A Florida Democratic Party activist has launched an official "Draft Hillary" presidential committee, saying he believes next summer's Democratic Party convention in Boston will turn to Sen. Clinton after failing to unite behind one of the announced candidates now in the race.
"The only candidate who's left who can possibly take down [President] Bush - not in the violent sense - is Hillary Clinton," Robert Kunst told the Associated Press. Kunst recently launched a Web site - www.hillarynow.com - to build support for Mrs. Clinton.
On his Web site Kunst describes his effort as "a national and international grassroots draft Hillary Clinton campaign out of Florida, the scene of the stolen election of 2000."
Kunst is not alone. During her book tour, Sen. Clinton's supporters circulated petitions in bookstores urging her to run for the White House in 2004. And last week, Clinton staffers posted e-mail messages on her Web site FriendsofHillary.com - purportedly from fans who want her to challenge President Bush.
A Rasmussen poll released Tuesday shows Clinton gaining on President Bush, whom she trails by just 7 points. Before her book tour, she trailed Bush in most polls by 15 percent to 20 percent.
Sen. Clinton's repeated denials that she'll run next year haven't fazed Kunst, who told the AP, "I think Hillary has to make this statement, but I believe if the grass roots demands it, that it's a totally different picture."
When Sen. Clinton spotted Kunst holding his "Draft Hillary" sign at Monday's West Indian Day parade in New York City, she smiled and waved, he said.
Learn more about Hillary Clinton's strategy to be drafted into the 2004 presidential race in "Hillary's Scheme."
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2004 Elections
Sen. Hillary Clinton
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