Speculation about Hillary Clinton's political future continues to dominate

[phk]

Speculation about Hillary Clinton's political future continues to dominate

BY HELEN KENNEDY

New York Daily News

NEW YORK - (KRT) - HILL-A-RY. HILL-A-RY. Hill-a-ry. Hill-a-ry.

The 2008 drumbeat grows ever louder. Barely a day goes by now without some new mention of the former First Lady returning to the White House as president.

Even halfway around the world, the question comes up. When New York's junior senator met briefly with young Indian politicians in New Delhi last week, they wanted to discuss the chances of her being the next leader of the free world.

"She smartly dodged our queries," a member of parliament, Jitin Prasada, told the Times of India in a gushing story that began, "She came, she spoke, she conquered."

Clinton always dodges the query, saying she's focused on getting New York to reelect her next year, but it's all but impossible to find a political pro not convinced 2008 is her real target.

The past two weeks, the buzz briefly became a roar, fueled by her husband's declaration to Japanese TV that "she would make an excellent president."

Bill Clinton insisted he didn't know her plans but praised her political skills.

"I was in it more, so for a long time I was better. But I think now she's at least as good as I was," he said.

This followed a poll showing 81 percent of Americans would vote for a woman and 53 percent want Clinton to run. She's routinely the winner in polls asking Democrats whom they'd vote for in 2008.

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., who's mulling a White House bid himself, anointed her the "likely nominee."

"She'd be incredibly difficult to beat. I think she is the most difficult obstacle for anyone (else)," he said.

In the wake of a John Kerry loss widely attributed to his silence on "moral values," Clinton has talked about the morality of abstinence, finding common ground with abortion foes and her respect for those who believe abortions are wrong under all circumstances.

And Clinton's also started talking more about her faith, making a plea for "enabling people to live out their faith in the public square."

Answering yet another 2008 question, she said she's too busy and added, "I have more than I can say grace over right now." Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan amusingly translated the religious allusion as: "I'm running, is this not obvious to even the slowest of you?"

Conservatives are sneering at what American Values boss Gary Bauer called "the ultimate makeover," and liberal activists, some of whom still haven't forgiven Clinton for voting to invade Iraq, are quietly grumbling.

"She shouldn't take the base for granted," said Jonathan Cook, a liberal activist.

"The whole independent left fell in line (behind the Democratic Party) in 2004, and I think they're feeling kind of burned," he said.

Ruy Teixeira, co-author of "The Emerging Democratic Majority," said he thinks Clinton would make a great president but is deeply skeptical that she could get elected. Big money donors, he said, are equally skeptical.

"People don't like to come out and say it because they don't like to tick her off, but privately most people don't think she can win," he said.

One key to Kerry's loss was his dismal performance among blue-collar white voters, a group Democrats must win back, Teixeira said. It's also a group that doesn't much cotton to Clinton, who's as polarizing as President Bush and has maintained a disapproval rating around 40 percent for the past decade.

Clinton also has problems among women - assumed to be more likely to vote for the potential first female President.

A WomanTrend poll last month found 25 percent of women said they'd definitely vote for her. But 29 percent wouldn't no matter whom her opponent turns out to be. "A lot of these blue-collar women don't respect her for staying with her husband," a WomanTrend pollster said. "If you can't stand up to a cheating husband who embarrassed you in front of the whole world, how are you going to stand up to Osama Bin Laden?"

---