Tag: 2008 (page 36)

Say hello to HillaryClinton.com.

Hillary has announced the formation of her presidential exploratory committee. She will begin with "a live conversation with America – an unprecedented series of video webcasts beginning Monday, January 22nd at 7pm EST for three nights."

I chronicled Hillary's 2000 run for Senator daily, back when TalkLeft was just a website, not a blog. I'm looking forward to following her presidential bid with the same enthusiasm -- although I like John Edwards as a candidate too.

It is exciting to have a serious female candidate for President. I'll be anxiously awaiting her position on issues to see if she's the candidate for me.

The New York Times has just published a revealing article on Hillary Clinton's meeting with Democrats with whom she is discussing issues related to her possible run for the Presidency. Some of the diners are talking out of school.

Mrs. Clinton told Democrats that she viewed her two strongest potential Democratic opponents as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina. They said that she viewed Mr. Obama as her biggest obstacle to the nomination, but that she believed the threat of his candidacy will diminish as voters learn how inexperienced he is in government and foreign affairs.

Without mentioning Mr. Obama by name, Mrs. Clinton and her camp are already asserting that experience will be a key attribute for any successful candidate during difficult times — an argument that her team will no doubt make in a more aggressive way against Mr. Obama if they both jump into the race.

The Washington Post goes on for five pages about whether Bill Clinton will be a plus or a minus for Hillary's presidential campaign.

Not much news here. Shorter version: He's both. Must be a slow news day. It sure shouldn't have taken five pages to point that out, especially when neither Bill nor Hillary were interviewed for the piece.

My view: Bottom line: He's a huge asset. He's a political dynamo and a statesman. She's smart and a hard worker. She's held her own as Senator, she'd do the same as President. It'd be nice to have him back in the White House, even as First Spouse.

It's down to the wire. DNC Chair Howard Dean will decide really soon, probably this coming week, whether the 2008 Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver or New York City.

I really hope Denver is chosen. We are up to the challenge, we can raise the money and we have the infrastructure.

The Rocky Mountain West is the old South in terms of importance in 2008, particularly Colorado and New Mexico.

It would be great to host bloggers here in Denver. There's a lot to do, it's young and vibrant, not too expensive and easy to get around.

We also have a very active progressive blog community. Check out ProgressNow Action, Colorado Confidential, Square State and Colorado Media Matters. We're ready.

Where do you think the convention should be held?

James Carville and Mark J. Penn have an op-ed in today's Washington Post positing that Hillary Clinton is electable and that the key may be women voters.

The X factor for 2008 -- and we do mean X -- is the power of women in the electorate. Fifty-four percent of voters are female. George Bush increased his vote with only two groups between 2000 and 2004: women and Hispanics.

...Hillary's candidacy has the potential to reshape the electoral map for Democrats. ....with the pathbreaking possibility of this country's first female president, we could see an explosion of women voting -- and voting Democratic. States that were close in the past, from Arkansas to Colorado to Florida to Ohio, could well move to the Democratic column. It takes only one more state to win.

They discount her polarization factor ("some people say she is too liberal, some that she is too conservative") pointing out:

We believe that she is squarely in the mainstream of America.