I've said it before and I'll say it again, Hillary will not win the dem nomination, no chance. She is the most polarizing and divisive politician in America today. Liberal moveon.org types don't trust her because of her vote for war in Iraq, and more moderate dems don't trust her chances of winning because they know she won't be able to take away one Red State. While it's way too early to predict who the nominee of each party will be, I'll go out on a limb with these picks:
Evan Bayh or Joe Biden for the dems
John McCain or George Allen for the Repubs.
I support George Allen, but I fear McCain will try and possibly succeed in wooing some conservatives by standing very tough on federal spending.
Count me as one of these, I voted Catholic and Not Kerry because of W's pro-life position. In 2008 if the Republicans and Democrats both have a pro-choice nominee I may have to hold my nose but I'll probably still vote Republican for other reasons, but I will NOT be a phone bank, church captain, precinct captain, or a 72 hour volunteer. Count me out!!
I agree that Hillary may not get the nomination. As the driving force for the DIMS will be electability, an anti-Hillary candidate will emerge. Since Hill can really only deliver NY and the traditional blue states, the party elders (if there are any grown-ups left) will realize that she cannot pick up any red states to win the general election. In order to WIN (the guiding principle), they will have to find an alternative. But, if not the Hildabeast, then who can claim the nomination?
If I were running the DNC, I would put together a Mid-West strategy for victory. The starting point of this strategery is that the typically blue states (on the West Coast and in the Northeast) will fall in line for any DIM ticket. The South will again be written off, but the Mid-West is the real battleground and the place to move a red state or two into the Blue column for victory.
So, with a Mid-West strategy in mind, the Dims would be smart to go with two candidates from the Midwest. The current short list would include Evan Bayh, Tom Vilsack, and Russ Feingold. All are perceived as strong, reasonable leaders. Bayh is very popular in Indiana and would have a great chance there, but would also positively impact Ohio and Iowa (2004 Red States) and could strengthen results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota (weak Blue States for Kerry in '04). With Vilsack or Feingold on the ticket with Bayh, the DIM party could project the face of "mid-western values" that could sway independents and moderate Pubbies all over the country, but especially in the Mid-West. This is something that Hillary will never be able to project, no matter how many right leaning poses she takes.
If Hitlery does manage to get the DIM nomination, watch for her to pick one of these three as VP. She will have the same stategy, to move a Mid-West state into the Blue column.