Hillary Clinton - Running for President

Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Arkansas and United States First Lady, and current Senator from New York has yet to make any announcement on her widely expected run for the Democratic Nomination for President.

But as the race hots up, and with an Obama announcement imminent, we would certainly be expecting something big very soon.

Clinton has spent the last few days touring Iraq and Afghanistan, looking closely at how the US is fighting the war on terror.

As a Senator from New York, Clinton is, and has been the favorite for the Democratic Nomination for some time.

Clinton has a massive fundraising power - for her almost unloseable Senate campaign in November, she raised over $50million. Apparently she has about $14 million of that left in the bank.

While some commentators have said that $100 million is needed for a candidate to be credible, others are saying that the nominee might need to raise in the order of $500 million. There are only a handful in the Democratic camp that could raise that - Clinton is one.

Then she has the added presence of Bill, probably the most popular figure on the campaign trail just a few months ago. Not only does he have a presence which would be unparalleled in any national campaign, he holds good sway with much of the Democratic grass roots.

Clinton's candidacy will face the same types of questions from the media over the coming months that Obama will face. Just as his candidacy in some ways will be viewed as whether America is ready for an African American President, the media will ask if America is ready for a female President.

Putting those issues aside, (and they should be) the best question that has to be asked is, can Hillary Clinton win an election?

Yes, she is popular. Yes she has fundraising capacity. Yes, she will have the strong support of her husband. And yes, she will have one of the best teams behind her.

But Clinton is a polarizing figure. And one that the Democrats, eager as they are to take back the White House, may not take a chance on.

And if the 2008 Presidential election is all about Iraq, which is entirely possible, Clinton may have some questions to answer about her previous and current positions. While others like Obama who has always been against the war, and Edwards who supported but now admits his mistake, Clinton was a supporter, and has yet to come out strongly to say that she was wrong.

After such a strong result for the Democrats in the mid terms, based primarily on the Iraq issue, these questions will be applied equally in the Democratic primary as they will in the Presidential election.

Time will tell on this one - there is almost 12 months to go before the first primaries. And we have yet to see all the candidates in the race. Al Gore is still equivocal, and John Kerry is yet to make up his mind. And when Obama announces, it is going to be a rock star event.

At the very least, expect the announcement from Hillary Clinton soon, and hold on to your hats for one of the most exciting primaries in our history. 2007 will be quite a year.