« The Best Television Since The Chevy Chase Show | Main | Mystery Voters Grow In Washington »
In a move that calls into question Hillary Clinton's expected run for the presidency in 2008, Harold Ickes has pulled out of the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee:
Former Clinton aide Harold Ickes and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk let top Democrats know Tuesday that they won't be running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. ...Ickes, a longtime Democratic activist, also let party members know he would not be running.
"I just decided I probably did not have enough of the attributes (a chairman needs) to do the party justice," Ickes said in an interview.
Ickes has strong ties to the Clintons. He served for years as Bill Clinton's deputy chief of staff and has been a big money man for both Bill and Hillary. While the DNC chair may have been more high-profile than usual for Ickes' comfort zone, having him ensconced at the heart of DNC strategizing would have been a tacit endorsement of Hillary for 2008.
Obviously, Ickes could not generate the necessary support for the DNC chair. The two front-runners appear to be Howard Dean and Tim Roemer, neither of which have much connection to the Clinton entourage. The Democrats appear to be shying away from the Clintons, making Hillary's presidential aspirations more remote than ever. With Dean, one can expect Democratic money to back a candidate that will energize the Deaniacs -- not exactlt the best match for Hillary's newly-found centrism. Roemer likely will want to find a candidate that attracts moderates on abortion and Midwesterners, again an unlikely draw for Hillary.
For better or worse, it appears that the Democrats have finally begun to shrug off the Clinton influence. Hillary sat out the 2004 presidential race in the assumption that Bush could not be beaten and that her time had not yet arrived. Instead, she may have missed her best chance.
Sphere It View blog reactionsTrackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry is
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Clintons Losing Grip On Democrats?:
» Wide Open for Dean from The American Mind
Now that Harold Ickes decided not to become the next DNC chairman Howard Dean, M.D. is the big frontrunner. Dr.... [Read More]
Tracked on January 4, 2005 10:11 PM
» Howard Dean: The Next DNC Chair? from Scribe
The Associated Press is reporting that Clintonista Harold Ickes has announced that he won't be running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The report states that former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk has pulled his name as well. Mr. K... [Read More]
Tracked on January 4, 2005 10:33 PM
» Dean scares off two opponents, seals own defeat from The Flag of the World
The race for DNC chair just got a bit more interesting--and it just got a bit more predictable. Harold Ickes, a Clintonista and one of two Opportunists most likely to get the job, pulled out of the race yesterday, as did second-tier candidate Ron Kirk... [Read More]
Tracked on January 5, 2005 3:49 PM
» Say it ain't so from Beef Always Wins
It's never to early to speculate on the next presidential campaign, and I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Hillary is positioning for a run at it, but here's what Captain Ed thinks: [Read More]
Tracked on January 6, 2005 4:43 AM
captain*at*captainsquartersblog.com
My Other Blog!
E-Mail/Comment/Trackback Policy
Comment Moderation Policy - Please Read!
Skin The Site
Hugh Hewitt
Captain's Quarters
Fraters Libertas
Lileks
Power Line
SCSU Scholars
Shot In The Dark
Northern Alliance Radio Network
Northern Alliance Live Streaming!
Des Moines Register
International Herald Tribune
The Weekly Standard
Drudge Report
Reason
The New Republic
AP News (Yahoo! Headlines)
Washington Post
Guardian Unlimited (UK)
New York Times
Los Angeles Times
OpinionJournal
Pioneer Press
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
MS-NBC
Fox News
CNN
Design & Skinning by:
m2 web studios
blog advertising
- dave on Another National Health Care System Horror Story
- brooklyn on Hillary Not Hsu Happy
- rbj on Hillary Not Hsu Happy
- Robin S on Requiem For A Betrayed Hero
- Ken on Hillary Not Hsu Happy
- Robin S. on Requiem For A Betrayed Hero
- RBMN on Hillary Not Hsu Happy
- NoDonkey on Another National Health Care System Horror Story
- Robin Munn on Fred Thompson Interview Transcript
- filistro on When Exactly Did Art Die?