Hillary Clinton in 2008 Speculation

On Civil Rights: Pushing for privacy bill of rights

Clinton said any president should have the latest technology to track terrorists, but within laws that provide for oversight by judges. “The administration’s refrain has been, ‘Trust us,’” Clinton said. “That’s unacceptable. Their track record doesn’t warrant our trust. Unchecked mass surveillance without judicial review may sometimes be legal but it is dangerous. Every president should save those powers for limited critical situations.”

On Principles & Values: Poll: support among women 13% higher than among men

While Clinton has proved popular with the Democratic base in places like New York City, she is much weaker with the political center, the moderates and Independents in states like Ohio and Florida that she will need to win a general election. A daunting 42 percent of all Americans say they’d never vote for her for president.

On Civil Rights: Op-ed: Sponsored flag-burning bill for centrist credential

A: She’s a paradox. No one has been more diligent in trying to re-create her image as a centrist, even to the point of sponsoring legislation to make flag- burning illegal, which is a rather naked play for a kind of voter who is not attracted to her. The serious question is whether this can work. Missouri Democrats told me, over and over, that yes, they like Hillary Clinton, they think she’s a good senator, they admire her personal qualities, but the last thing they want right now is for her to come to Missouri and campaign on behalf of their candidates. Missouri is a state that could go for a Democrat in a national election, but they were saying, We hope that the Party understands that nominating Hillary Clinton means that you take Missouri out of play, and when Missouri is out of play, thirty other states are out of play.

On Principles & Values: Hillary’s paradox: she’s not as liberal as people think

A: There are ten or twelve plausible candidates for the Democratic nomination for the President, some of whom we haven’t really thought about yet. It could be Mark Warner, from Virginia, or Evan Bayh, from Indiana. Each person has a reason that he-and they’re all men-would be a better alternative nationally to Hillary Clinton. What’s bubbling beneath the surface right now is a feeling that Hillary Clinton could certainly capture the nomination, but she is not the best person to run for the Presidency. This goes back to the paradox of Hillary Clinton: she is a moderate figure-she’s never actually been as liberal as people think. But by 2008 the country will have had sixteen or seventeen years of knowing Hillary, and people’s ideas about her are fairly fixed. If only because of the amount of money she’s raised, she’s formidable, and she’s in the way of all of these other guys

On Principles & Values: Early frontrunner based on name recognition and money

When Republican types meet, the Hillary-chat is the same. Formidable candidate... shedloads of money... unrivalled name recognition... impressive job in the Senate... husband a big asset... great hairdo.

Among Democrats, you will find many who say she SHOULD be the next president-her admirers remain legion-but you will be very hard pressed to find many who say with confidence she WILL.

Early polls indicate that while she’s streets ahead for the Democratic nomination, she gets soundly beaten by all the most plausible Republicans. So, among Democrats the snatches of conversation are like this: Hated on the Left... impossibly high negatives... terrible performer in public... too much Bill baggage... awful pantsuits.