New Yorkers Want Full Term From Clinton

[DoYouEverWonder]

May 5, 2005, 8:34 PM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The majority of New York voters said Hillary Rodham Clinton deserves to be re-elected to the Senate next year, but want her to pledge to serve a full, six-year term if she runs, a statewide poll reported Thursday.

The Democratic former first lady made such a pledge in 2000 when she ran for the Senate. Clinton, leading in the polls for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, has yet to offer such a pledge this time around.

Sixty percent of New York voters surveyed by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said she should pledge to serve a full term if she runs for re-election. Forty-one percent said she should run for president, including 17 percent of Republicans.

There was no immediate comment from Clinton.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/sns-ap-clinton-poll,0,4423295.story?coll=nyc-regionhome-headlines

[sam sarrha]

1. I bet that was a Republican poll ..

[tanyev]

2. Yeah, and if she made such a pledge

then they would turn right around and accuse her of lying.

[Bandit]

4. How many Republicans pledged to term limit themselves?

After Contract on America many Republicans pledged to term limit themselves just to prove Republicans tell the truth. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Most are still there and running for re-election....

[tanyev]

7. Oh, but once Republicans took control of the Congress

it was no longer necessary for them to limit themselves to one term. Because their victory, you see, proved that Americans wanted them in charge for ever and ever. Or something like that. I don't know how they come up with their torturous "logic".

[lenidog]

6. Why would you say that?

Is it such a strange thing for the voters of NY to demand her full attention if she wants to be their senator.

[tkmorris]

9. It's rather obvious isn't it?

The whole point of the question is to force her to paint herself into a corner. She can't say that she might run for president because then her opponent has free ammo. She can't say she won't if it is even possible for obvious reasons. Besides, as someone else pointed out, if she says she won't run in 2008 they would simply accuse her of lying (again).

[jobycom]

14. Yes, that would be pretty strange

Having a president from your state trumps having a full term senator. I'd be curious how the questions were asked to get those poll results, because they aren't natural. The last two presidents both faced the same decision as governor, and both were easily supported by their states.

[democracyindanger]

10. C'mon, try spinning it for the better

New Yorkers are so happy with her, they don't want her to stop being their senator.

[AlmightyTallest]

3. Interesting

Don't know how I feel about Hillary in 08, it's a long way off. It's definitely going to be an issue in her reelection bid here in NY.

Anyone know how Kerry handled it in MA? Of course Kerry was in the Senate for nearly 20 years at that point, where-as for Hillary this will be her first re-election bid. She can win re-election pretty easily I think as there doesn't seem to be a plausible NY Repug to run against her. However she may have to make a statement one way or the other to voters on her intentions for 08. If we send her back to Congress in 07, but she just starts gearing up for a Presidential run 6 months later.... :shrug:

Sometimes I like to think she doesn't have any Presidential aspirations at all and is just messing with us. ;)

[FreedomAngel82]

16. Sometimes I think so too

I think she's fooling us too. I think they were trying to corner her as well. I think it's smart of her not to talk about anything. They want to know if she's running or not and then the republicans can start their smear campaign's early.

[AlmightyTallest]

21. They've already started

I think there's a website called something like "stophernow.com" Boy am I not looking forward to the smear campaign against her if she runs. I do think a lot of the hatred for her on the right comes from anger at her not conforming to the traditional female/wife/first lady role.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

5. Easy to deal with

Just say your intention is to serve out the term, but you can never say never. Politicians do that all the time. If memory serves, Bill Clinton said much the same thing the last time he ran for Arkansas Governor.

[Dead_Parrot]

8. LOL

"Sixty percent... said she should pledge to serve a full term ...
Forty-one percent said she should run for president"

I guess she's giving 101 percent, then :D

[olddad56]

11. I wonder if Bush's mother carried him full term? ...

he might have been born before his brain developed.

[Vogon_Glory]

12. Didn't Dubya Make A Similar Pledge In Texas?

Didn't Gee Dubya claim that he'd serve his full second term as Governor of Texas? If he did, that was one of the earliest of the many political promises he broke.

Personally, I think that Hillary ought to stay in the US Senate. I suspect that by 2008, Gee Dubya and the Duck Soup Posse will have made such a mess of the US that almost any Democrat short of Lyndon Larouche is likely to be a shoo-in.

We need Senator Clinton to stay in the Senate and be as much of a torment to reactionaries and Banana Republicans as Jesse Helms was for progressives.

[truthisfreedom]

13. New York just plain LIKES Hillary. she's great as a lightning rod for thug

hate, which keeps the thugs distracted and blowing money over nothing, trying to supress a Presidential run... it's all good.

[IndianaGreen]

15. Let's hear the same pledge from Jeb Bush and Bill Frist...

(the sounds of silence)

Hillary will win in 2006 and if she runs for the White House she will also win. Who cares about polls in which NY Republicans express their concern that Hillary will retake the White House. What has the fundie-controlled GOP ever done for New York anyway?

What happened to the great Republicans that New York used to have such as the late Senator Jacob Javits?

[FreedomAngel82]

17. Frist has already said

he's not running again for his Senate seat. Ford junior and Corker are running for it.

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. Jeb can't run for governor again

In 2006 his term is over.

[Charon]

18. Pledge

If Senator Clinton decides to run in 08 and wins, hopefully there will be a Democratic Govenor in New York. Otherwise that will be one more Republican Senator.

[LiberallyInclined]

20. she won't run for prez in 2008.

at least i hope not- i don't want another repug to replace bush.