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Get Four
|  | SEPTEMBER 29, 2003
By Douglas Harbrecht Why Hillary Should Run [Page 2 of 2] Money. Dean, still considered by many the Democratic front-runner, has impressed his rivals by generating $10 million for his campaign, tapping small donors through an impressive Internet fund-raising network. But Dean's stash pales in comparison to Bush's: George W. has already raised more than $50 million and his goal is a record $175 million. As a Presidential candidate, Hillary would have few money constraints. She could immediately tap into the two biggest money-raising networks for Democrats -- Hollywood and the trial lawyers -- and prove a formidable match for Bush in fund-raising prowess. Message. If you listened closely to the Sept. 25 Democratic Presidential debate, you heard fragments of an emerging Democratic message coming from 10 distinct voices. Hillary could quickly solidify these disparate themes into a center-left force that could appeal to mainstream voters, just as Bill Clinton did in 1992, when he ousted Bush's father from the White House. On the stump and in the Senate, she has learned how to both voice anger over Bush policies and advance policies popular with middle-class and working-class voters, such as health care. The debacle of her 1994 health-care reform effort is long over, and the issue is hotter than ever. The Bill factor. No matter what you think of the former President, can you deny his charisma? The former Commander-in-Chief has emerged as a unifying figure and elder statesman for his party, much in demand on the fund-raising circuit and as a speaker at Corporate America's conferences and powwows. He goes to California, puts his arm around a highly unpopular governor, and, before you know it, Gray Davis' fight to stave off a recall no longer looks like a joke. The Hillary factor. As much as Republicans detest her, they also consistently underestimate Hillary -- much as the Democrats do George Bush. Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson scoffed that he would eat his shoe if her memoirs sold 1 million copies. He was eating it, literally, in a matter of weeks, when the book raced to the top of the best-seller list. Sure, Hillary consistently registers negative approval ratings with 40% of voters nationally, but just as many are mesmerized by her, and she could snap up suburban independents, women, and minority voters, all key voting blocs. If the 2004 election, more so than most contests, hinges on the parties' ability to turn out their committed supporters, Hillary would do better than any of the declared Democrats. DIRTY LAUNDRY. I'm not saying her candidacy wouldn't be controversial. You can already hear the catcalls from Republicans: The Clintons didn't steal all the furniture the first time, now they want a return visit. But that rhetoric misses the point. Hillary would be a formidable foe against a sitting President who looks more politically vulnerable by the week. Perhaps Hillary is sincere in her repeated dismissals of a 2004 run. Perhaps she really doesn't want to be President. But if she truly thinks Bush's reelection would be "an overwhelming setback for this country," as she put it in issuing another denial run recently, she won't bide her time until 2008. It's now -- or maybe never.
 Harbrecht is executive editor of BusinessWeek Online Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
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