Posted on 11/08/2006 8:00:42 PM PST by blam
You ain't seen nothing yet, says 'President Hillary'
By Catherine Elsworth in New York
Last Updated: 2:16am GMT 09/11/2006
Some supporters already refer to Hillary Clinton as "Mrs President" and although she remains steadfastly to be drawn on a possible White House bid, her re-election in New York will only fuel speculation that she is poised for a historic run for the presidency.
Bill Clinton congratulates Hillary after her re-election
The former first lady won a crushing victory over her Republican opponent, securing almost 70 per cent of the vote in the overwhelmingly Democratic state and even picking up support in more traditionally Republican areas.
Exhaustive campaigning – considered overkill by many in a race she was almost certain to win – has convinced commentators she is "exercising her campaign muscles" for a bid for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008.
But there was no word yesterday from Sen Clinton on anything beyond the immediate future as she delivered a brief victory speech, declaring that being senator was "the greatest privilege I could have".
But as she left the stage, the sounds of the rousing rock classic You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet boomed forth.
Sen Clinton outspent every other politician running for office, laying out almost $30 million. Much of it went on television advertising but she was also generous to fellow Democrats in New York and beyond, especially those in tight races. It was one of many tactics analysts interpreted as preparation for a presidential bid.
"She'll be able to collect her chips, as we say, at some point from those she's helping out," said Prof Steven Brams, of New York University.
Despite her spending, the senator is still estimated to have about $15 million in the bank, which could be used for a White House run. Given her celebrity profile and the clout of her friends, fund-raising is unlikely to be an issue she has to worry about. More problematic could be convincing the party she has broad enough appeal to win over the country her husband once ran.
But Tuesday's result, in which she triumphed in districts she previously lost, demonstrated her efforts to appeal both to independent voters and more moderate conservatives were at least in part successful.
During the campaign, Sen Clinton, 59, focused on her achievements since election to the Senate in 2000. She also attacked the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq and urged Donald Rumsfeld to resign.
"The message couldn't be clearer: that it is time for a new course," Sen Clinton told cheering supporters yesterday, the former president, Bill Clinton, beside her.
"New Yorkers and Americans want an end to the culture of corruption and the dominance of special interests and a new beginning to our beloved country."
Hillary Clinton personally went around and forced everyone to vote in line with her evil plan!
The picture of those two criminal reprobates makes me ill. The fools and morons in this country that voted them in should be beyond ashamed...but frankly, I don't think their IQ is high enough to even feel shame and self-disgust.
Amen!
And I'm sure you believe that this is the worst economy in 20 years, and that we're losing the war in Iraq, right?
charming language - well as one who resides in her territory, we have only pataki to thank - the repub sentorial candidate ran no ads to speak of and was largely unknown to the electorate. The party here has been eviscerated and ran no notable candidates except Pirro, and we even screwed that up
Dont blame me pal - blame the rino whos lead this state into fiscal insanity - what a shameful legacy
The election results are heartbreaking, no doubt about it. But on the bright side, I'm hoping it DID teach Republicans a lesson. As the congressional GOP currently exists, you'd be hard pressed to assemble a spine from the whole lot of 'em. For 12 years, they've done a terrible job at acting like the winners and governing like the majority. It's the politicians who created the mindset that led to this sickening series of elections.
MM
Isn't it about time for the "Hillary can't win" crowd to lecture us?
Be afraid, people. Be very afraid. Watch & see a 3rd party candidate (a la Perot) swoop in and guarantee a Hillary victory in 2008.
I think that the economy is "not so good" for a lot of people for reasons totally or only marginally related to politics.
As for the war in Iraq, I believe we still have a chance.
She didn't pull the lever, or force anyone to pull the lever -- it's called manipulation. We had idiots at work today stand up and clap when news of Rumsfeld's resignation came across. Stand up and clap????? That's freakin' nuts, but it just goes to show what a wonderful brain-washing we've gotten in the press.
Remember, if you look at the senate vote (probably the best comparison in a non-presidential year)--there were 6.5 million more democratic votes than Republican--a number even larger than what President Bush won by.
This is huge democratic vote advantage also occurred on a total vote number much less than the last Presidential election--even making the difference even more impressive (from a democrat's viewpoint).
The Republicans really have their work cut out for them in '08--and I think we need to fear the possibility of a Hillary Presidency even more now.
You mean Ms Rodham don't you?
Sign of a divided nation. I've heard stories about Thanksgiving dinners ruined over fights about politics.
SOREREPUBLICAN
Easy on the sauce, we should be a bit better than the other side, correct? Or else we are the same and that is how too mnay people feel these days.
Not only that, she will never hold up under scrutiny. The people are not that stupid no matter what we think right now.
My brother-in-law no longer speaks to us because we are ignorant Bible thumping country hicks who are following the herd.
Just shout RUDY and it all goes away.
Nope.
As things stand today Hillary will be President. Possibly she'll find it necessary to name Obama her VP, possibly she'll prefer somebody from further west, but she will be the nominee and she will win.
This has been in the making for a long, long time. And the next two years will appear to be chaos but will function at each step to further her candidacy. The people in the media doing this know perfectly well what they're about, as do the real powers in the DNC (I see McAuliffe started bleating publicly again today) and the financial backers and her numerous ideological soulmates abroad.
Our job will be to stop her, and we'd better get started.
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