Inside Politics

Hillary’s path

“As the months preceding New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s eventual presidential announcement dwindle to weeks, it’s worth exploring just how difficult her path to the Democratic nomination really is,” Chuck Todd writes at NationalJournal.com.

“It’s tricky to write about her these days, because it seems that everything’s been said — just not everyone has said it. But let’s attempt a fresher look,” Mr. Todd said.

“Too many of us have awarded Clinton the ‘08 nod too soon and too easily. The conventional-wisdom crowd is easily impressed by two things about her candidacy: money and her last name. There’s also a dirty little secret that those of us in the media are leery to admit: She’s good for business (particularly expense reports).

“Take the money and surname drama and add a dash of media anticipation, and you get the simplest explanation of the perceived Clinton juggernaut.

“There’s one flaw in all of this, though, and that is the electorate. As the likelihood of a Clinton campaign becomes a reality, more reasons turn up that suggest why she could lose the nomination. In fact, the primary may be harder for her than the general election. A bad three-week period at the wrong time in the wrong state could doom a bid, particularly with this front-loaded primary calendar. While the same thing can happen in a general, the same ridiculous scoring of expectations doesn’t apply to general elections the way it does in primary battles.”

Byrd and Gates

Longtime Iraq war critic Sen. Robert C. Byrd said yesterday he knew of no obstacles to Robert M. Gates becoming the new Pentagon chief, helping keep the nominee’s prospects bright ahead of Senate hearings next week.

Mr. Byrd, 88, one of the most relentless opponents of the war since Congress four years ago authorized Mr. Bush to use force in Iraq, stopped short of promising to support Mr. Gates as he hosted President Bush’s nominee for a chat on Capitol Hill.

But the West Virginia Democrat, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will vote on Mr. Gates’ nomination, said he was pleased Mr. Bush had chosen Mr. Gates to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Reuters news agency reports.

“[Gates] is very capable, no question about that. He has the qualifications,” Mr. Byrd told reporters as a smiling Mr. Gates, a former CIA chief, sat next to him.

Blogger on blogs

After spending part of the 2006 campaign season as official blogger for Republican Sen. George Allen’s unsuccessful Virginia re-election bid, Jon Henke has some advice for getting along with the blogosphere.

“Bloggers blog for many reasons, but ‘to help [insert your institutional interest here]’ is rarely one of them,” Mr. Henke said at his site, www.qando.net.

“Bloggers are not … reporters, obligated to dispassionately transcribe your message,” said Mr. Henke, who was hired by the Allen campaign in the wake of the August incident in which the senator referred to a volunteer for Democratic rival James H. WebbJr. as “macaca.”

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