Radar magazine has the memo.
Radar has learned that Ford has been offered the chairmanship of the Democratic Leadership Council, the centrist think tank founded in the mid-'80s by Al From and other New Democrats as a tool for cultivating like-minded candidates, particularly at the presidential level.
According to a draft memo that sources provided to Radar, Ford has agreed to replace Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as chairman of the influential organization. Vilsack, a centrist with little national name recognition, recently announced that he would run for president in 2008. After interviewing a number of high-profile candidates for the job, DLC honchos decided that Ford would be the ideal choice to run the group. In the Jan. 8 memo obtained by Radar, Ford seemed to eagerly anticipate the prospect. "I have enjoyed our conversations and am excited about becoming the Chairman of the DLC," Ford wrote to Al From, the DLC's CEO. "Your stewardship of the organization over the years has made the DLC one of the premiere Democratic think tanks."
Ford will have a tough time filling the shoes of departing chair Tom Vilsack (who thinks he's running for president).
Ford writes in the memo (assuming it's legit):
Only when a competitive candidate begins to adopt and talk about the issues developed by the DLC will we have achieved our objective.
And that Tom Vilsack, outgoing head of the DLC, who thinks he's running for president?
I assume there will be an effort to help Senator Clinton's campaign and I would support such an effort.
Poor Vilsack. Not even the organization he currently heads plans on giving him any respect or support. Makes him look weaker than he already looks.
And yeah, the DLC will be a Hillary vehicle. Any of the other candidates would be insane to pay even lip service to that operation. Somehow, I suspect few will.