Hillary mulls bid?

Can this be the reason that Clark has delayed his announcement into mid-month? Rumors are flying fast and furious that Hillary is contemplating a White House bid now that Bush looks "beatable".

A great deal of Clark's financial support would come from the Clinton money machine, and there's obviously no room for both candidates in the race.

As for a Hillary bid, all I have to say is, what is she thinking? Actually, I have an idea:

When Bush seemed invincible, she was content to sit back, let some hapless Dem take the fall in 2004, and run in 2008. Now that the Dems look increasingly likely to take the prize, she suddenly wants in on the action.

(Incidentally, I have been hearing rumors the past few weeks that Hillary's money people would push her to enter the race if Clark chose to stay out. I discounted the rumors, though some came from solid sources. Quite frankly, they seemed ridiculous. Looks like I judged too quickly.)

Update: The word I've been hearing, and I've got real sources talking, is that Clinton's fundraising team has been pushing Clark to run. However, they wanted HRC as a fallback in case Clark didn't run, and were pressuring her to consider that option as Clark waited longer and longer to make up his mind.

Now what's unclear is the timeline. Is HRC mulling a run because Clark has decided not to run? Are those financiers tiring of waiting for Clark to decide? Did HRC decide she wanted to seriously consider a bid after all, forcing Clark to postpone his decision? Is this all just a trial balloon aimed at gauging potential reaction to a Clinton candidacy?

Or is this all b.s.? I caught the tail-end of a CNN report that Clinton was denying it all.

Posted August 29, 2003 01:40 AM | Comments (365)