A bunch of blogs are all over this, and I was prepared to blow if off because I don’t think it’s going to happen. Since the story is making the rounds, I figure I’ll just tell you, my dear readers, so you know what the rumors are and you can decide for yourself whether to take them seriously.
As the post title suggests, there is fresh speculation that Hillary Clinton, believed to be a likely Dem presidential candidate in 2008 if Bush wins re-election, may still be looking at running in 2004 in light of Bush’s falling popularity.
It started with a report from Richard Reeves that the Clintons (Bill and Hillary) will be meeting with their pollsters and fundraising staff next week to “discuss” whether she should launch a campaign for the Dem nomination this year.
Fueling the fire, Matt Drudge (by no means a reliable source) quoted Congressional Quarterly’s Craig Crawford: “I have learned from two staffers for current presidential candidates that they were approached by Hillary associates about discussing her possible 2004 bid for the White House.”
This afternoon, the AP reported that Hillary even considering a forthcoming trip to Iowa to test the waters in the state with the first Dem caucus.
All indications are that Hillary has ruled out running in ’04 and this is just idle speculation. Harold Ickes, a Clinton confidant and former White House deputy chief of staff, said simply, “She ain’t going to run.”
Nevertheless, even a hint of Clinton presidential talk gets everyone worked up. It highlights an important political fact: the political universe continues to circle around Bill and Hillary. No matter what your party or ideology, whether you love them or hate them, any news relating to the Clintons instantly becomes huge news.
Moreover, it suggests the existing Democratic field of candidates — even with Dean as the frontrunner — may not be satisfactory to many party insiders anxious to beat Bush in 2004.
In fact, uber-blogger Daily Kos, who is working as a consultant to Dean, reports today that his sources are telling him that Clinton’s fundraising staffers have been gearing up to start working for Wesley Clark and looking at Hillary as “a fallback” in case Clark decides not to run.
In other words, no one knows. I just don’t see Hillary getting into the race, but that’s not based on anything but my own assumptions.
This will probably generate lots of chatting over the weekend, so I’ll report back on Monday if I hear anything new.
Update: As of 5:15, Hillary has said “I am absolutely ruling it out.” That should settle it.