A first-term Democratic senator whom liberals adore insists, despite intense media speculation, that a White House bid is not in the cards. But the speculation persists, and in the end, said senator gets in the race after all.
Sound familiar? It should, because that's the path President Obama took to the White House. And it's the reason many remain skeptical that Massachusetts' freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) really has no desire to seek higher office as well.
On Monday, Warren told ABC in no uncertain terms, "I'm not running for president. You can ask it lots of different ways." Case closed, right?
Not quite. Coincidentally, Warren also just released a memoir that, as Mother Jones' Andy Kroll puts it, "has every hallmark of a campaign book." The memoir's working title, Rigged, was even softened to the happier, more campaign-friendly name, A Fighting Chance.
For now, Warren is technically not running for president. Then again, no major politician has formally declared a candidacy either; even Hillary Clinton is dancing around the question. If the "run Warren, run" chants get louder on the Democratic side, Warren could very well get in the race after all. At this point in the 2008 cycle, Obama was still pooh-poohing the idea of him running for president, too.