Bill Clinton tosses Hillary's hat into the presidential ring

[whometense]

My mother taught me if you haven't got anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut. My lips are sealed.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hillary-clinton-climbs-into-presidential-ring/2005/07/17/1121538864295.html

It was billed as a strategy session for student activists, but it turned into the launch of Bill Clinton's latest role in American politics. The one-time commander-in-chief is now cheerleader-in-chief for his wife's undeclared but unconcealed run for the White House in 2008.

The last Democrat president abandoned his notes to announce that Hillary Clinton was ready to win back America's highest office for their party.

He was speaking at a seminar of college liberals in front of fellow high-ranking Democrats in Washington, the day after his wife's office launched a revamped website.

Officially, it is part of her bid to retain her seat as a New York senator next year yet, in design, it resembles last year's campaign sites of President George Bush and Democrat challenger John Kerry.

[saracat]

1. No comment.

[Mass]

2. He has been transparent for a while on this issue.

[wisteria]

3. Can I wish upon a star?

Maybe my dream will come true. In the mean time my response is please noooooooo!

[TayTay]

4. Mars and Venus in the White House

That wasn't all that smart. Hillary Clinton is already drawing a lot of scrutiny nationally and is attracting a lot of attention. It is possible that by the time the actual Presidentail season rolls around she might be 'overdone' in the media spotlight.

That didn't seem like a very bright move on Bill Clinton's part. Hillary, as a woman, is going to have to prove that she is an independant candidate and will not be a 'two-fer' (buy one Clinton, get one free) because that really didn't play out very well in the 90's. I don't see what this does for Hillary except paint a big target on her back and raise questions about her independence.

By the time the real season starts she is going to be awfully shopworn.

[wisteria]

5. Good points, I hope your right. n/t

[karynnj]

6. Agree that it was a horrible move

As you said, Hillary is getting a huge amount of attention totally on her own. If she wanted more, she could drop "hints" of running.

It brings up major questions on whether Bill is capable of taking a subservient (or backing) role. He has always seemed to place himself in the spotlight. At both Gore and Kerry's conventions, he spoke as much about himself as them. Although he's a charismatic speaker, by focusing on the candidates' contributions to his administration's agenda he could have been far more useful. (oddly, this may have helped Kerry more as some of his work on the cops and CHIP programs and as being a leading Senator on the environment and technology (which he mentioned in his book) weren't well known - and would have added to knowledge of Kerry's usefulness in the Senate.)

What I wonder is whether Hillary had any knowledge or say prior to Clinton making this statement and the ones about Kerry's supposed weakness on national security. (Does it seem curious that Clinton now seems to have wanted Kerry to have the Bush-lite position that the RW (and the extreme left wing)accused Kerry of having?) Does Hillary really want to run on Bush's Iraq and ME positions? In the primaries?

I think that it may get mentally tiring figuring out Hillary's positions whenever Bill's statements go further than hers or differ from hers. (Is Bill the Democratic Bob Dole?) Shopworn - yeah and reminiscent of the emotionally draining end of Clinton's Presidency - which hurt Gore. Clinton's popularity seems to have risen during the Bush administration, however an increase in visibility may actually hurt that.

[TayTay]

7. Excellent post

The Hillary Push is in dangerous territory. I do not think that having Bill jump in and do what he is doing is a good thing at all for her.

I loved all your points. Can't add a thing to them.