People had been thinking of Thomas Dewey as the next President of the United States for so long that they decided it was time for a change.
Hillary has been, in the event of Republican wins in 2000 and 2004, the Democrat front runner for 2008 since 1998. She is far too unattractive, in every possible sense of the word, a vessel to hold that much hope for that long.
Just heard a report that not one D bigwig in Iowa wants hillary to run.