Clinton: What's next?
Posted: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:14 AM by Domenico Montanaro
So what's next for Clinton? The Washington Post seems to pour cold water on the Senate majority leader idea. "The climate on Capitol Hill has changed considerably in the 18 months since Clinton began her presidential campaign. The Senate leadership path that she had once viewed as a viable alternative is now all but blocked. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) has gained clout in his role, and he will grow even more powerful if Democrats succeed in expanding their narrow majority in November by up to half a dozen seats. Reid's deputies, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), also have enhanced their status in recent months and are quietly laying the groundwork to succeed Reid whenever he decides to step down.”
“‘Within the caucus, there's strong support for Senator Reid, and those who speculate otherwise don't understand the Senate,’ said Durbin, who was the first senator to endorse Obama. When Clinton returns to her old job, assuming she does not win the nomination, Durbin added, ‘she will be an important part of the future. But I can't tell you that anyone has approached me, or anyone in the caucus, with any specific suggestions about what she would do.’”
The New York Times runs a similar piece that asks: What happens when Clinton returns to the Senate? “While she has received millions of votes, stirred thousands of Americans at rallies, made hundreds of appearances and is just scores of delegates short of her goal, defeat would still return her to the Senate as No. 36 out of 49 Democrats. But the seniority arithmetic is only the beginning. There is also the personal challenge of returning to a club where more Democratic members, some quite pointedly, favored Senator Barack Obama and spurned her. For Mrs. Clinton, who has spent years cultivating friendships and raising money for colleagues, that had to hurt. Though the Senate is a place where rival lawmakers daily work side-by-side, this family feud was more public and pronounced than usual.”
The AP's Woodward writes something of a Clinton obit -- for both of them. "When Hillary Rodham Clinton finally exits the 2008 Democratic presidential race, she will end a decades-long, power-couple streak of unique political energy, savvy ideas, colossal policy flops and raw ambition dressed in pants suits and briefs, not boxers... By now, the Clintons have been assigned mystical qualities of perseverance. The notion that the adventure is over is almost beyond comprehension… With her cachet, not to mention her job in the Senate, Clinton won't drift far from the nation's consciousness. (Nor is Bill likely to get out of the country's face.)… Soon, though, there will be no Clinton running for president or about to. Imagine that.”
Reuters: “Even as she tried to get the political discussion back to topics like the economy, Clinton's reference to the assassination of Robert Kennedy after he won the June 1968 California presidential primary were still the focus of political talk. Writing in the New York Daily News yesterday, Clinton again explained she had mentioned the assassination in the historical context of a campaign that continued well into June. The former first lady said her remarks were taken out of context.” And Terry "McAuliffe accused the Obama group of ‘inflaming’ the issue by issuing that response and then the ‘hyped-up press’ took her comments out of context.”
Per NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli, AFSCME's Gerald McEntee went to Puerto Rico to campaign with the Clintons. No one can say McEntee hasn't been loyal. In addition, we learn -- via Clinton herself -- that Univision has invited both Dems to debate just on Puerto Rican issues. Said Clinton: “I know how important this election is because Univision has offered a debate between me and my opponent just on Puerto Rican issues. I have accepted, I will debate about the future of Puerto Rico anytime, anywhere because I think it’s critical.”
