Reeves: Hillary Will Decide Presidential Plans Within Days

NewsMax.com ^ | 8/27/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Sen. Hillary Clinton is about to decide her presidential plans, says columnist and author Richard Reeves.

The race for the Democrats' 2004 presidential nomination "has changed totally in the past few weeks," Reeves wrote Tuesday. "At the beginning of the summer, Hillary could comfortably deny having national presidential ambitions because the comfortable conventional wisdom was that it didn't really matter who the Democratic candidate would be, because President Bush had a lock on re-election. (I'm sure that the thought has never crossed her mind that it would be better for her if Bush won in 2004, leaving her a clear field in 2008.)

"But now! With Bush looking more vulnerable because there are not enough jobs at home and not enough peace abroad, Sen. Clinton has to check some numbers. If a Democrat, say Kerry, defeats Bush next November and then runs for re-election in 2008, then her next chance to run would probably be in 2012, when she will be 65 years old. And who knows what the world will look like then?" Or what Hillary will look like.

Reeves says that "Hillary and her advisers, including her husband the ex-president, her money men and pollsters, will meet shortly after Labor Day - Sept. 6, I hear - to discuss whether or not she should go for it. It is a decision that has to be made earlier rather than later because of November and December filing deadlines for the early primary elections that will almost certainly (and very quickly) identify the 2004 Democratic nominee.

"The contest, again almost certainly, will be over by March 2 at the latest, and possibly as early as the end of January. California, New York, Texas, Ohio and eight smaller states will hold primary elections on Super-Super Tuesday that second day of March. There is even a chance that if the same candidate, say Kerry, could win the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19 and the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 27, he could win early enough to cut off the financial and journalistic oxygen of other Democratic runners. If Hillary decides to do it - you get to be president only by running for it - she will have to meet filing deadlines by announcing her candidacy before the end of this year."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

2004 Elections
Sen. Hillary Clinton

[samanella]

Bring 'er on!

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Personally, I think a 65 year old Hildebeast has the best chance of winning. At that age her already matronly looks might be grandmotherly as opposed to what they are now.

[mystery-ak]

Huh!...she has said several times that she wasn't running in 04....oh, nevermind, rats always lie.

[Republic]

I will devote every spare moment I have to defeating her-even if it means giving up long evenings on FR.

[montag813]

Or what Hillary will look like.

ROTFL!

[warchild9]

This is a good time for her to run. W has already been crowned by the system, and she'll be humiliated at the polls. We'll never have to look at another Clinton! Oh, the joy!

[bicycle thug]

If she runs and gets the nomination, that party should be renamed, "the Dumbeddownocratic Party."

[Lucky2]

I worry that the beast could win. We Freepers have lots of work to do the defeat the evil one!

[Mo1]

It is a decision that has to be made earlier rather than later because of November and December filing deadlines for the early primary elections that will almost certainly (and very quickly) identify the 2004 Democratic nominee.

If she runs .. and I think she will ... she won't announce it till the last moment ..

So don't expect an answer til November from her

[Cicero]

The other consideration is whether she can continue to own the Democrat party for six more years without a husband in the White House. Six years is a long time in politics.

At some point I think the economy will tank, worse than the Great Depression, because of the huge bubble the Fed has built, but I'm not sure if it will happen now or later. Hillary can only guess when it might happen, or how the job market will look next year.

[Diogenesis]

Partners in terror.

[zencat]

I don't think she'll run. My guess is that she plans to try against a weaker Republican ticket in 2008.

Not that I believe a word she says, but she is twice on record very recently, once on 60 Minutes, stating that she would not run in 2004.

Yes I know, 60 Minutes is lame, but a lot of liberals watch it. It's where Gore announced he also would not run in 2004.

[Mo1]

I worry that the beast could win. We Freepers have lots of work to do the defeat the evil one!

Yes we do .. she will pull every dirty trick in the book and you can bet ALL of the Unions will help her

[montag813]

I don't think she'll run. My guess is that she plans to try against a weaker Republican ticket in 2008.

I don't think a Jeb Bush/Rudy Giuliani ticket will be "weak". Good luck Hillary. Unlike the pathetic Rick Lazio, the national GOP will shred her to pieces.

[mo4bush]

Oh my, how would you like to see the Hildebeast in the primaries against Dean? Dean reminds me of a pit bull and PIAPS reminds me of the aforementioneds' mother!!!!!!!

[Lucky2]

I just hope there is someone out there with enough guts to make known to the American public exactly what her crimes are. They may not live long as so far she's gotten away with everything including murder (150+ dead by association).

[Mo1]

The other consideration is whether she can continue to own the Democrat party for six more years without a husband in the White House. Six years is a long time in politics

I don't think she can .. the Dem Voters are starting to see the the left wing whackos taking even more control of the party and many don't like what they are seeing .. and that is why I think she'll run in 2004

[Leroy S. Mort]

Personally, I think a 65 year old Hildebeast has the best chance of winning. At that age her already matronly looks might be grandmotherly as opposed to what they are now.

She'll make Eleanor Roosevelt look like Cindy Crawford...

[martin_fierro]

Huh!...she has said several times that she wasn't running in 04....

She also said in 1994 that she'd never seek elective office:

Mar. 2, 1994

While Hillary Clinton lunches in March 1994 with the queens of New York gossip -- Cindy Adams, Linda Stasi, Jeannie Williams and Liz Smith -- the subject of the upcoming midterm elections comes up. From Smith's March 2, 1994 report:

"Would she campaign for her brother Hugh Rodham, who is about to run for office in Florida?

"(Mrs. Clinton) hesitated and said, 'I am not sure he has decided yet to do it, but if he does, I'll help him any way I can.'

"Would she ever run for office herself? She gave a very definite 'NO!'"

oh, nevermind, rats always lie

Ah, but then you already knew that.