PATAKI EYEING PREZ BID IN 2008
By FREDRIC U. DICKER"August 23, 2004 -- Gov. Pataki, who will introduce President Bush at the Republican National Convention next week, may run for president himself in 2008, sources said yesterday.
One source quoted William Plunkett, a prominent Westchester lawyer and one of the governor's oldest friends, as confiding that Pataki "is definitely thinking" about running for president in 2008.
"He says this thing about the presidency is real," the source told The Post.
And Newsweek, quoting an unnamed source, reported that the governor recently huddled with longtime advisors Arthur Finkelstein and Charles Gargano to discuss a potential presidential run in 2008.
Aides to the governor have long promoted Pataki as a presidential candidate.
They did so during the 1996 GOP convention — just two years after he defeated Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo — and again in early in 2000, when Pataki conducted a whirlwind national speaking tour aimed at testing the presidential waters.
Newsweek noted that Pataki has been raising funds for President Bush across the country in recent months, and quoted a Pataki adviser as saying, "He's going to be moving around the country and whatever that leads to, it leads to." Many state and national Republicans contend that Pataki's strong support for abortion and gay rights, strict gun control, state-run public utilities, rent control and ever-growing state spending and borrowing would make him unattractive to GOP core voters.
"Pataki would have many obstacles to overcome, but he has political skills and fund-raising abilities in his favor," said longtime Democratic political consultant Philip Friedman.
Pataki could also face a stiff challenge from another high-profile New Yorker known to be eyeing the presidency in 2008: Rudy Giuliani."
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/29295.htmIt was also featured in Newsweek today....thoughts?
