John Fund opines on Hillary - The Anti-Dean:
While Hillary Clinton swears she isn't running for president, she certainly isn't happy about Howard Dean becoming the Democratic frontrunner. The Clintons--along with Terry McAuliffe, their hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee--could become some of the biggest behind-the-scenes obstacles to Mr. Dean's insurgent candidacy.He suggests that the "Hillary is running in 2004" rumor of last week came from Democrat anti-Hillary types and that
Similarly, it's clear that many of allies and supporters of Bill and Hillary Clinton don't want Howard Dean to be the party's 2004 standard bearer. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, dismissed Mr. Dean's fiery speeches against the Bush White House by asking, "Do we want to vent or to govern?" Al From, the founder of the moderate DLC, was instrumental in promoting Mr. Clinton as a candidate back in 1992. He now says that Mr. Dean belongs to the party's "McGovern-Mondale wing" and that he would repeat their failed candidacies by being swamped in the popular vote. The Clintons may not be keen on a Democrat winning the White House in 2004, but a Bush blowout might weaken the Democratic Party for 2008 when Mrs. Clinton is expected to run.And apparently Howie is sharpening a knife for Terry McAuliffe:
But Clinton supporters have other reasons to be leery of a Dean candidacy. In June, the Drudge Report noted that Mr. Dean had confided to associates that he intended to change the leadership of the Democratic National Committee if he became the party's nominee. A Dean adviser told Drudge that "it is important . . .to mark a new beginning, cut ties from the past." Mr. Dean feels that Mr. McAuliffe, who served as Mr. Clinton's finance chairman in the 1996 election, has not performed well under pressure and was the architect of last year's disastrous off-year election results in which the Democrats became the first party out of power to lose seats in a mid-term election in over 60 years. Mr. McAuliffe is so controversial among Democratic activists that recently he has not been signing the patry's fund-raising mail. A no-name deputy now signs the direct mail appeals for funds. Mr. McAuliffe still has the confidence of Bill and Hillary Clinton, but his circle of admirers beyond that is limited.Hey, what's not to love about Terry? How many other people do you know who got rich while pursuing a career as a political fundraiser?
