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<p>Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday said she will turn down the vice presidential candidate slot if it's offered to her by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry. Mrs. Clinton was asked in an NBC "Today" show interview what she would do if Mr. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, asks her to be his running mate. "Well, I don't think that will happen," Mrs. Clinton told Katie Couric in the interview, taped earlier this week and aired yesterday. "I've made it clear I don't want that to happen, and that my answer will be no if it does happen. I'm not ... I'm not prepared to do that." Political strategists had varying opinions of what her remarks mean. "People are looking for hidden motives every time she opens her mouth," complained Democratic analyst Donna Brazile, who said the remarks are consistent with Mrs. Clinton's stated goal of running for another Senate term. "[T]hat's where she's going to keep her focus," Ms. Brazile said. Others said Mrs. Clinton, who was elected in 2000 as the junior senator from New York, has her sights set on the presidency, and her remarks yesterday back that up. "My sense is that she doesn't like to play second fiddle to anyone and you're seeing that in this decision," said Republican strategist David Winston. "She's a pretty ambitious, focused person. I'm not sure that vice president is what she views as her goal." Mr. Winston said he assumes Mrs. Clinton, "would identify the best situation for her [to run for president] is an open-seat presidency, and therefore she's looking at 2008." Under this scenario, Mr. Kerry would lose this year's election and Mr. Bush would be leaving a two-term presidency in 2008, so there'd be two new candidates vying for the office — a more favorable environment for a challenger than facing a sitting president, he said. "I'm not implying that she wants Kerry to lose ... but in terms of the most favorable for her, that's the most favorable," he said. Mr. Winston said turning down an opportunity to be vice president means Mrs. Clinton runs the risk Mr. Kerry will win, thereby complicating her potential plans to seek the presidency in 2008. On the other hand, if she were to be Mr. Kerry's running mate this year and they lose, that also could hurt such plans, he said. Democrats strongly dismissed all this speculation. Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, said it's "far-fetched and silly" to say Mrs. Clinton's statements on the "Today" show indicate some "grand strategy" of a presidential run in 2008. "If she was strategizing about how to be the [presidential] nominee for the future, she should do everything she could to be vice president," he said. He said a vice presidential slot is a good jumping-off point for a presidential run, plus keeping her name in the mix as a potential vice president would give her much-coveted national attention over the next months.</p>

Forum Madame Hillary New York, New York (United States) ID: 181161 - 03/15/2004 - 0:50 - $29.95 Tyrrell Jr., R. Emmett, Editor in Chief, [American Spectator] Regnery, Alfred, President, Regnery Gateway Publishing Innis, Niger, National Spokesman, Congress of Racial Equality Mowbray, Joel, Columnist, Townhall.com Fund, John, Columnist, [Wall Street Journal] Mr. Tyrrell was joined by a panel of political reporters, columnists, and commentators to discuss his book, Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House, published by Regnery Publishing. In the book, the author examines the life of Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton. He also speculates about...

In Review:Madame Hillary: The Dark Road To The White House, by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. with Mark W. Davis (Regnery Publishing, 231 pages, $27.95) It is incumbent upon a reviewer to disclose a bias or personal interest, unless it is already blatantly self-evident. For instance, any reader would realize that a hostile review of Bob Tyrrell's excellent book by, say, Sid Blumenthal might have been motivated by the reviewer's desire to ingratiate himself with the boss, Hillary Clinton. Since this review will be enthusiastic and laudatory, my own motives must be spelled out. I am a very old and good...

In response to a comment in our textbook stating that women remain the second sex in our society, I said to the class, “Well, in 2008, I wouldn’t be surprised if a woman became president.” The students agreed with me and a few mentioned Hillary Clinton’s name aloud. Another student, the lone conservative present, emailed me the next day and asked why I would make such a statement. “Because it’s true,” I answered. Most conservatives are completely baffled by the Hillarymania of today’s liberals. A recent poll illustrates that she remains a highly polarizing figure among the American electorate. Should...

<p>The campaign trail has been cluttered with such fantasticos as Sen. John Pierre Kerry, Dr. Howard Dean, Generalissimo Wesley Clark, and the Rev Al Sharpton. Now I too have had to venture onto the campaign trail, but a more civilized trail it is.</p>

A review of “MADAME HILLARY THE DARK ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE” By R. EmmettTyrrell, Jr. with Mark W. Davis This is the probably the most focused and serious book I’ve read by Mr. Tyrrell. He clearly suppressed his considerable talent for amusingly limning the Clintons as the clowns that they are to deliver instead a steady, updated, and well-informed account of what they are up to and why we need to remain concerned with their machinations. The Clintons take over and manipulations of the Democratic Party are described well and documented early in the book. The Clintons today, as...

MADAME HILLARY THE DARK ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE R. Emmett, Tyrrell Jr. with Mark W. Davis This is the probably the most focused and serious book I’ve read by Mr. Tyrrell. He clearly suppressed his considerable talent for amusingly limning the Clintons as the clowns that they are to deliver instead a steady, updated, and well-informed account of what they are up to and why we need to remain concerned with their machinations. The Clintons take over and manipulations of the Democratic Party are described well and documented early in the book. The Clintons today, as demonstrated by Tyrrell...