq war strong and wrong"

Hillary:shrug:
Bring it on - I would support Kerry before you.

GORE 2008!

[brentspeak]

45. Good grief, why is she even bothering?

[Frank Cannon]

49. The loudest champions of a Hillary run are the MSM

They've been pushing Hillary as the Dem candidate 24/7 for years. Tweety says her running is a great idea at least once a week.

That right there should make you skeptical.

[IndianaGreen]

50. Waiting for Hillary to announce is like waiting for the avian flu to appear

Waiting for Hillary to announce is like waiting for the avian flu to appear, one must wait for the disease to rear its ugly head before one is able to fight it.

[SOS]

51. Hubert Humphrey redux

nt

[delphinium]

52. May the best person win!

I used to think she didn't have much of a chance to win a general election. I don't think that anymore. We have several candidates who can win in November 2008.

[Liberal Veteran]

53. Quite honestly, a Hillary run is a right-winger's wet dream.

That is not to say that Hillary wouldn't make a wonderful president. She most likely would.

However, having said that, the right wing noise machine has spent the better part of two decades vilifying her to the point that even some moderate democrats believe the misogynistic ravings coming from the right about Hillary.

When I hear middle of the road democrats at my union job saying they will march right up to the republican campaign hq and campaign for the republican candidate if Hillary wins the nomination, I fear her chances of getting the democratic base, the moderates, and enough swing votes to win the election are simply minuscule at best.

And really, when I look at who REALLY wants Hillary to be our candidate, I can't help but think that letting the other side pick our candidates is a foolish thing.

[high density]

54. Does she really think she can win?

The right wingers think she's a far left crazy and many of those us left of center aren't very happy with her either. In other words, she doesn't seem to have a very strong "base."

[stuartrida]

57. Look at Krazy Kathy Harris's senate run

Never underestimate the size of a politicians ego.

I will be really disappointed if she runs, because I think she, like Harris, will win the primary and lose the general election.

[Tatiana]

58. I wish she would just give it up. I would never vote for her in a primary.

EVER.

I do believe, politically, she is to the right of (husband) Clinton. After all, she first identified herself with the Republicans and I think she still holds some of those views (hawkish on military/foreign policy) that attracted her to the Republican party. On social issues, she can be considered liberal, but given our situation internationally, I don't think she'd make a great(much less ADEQUATE) President.

I want someone who can fix the mess Bush had made and move this country forward. I don't think she's that person.