Posted on 08/16/2002 9:09:02 PM PDT by HAL9000
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun building a national political organization, softening her liberal image and taking a lead role in Democratic criticism of President Bush - steps toward a potential campaign to become the first woman president.Former President Clinton speaks about his wife's run for the presidency as a matter of ``when,'' not ``if,'' say people who have discussed it with him. Several of her associates said she is eyeing 2008 as the year to run.
Sen. Clinton said Friday that she will not break a pledge to complete her six-year term that expires in 2006.
``I have no plans to run for president,'' she said in a telephone interview.
Her actions suggest the former first lady is positioning herself for a history-making race. She has:
- Contributed nearly $600,000 to 73 Democratic candidates across the country through her political action committee and has raised even more money by headlining fund-raisers. She has helped candidates in key presidential states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
- Defended her husband's presidency against attacks from Republicans while sharpening her criticism of Bush.
- Courted the party's moderate wing with a keynote speech to the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. She has sided with Republicans or centrist Democrats on bankruptcy, welfare and anti-Hollywood legislation.
``It used to be that Democrats came to Washington hoping to work for Ted Kennedy,'' said Donna Brazile, Al Gore's campaign manager. ``Now they want to earn their stripes with Hillary.''
Clinton has miles to go to override criticism by Republicans that she is a liberal Democrat whose major policy initiative - the 1993 universal health care plan - was a political and policy disaster.
``I think it's always hard for somebody with a full record and a range of interests to be portrayed ... in soundbites,'' Clinton said. ``I was the first person in the country to call for teaching testing'' as first lady of Arkansas ``and I took enormous heat for that. I supported welfare reform in the Clinton administration and I took enormous heat for that.''
Several advisers and friends close to Clinton, speaking on condition of anonymity, say she wants a Democrat to win the White House in 2004. If Bush wins re-election, however, she would almost certainly be a candidate four years later, they said.
The sources include a longtime adviser, a close friend and a senior Democrat who have talked to Clinton about her future.
``I don't know who those people are or where they're getting their information from because they've never had a conversation with me they can quote,'' Clinton said. She flatly ruled out even a vice presidential bid in 2004.
Her husband was at a small dinner party in February, in Perth, Australia, when someone asked if Sen. Clinton would run for president. One person described the former president's unhesitating reply, ``Not in 2004,'' as reflexive, confident and leaving the clear impression that his wife had already decided to try in 2008.
It is impossible to characterize Sen. Clinton's intentions with any certainty; the sources close to her could be trying inflate her standing among Democrats or may be caught up in the Clinton-for-president speculation buzzing about the party's grass roots.
The possibility of a historic race is fueling the interest, Clinton said.
``I think that's part of the speculation and wishful thinking, because we all hope a woman will run in our lifetime,'' she said.
At last week's conference of the Democratic National Committee, Clinton's appearance by videotape produced a thunder of applause and polls show she is popular among party activists.
Her political action committee has contributed about $15,000 to New Hampshire candidates in tight races and about $21,000 to those in Iowa - the leadoff states as Democrats choose their presidential candidate every four years.
She attended a fund-raiser in February for Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and helped raise $20,000 at a New York fund-raiser for New Hampshire Gov. Judy Shaheen, who is running for the Senate.
She will open her Washington home Sept. 18 to raise money for Julie Thomas, a congressional candidate from Iowa.
``She's cultivating talent and friends across the country,'' Brazile said. ``Some day, she may want to harvest her crop.''
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Democrats may as well change their donkey logo to a goat's head/ 666 as they now aspire to "earn" their place in hell by working for Her Infernal Majesty.
Interesting choice of words. Whips leave stripes.
That's how the dems earn their stripes working for her!
Gore carried NY by a much higher percentage than Hillary did in 2000. So there's no gain by having Hillary at the top of the ticket. In fact, having Hillary run, might actually make NY competitive for the GOP. Bush barely lost a number of states - do you really think that Hillary would do better than Gore in New Mexico or Wisconsin or Washington or Oregon?
Arghhh! It's like checking into the Bates Motel for an extended stay. So, if The Great Witch becomes prez, I am looking for a new country.
Joyce Milton in The First Partner: Hillary Rodham Clinton, William Morrow, 1999, writes of Clinton's work with the Children's Defense Fund. A marxist will marry a rapist and tell the proles the state will best raise their children.
Laura Ingraham, The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places, Hyperion, 2000, notes Hillary's "either a dupe who loves her man so much she's willing to sacrifice all dignity for his sake, or a Machiavellian who craves power so much she'll do anything to keep it." [p. 142]
Peggy Noonan, The Case Against Hillary Clinton, HarperCollins, 2000, says, "She is using words not to reveal but to conceal, not to make clear but to confuse." [pp. 166-167]
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., Boy Clinton, Regnery, 1996, indicates Hillary defended Black Panther murderers while at Yale Law--noting her editorship of the Review when its covers featured cartoons of pigs in police uniforms being shot. O'Reilly went to great lengths in an email to refute any charge that Hillary had defended Black Panther murderers, a curious contortion for one ostensibly so incensed by her corruption.
Gennifer Flowers, Passion & Betrayal, Emery Dalton, 1995, recounts:
The time Bill and I had together was too precious to waste talking about his wife, but when I heard some rumors floating around Little Rock, I had to speak up. He was with me at home one evening, and I cautiously told him, "There's something you need to know. I've been hearing tales around town that Hillary is having a thing with another woman." I watched his face to see his reaction, and couldn't believe it when he burst out laughing. I was stunned! I asked him what was so funny. "Honey," he said, "she's probably eaten more [cheese-moose] than I have." [page 41]
Whitewater, published by the Wall Street Journal in 1995, relates Hillary's defrauding of the IRS and the RTC in the Madison Guaranty matter, and how she covered it up by firing the RTC investigators. She and traitorrapist42 set a precedent by firing the FBI Director (the day before Vince died), having fired all 93 U.S. Attorneys. Add the installation of the Crocodile Dyke as Attorney General and voila a coup.
That she called Bill's campaign manager a "f--king Jew b-st-rd" is likely.
Is America ready for a marxist lesbian anti-semite as president?
One who smooched Suha Arafat after her blood libel, took donations from Hamas-front American Muslim Council, proposed a socialist health care system, is cozy with racebaiter Al Sharpton?
So her "husband" in Australia said she wasn't running. Her "husband" in Australia this year made 300K bashing Taiwan at the PRC's annual Taiwan roast.
She's complicit in treason, the Loral-Hughes 1995 200-page fax to the PRC that catapulted China from sixties technology to 100% missile reliability with MIRVed W-88s.
The Butch of Buchenvald--
Just say no.
Washington and Oregon? Yup. The 2000
election/tossup was balanced on a dime.
I wouldn't want to bet.
She has already picked out what she will wear to the debates!
Breaking News: The next Pope will be Catholic! ;^)
All-natural straw broom from HarryPotter--$4100
GreenGlow makeup from Helena Rubinstein--$36
A bucket of water--priceless
Absolutely damn right. That's how her husband won.
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