JUSIPER

 
Hillary for governor of New York?

Posted by Sini

It's hard to know for sure who's floating this. From Newsweek's Jonathan Alter:

In the event that Paterson had to resign, the New York State Constitution calls for a gubernatorial election this November. Clinton would be the favorite in that contest if she were interested. Were a politically wounded Paterson to serve out Spitzer's term, which ends in 2010, Clinton would no doubt be a strong potential candidate to succeed him.

Under the scenario sketched out by the insiders, serving two years as governor would give Clinton the executive experience to become the prohibitive favorite for the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton believes that Barack Obama may well lose this year to John McCain, who would be 75 in 2012 and a possible one-term president. Clinton would arguably be better positioned to replace McCain in the White House as a governor than as a senator.

The Senate might not be as attractive a job for Clinton as it once was, given that she would be surrounded by Democratic colleagues she believed betrayed her by supporting Obama (among them: Sens. Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Jay Rockefeller, Claire McCaskill, Ben Nelson, Chris Dodd and Bob Casey). If Obama is elected president, she would have to carry water for him in the Senate. If McCain wins, it would be more of the same for Clinton in opposition to a Republican president. Being governor of New York might be preferable even to being Senate majority leader—another scenario being floated about Clinton's future. [...]

The best exit strategy for her, say some Democratic superdelegates who aren't talking for the record, would be to suspend her campaign after winning Pennsylvania. (George H.W. Bush ended his 1980 campaign against Ronald Reagan after defeating him in the Michigan primary). That way, Hillary would go out on a high note—higher still if it was accompanied by reports that she could be headed for Albany. For now, Clinton has rebuffed that advice and said publicly that she will stay in the race even if she wins Pennsylvania only narrowly. (If she loses Pennsylvania, by all accounts she's out).

The only part that makes me think it might actually come from the Clinton camp is the slam on Obama.

Then there's this:

Becoming governor of New York might not be a cakewalk. "Oh, great, so she's going to get in the way of two African-American politicians now?" said one Washington, D.C., Democratic operative. "I don't think so." Former New York mayor Ed Koch, a strong Clinton supporter who believes she can still win the presidency, said he thought it was a bad idea: "I'd advise her to stay in the Senate."

The race card should work well among voters in Long Island and upstate. And she's certainly proven her ability to use it.

11:18 PM |