Hillary Clinton is 'in' for '08, but crowd grows

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton enters the 2008 presidential race uniquely positioned to make a top-flight run at be-coming America's first woman president.

The Democrat from New York brings to the table 14 years of experience at Washington's highest political levels, as both a two-term first lady and now six years as a US senator. She appears set to raise all the funds she needs, enjoys near-universal name recognition, and has at her side one of the nation's most astute political operatives, her husband, former President Clinton.

But Senator Clinton, who launched her exploratory committee on Saturday with the declaration of "I'm in," faces serious hurdles to reaching her goal. Last week's entry of Sen. Barack Obama (D) of Illinois into the contest adds a charismatic, fresh persona to the mix, and makes Clinton's nomination far from a foregone conclusion. While Clinton has already withstood intense public scrutiny of her life and record, she will face questions again, in addition to charges that she is humorless and calculating. And as a Democratic woman seeking to become commander in chief at a time of war, she must prove her bona fides on defense as she seeks to distance herself from an unpopular war that she initially supported.

The field for both major parties has been growing almost daily, of late. This weekend alone, two other candidates announced: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R) of Kansas. For the Democrats, a field that includes a woman, an African- American (Senator Obama), and a Hispanic (Governor Richardson) as contenders sends the message of diversity that the party has long cultivated.

Most noteworthy, perhaps, is that the Democrats can boast a woman and an African-American as their top two candidates. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Friday night showed Clinton with the support of 41 percent of Democrats and Obama with 17 percent. But with the first nominating contests still a year away, those numbers remain fluid. Political analysts note that the third candidate in the Post-ABC poll (with 11 percent), former Sen. John Edwards (D) of North Carolina, is well organized in the early states, and could upset the race with a strong finish in the first contest, the Iowa caucuses.

In Clinton's announcement video, posted Saturday morning on her campaign website, www.HillaryClinton.com, the senator deployed a technique she used successfully in her first Senate campaign – a pledge to begin by listening. She did not roll out a series of policy prescriptions, but rather stated that she was "beginning a conversation." Starting Monday evening, for three nights in a row, Clinton will conduct live video Web discussions with voters.

Of the many issues she raised on her written Web statement, two will present particular challenges to her: "How do we bring the war in Iraq to the right end?" she asked. "How can we make sure every American has access to adequate health care?"

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