New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has hired a new fund-raising chairwoman, who Democrats say will head up efforts to raise cash for her 2008 presidential run.
With the recruitment of longtime Democratic strategist Ann Lewis, Clinton is "building a full-fledged political operation and bringing a major figure in national Democratic politics to the hub of Clinton campaign headquarters at K Street and Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.," reports the New York Observer.
While Lewis herself insists she was tapped solely to help with Clinton's 2006 Senate re-election bid, top Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said that was just a cover story.
"[The move is] preparation for a national race," Sheinkopf told the Observer. "They're putting the players in place."
Discussing Sen. Clinton's political future, Lewis herself hinted that her task would be to persuade not just New Yorkers but Americans in the other 49 states to support the former first lady.
"There are some people, and I use the word 'some' ... who cannot be convinced" to vote for Hillary, Lewis told the Observer, before adding: "Most Americans are more pragmatic than that. They take their political decisions more seriously than that."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/12/1/94407.shtml