Hillary Lining Up at the Starting Blocks

Patrick Healy for the New York TImes reports Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun a calculated series of meetings with top New York Democratic officials to signal that she is likely to run for the presidency in 2008 and to ask for their support if she does, according to one state Democratic official who spoke with her and two others who have been briefed on her plans. (…) Senator Clinton’s outreach was disclosed and confirmed yesterday by three New York Democratic officials, all on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by the Clinton camp to release the information. One of the officials said he was contacted by Senator Clinton directly about her plans. The two others said they were informed by senior Clinton advisers that she was entering a new phase of contacting officials to line up support for a possible presidential bid. Her maneuvering comes at a time of growing speculation about a hard-fought contest for the Democratic presidential nomination between her and another possible hopeful, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. (…) Lengthy magazine articles have speculated about a possible Clinton candidacy, but only now has she taken the affirmative step of asking key officials to support her if she does run. Healy doesn't raise the issue of the Clintons' sex life in this article (a subject which has earned him the title of "Chief Clinton Panty-Sniffer"). So, credit for some improvement.