I don't know how Hillary stays viable until 2008. All the GOP needs to do is find a more serious candidate than Rick Lazio and Hillary loses the Senate in 2006, effectively ending her national political career. Giuliani or Pataki would beat her easily.
She has to make her run in 2004 - only she has to be sneaky about it and make it look like the Party is begging for her to do it.
Although I must say the Hillary-Bobby comparisons draw some interesting thoughts. Suppose we could set Sirhan out on a weekend furlough and tell him Ms. Clinton claims to be part-Jewish?
Or let Hinkley out and tell him that she's been having an affair with Jody Foster.
The H/B comparison is valid, but only up to a point. The Kennedys actually lived in New York, for a while, and Hillary NEVER did.
She has only two months ( maybe less, now, in which to declare her/throw her hat into the riung, before she no longer is legally able to. Since the " smokey backroom " type of politics, at conventions, hasn't been used for at least 4+ decades, there is absolutely NO way that she can or will be " annoited " , next summer, at the Dem Convention.