Falwell's gal

Warning to those Hillary Clinton supporters out there (I wouldn't admit to it, either): Karl Rove wants you to vote for her. So does Tom DeLay. And Pat Robertson.

Conventional wisdown is usually flawed, but it's hard to convince this junior political scientist that Bill's wife can win the presidency. Half the country already hates her, and that's probably a conservative estimate. Unless some right-wing renegade runs as a third candidate, even Hillary can't calculate those odds in her favor (cattle futures joke for you 90s survivors).

But most of those haters aren't Democrats. Considering her rock star status, Hillary seems a shoo-in to win her party's nomination. Republicans couldn't plan it any better.

Perhaps sensible Dems are beginning to realize that the last thing we need is another legacy in the Oval Office.

If you run for president, chances are good that you'll secure your party's nomination. But realistically, how do you think you can win the White House? You are the most polarizing figure in the Democratic Party, and your negatives among likely voters are prohibitively high. Many people simply don't trust you. You may share your husband's name, but what people liked about him is not transferable to you.

You are not the person to help define a party that needs to convince voters it can govern from the vital center.