Queen Mary I, during her notorious reign,
ordered almost 300 religious dissenters put to death.
Posted on 01/21/2007 8:23:23 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton made history again yesterday. The first former First Lady to become a senator declared she intends to break the ultimate glass ceiling and win election as America's first female President.
"I'm in. And I'm in to win," Clinton said in an Internet message.
Her promise to run a campaign that would be "a conversation" ends a grueling decision-making process that began just after Clinton, 59, won reelection to the Senate in November. And it caps years of groundwork by Clinton, her husband and her faithful, who built a national money network that could make her the most powerful woman in the world two years from now.
Yesterday, after waking up at home in her adopted state, she flicked the switch around breakfast time, powering up a nearly fully built election machine.
Aides were already in place to answer phones in her Washington campaign headquarters.
She then spent the day with former President Bill Clinton at her side in their Chappaqua, N.Y., mansion phoning supporters and donors, an aide said.
A source said Hillary Clinton talked to her campaign staff the night before, showing confidence and "a little bit of nervous energy."
"But she's very confident," the source said.
In a campaign that has hit warp speed earlier than ever before - with the first primary voting still a year away - her announcement comes at its own surprisingly critical moment.
A week earlier, as Hillary Clinton was touring Iraq and Afghanistan, former veep nominee John Edwards stole headlines with an anti-war speech on her own turf, at Riverside Church just blocks from her husband's Harlem office. And rising superstar Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) launched his own bid last week, siphoning even more attention from the junior New York senator.
She struck back fast, mounting a media blitz to talk up her war zone trip and offering a bill to start ending the war. But still Obama soared past her in a poll of first-up primary state New Hampshire. Edwards tied her.
"It's become tit-for-tat already," said Baruch College political scientist Doug Muzzio. "Edwards lays down a marker in New York. Obama announces on the Internet and ends saying he's going to have a conversation. And they're both offering Iraq bills."
Nationally, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found Hillary Clinton crushing party rivals, the favorite of 41% of Democrats, followed by Obama at 17% and Edwards at 12%. In a theoretical general election, though, a Newsweek poll found the three Dems in a virtual dead heat in head-to-head matchups with GOP top dogs Sen. John McCain and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Although the buzz was that Hillary Clinton would announce soon, many expected it after President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Trumping Bush helps explain the timing. "People are going to see a contrast between George Bush and Hillary Clinton," said campaign spokesman Phil Singer.
In a video chat filmed for the online rollout, the first topic she mentioned was Iraq - which promises to be tough for her in the primaries, with many left-leaning Democrats believing she hasn't moved quickly enough away from her vote for war.
"Let's talk about how to bring the right end to the war in Iraq, to restore respect for America around the world," she said.
Hillary Clinton also signaled her campaign will focus on the middle class, dealing with energy, deficits that threaten Medicare and Social Security, and "definitely" health care.
Her next steps will be a series of video Web chats starting tonight at hillaryclinton.com and then a trip to Iowa, the leadoff caucus state, at the end of the week.
Launching an exploratory committee means Hillary Clinton, who has $14 million left from her Senate campaign, can start the furious fund-raising needed in the primaries, likely more than $100 million.
An aide said Hillary Clinton would skip public financing for the primary and general contests, making her the first 2008 candidate to do so. Given the expected price tag, though, other top-tier candidates are likely to do the same.
With Kathleen Lucadamo
No problem. the Constitution doesn't apply to Democrats.
So "WE" want to be president again?
Thanks for the links!
Who wants an ugly old bag for president? Wait, Bill got elected didn't he?
Who's the ugly dog on the left?
Here are some women I think should run, and would vote for over Hillary.
At least their brains are just as good and well, their beauty, I have judged that on my own.
You've come a long way, Conservababy.
Queen Mary I, during her notorious reign,
"People are going to see a contrast between George Bush and Hillary Clinton," said campaign spokesman Phil Singer.
I guess these brilliant political geniuses have not heard that George W. Bush will not be running in 2008.
And they're going to love it the way they love seeing Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween.
LOL!!
he would do it willingly to give her the coveted crown she has demanded of him...sick evil people.
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