Yes, Hillary Clinton is running for president
It's pretty clear this book launch is the beginning of her 2016 campaign
The release of Hillary Clinton's much-anticipated memoir, Hard Choices, means we'll get to hear the question, "Are you going to run for president?" in dozens of different ways over the next few weeks.
Each time, Clinton will respectfully swat the question aside, saying it is yet another hard choice she'll have to make sometime next year.
But it's very clear this book launch is the beginning of her 2016 presidential campaign.
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Let's look at the facts:
1. As First Read notes, the lack of news in her book is the news. "There aren't any scores she seems intent on settling. It is a stark contrast to the Bob Gates memoir, who seemed to be more comfortable talking about what happened behind the scenes. Clinton is clearly holding back."
2. Clinton has done nothing to dissuade the "Ready for Hillary" Super PAC from raising money and enlisting big name Democrats to support the cause.
3. The Wall Street Journal reports that Democratic strategist Robby Mook, "who is considered a possible Clinton campaign manager in 2016," has been meeting with top Clinton aides to discuss electoral vote strategies.
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4. Chris Cillizza points out that serious people are endorsing her. There's no way this would happen without private indications that she's running.
Sure, there's a chance Clinton could still bow out. But this book tour is more an organizing tool for a possible presidential campaign than anything else.
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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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