Patrick Healy has written a piece for this morning's NY Times that is devastating to the Clinton campaign. To sum it up, she thinks it's over....
Please read to the bottom where I write about Hillary's future......
Here's the link with snippets below:
(emphasis mine) To her longtime friends, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sounds unusually philosophical on the phone these days. She rarely uses phrases like "when I’m president" anymore. Somber at times, determined at others, she talks to aides and confidants about the importance of focusing on a good day’s work. No drapes are being measured in her mind’s eye, they say.
And Mrs. Clinton has begun thanking some of her major supporters for helping her run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"When this is all over, I’m really looking forward to seeing you," she told one of those supporters by phone the other day.
and this further into the article....about their usage of Bill Clinton:
Over take-out meals and late-night drinks, some regrets and recriminations have set in, and top aides have begun to face up to the campaign’s possible end after the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. Engaging in hindsight, several advisers have now concluded that they were not smart to use former President Bill Clinton as much as they did, that "his presence, aura and legacy caused national fatigue with the Clintons," in the words of one senior adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity to assess the campaign candidly.
and what about another Clinton comeback?
There is a widespread feeling among donors and some advisers, though, that a comeback this time may be improbable. Her advisers said internal polls showed a very tough race to win the Texas primary — a contest that no less than Mr. Clinton has said is a "must win." And while advisers are drawing some hope from Mrs. Clinton’s indefatigable nature, some are burning out.
and what about Bill Clinton's statement that she had to win Texas and Ohio?
She found herself explaining on Friday that the remark was not meant as some sort of farewell. Yet to some friends, she is in fact acting differently; to others, the situation has become simply heartbreaking. When Mr. Clinton said last week that his wife had to win in Texas and Ohio, it was not only the first public admission by a senior member of her circle that her candidacy was on the line, it was also a moment that deepened the feeling of shock felt by some of her supporters.
and it ends with this:
"Hillary is incredibly tough — she grew up with two brothers and a strong father in the Midwest, so she knows a challenge," said Ms. Solis Doyle, the former campaign manager, who has worked for her on and off since 1991 until she was replaced this month. "She has gone through so much, where someone like me would hide under the covers. But she gets up. She works. She tries."
Assuming the article is correct and Clinton's campaign is on its last legs, what's next for her? Does she simply return to the Senate? Does she land the VP slot on Obama's ticket? Does she retire from politics altogether?
My own humble opinion is that she needs to start thinking about her future and figure out a graceful way out of this race. If the narrative becomes one of sacrificing the party for her own sake, she will have trouble garnering support for any future leadership role. The smart thing for her to do would be to exit gracefully after March 4th, assuming Obama wins one of the two states.
That graceful exit would engender a lot of good will within the party, and more importantly, it would help unite the party for November.
Now, her future. I don't think there is any chance she would accept nor would she be offered the VP position. First, it would be nearly impossible after this campaign for Obama to include her if he wants to hold onto the change message firmly. Second, I think she'd rather have the opportunity to be the nominee in 2012 should Obama (god forbid) lose in November.
I don't think she'll retire from politics altogether. I believe her when she says her life's mission is public service, and we should all commend her for that.
I have the solution-- Hillary for majority leader. Most of us here have been unhappy with the leadership Senator Reid has provided. Who better to shepherd through Congress President Obama's progressive agenda than Senate majority leader Clinton? It fits her skill set perfectly: she could be the C.O.O. for the Obama administration.
What does everyone think Hillary's role should be?