Hello to my regular readers, and you know who you are, Art, Bill and Pete. (Actually, according to TypePad, I'm close to fulfilling the often quoted maxim--at least, around here--that on the Internet, everyone will be famous for fifteen people). So for those of you who may have been wondering if my absence from this space meant that I'd been kidnapped by aliens or something, the answer is yes.
But now that I'm back from the planet Tralfamadore, I find that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have declared their intentions to run for president. Some think the big beasts will tear each other apart and open the door for others, including the at present comical candidacies of Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Bill Richardson, but I don't think that will happen. (Okay, Richardson has the heartbeat of a contender, but Biden and Dodd? Why not Willy Wonka?)
I think Clinton and Obama will bring excited and engaged voters to the primaries, solidifying the Democrats' momentum so long as the loser endorses the victor with hasty enthusiasm. I think Clinton will prevail, as her adviser Mark Penn writes in this memo (thanks to PoliticalWire) to which I'll add what this I believe. Most of the people who say they can't stand Hillary would never vote for a Democrat anyway. And a lot of people will agree with what her husband said on the campaign trail with her husband in 1992--"Buy one, get one free." Hey, at least a few crucial percentage points of voters will say, we get Bill back, that will be great! (Again, those who violently disagree are Republicans or Perot voters).
As for Obama, I'm not sold on his leadership or depth but I like watching and listening to him. "Rock stars" like Barack and Hillary--as well as clowns like Brownback, Biden and Tancredo--will make 2008 a doozy of a year.
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