Hillary Clinton challenge seen as White House dent

Hillary Clinton

NEW YORK - The casting is all but complete for America's next big political thriller. The starring role was always going to Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, who next year must fight to retain her seat in the United States Senate representing New York.

But now we have the name of the person who is likely to play opposite her. Jeanine Pirro.

You don't need any trailers to tell you that this will be the blockbuster of 2006. It will have a monster budget - some expect this to be the most expensive Senate race in history - and a gripping subplot too. (A quick clue here: Hillary-for-President 2008.)

And then there is Ms Pirro. She is charismatic, sexy and outspoken. The formal announcement from Ms Pirro, 54, just completing her third term as the District Attorney for Westchester County, just north of New York City, is expected some time today.

But she let the cat out of the bag to reporters earlier this week. She wants to be the Republican to take on Hillary next year and she means to win.

That may be a little ambitious, of course. Near the end of her first term, Ms Clinton has attained considerable popularity, even in northern parts of the state normally considered more conservative.

A recent poll suggested that in a race with Ms Pirro, she would prevail by 63 per cent to 29 per cent. On the other hand, the vote is still one year away.

Republican strategists in Washington have quietly been prodding Ms Pirro to take the Senator on. They do not completely rule out that she could win and score the political upset of the decade.

Failing that, they calculate that she, more than anyone else available, may be able to wound Ms Clinton sufficiently to slow her momentum going into 2008 and the next race for the White House.

For her part, Ms Clinton, 57, is saying little. She especially refuses to speak about her presidential ambitions, insisting she is focused only on the Senate race.

Yet, it is widely accepted that she is better positioned than any other Democrat at the moment to win the nomination to run for the White House next time around.

At least two other Republicans have expressed interested in challenging Ms Clinton, which could force Ms Pirro into competing in a primary race first.

One of the other would-be candidates is Edward Cox, a Manhattan lawyer and son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon. But now that her hat is in the ring, Ms Pirro is almost certain to be get her party's nod.

Already, she is probing what may be the biggest weakness in Ms Clinton's re-election platform - her inability or unwillingness to close her presidential options by pledging to serve all six years of a second Senate term if voters send her back to Washington.

"When Mrs. Clinton first came to us and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked New York to put out a welcome mat and we did," Ms Pirro tartly complained in a statement. "But now she wants us to re-elect her even though she won't promise to serve out her term and wants to use us as a springboard to the presidency. She's asking us to become her doormat."

She amplified the theme talking later with reporters.

"There is only one woman who really wants the job and who is looking to serve out the term - and that's me," Ms Pirro said.

"Hillary Clinton is not running to serve the people of New York. We are a way station in her run for the presidency".

Ms Pirro may be relatively unknown on the national stage, but in New York State she has a long been a bright if sometimes controversial star in her party.

As chief prosecutor in Westchester Country (home to Hillary and Bill) she has made a name for herself combating domestic violence and in pursuing sexual predators.

Highly telegenic, she has also carved out a niche as a legal pundit on the conservative Fox News.

But she does face some obstacles, including the legal difficulties of her husband who recently served an 11-month prison sentence for tax fraud. Perhaps more importantly, she is a moderate Republican who supports the death penalty but is also pro-choice on abortion and supportive of gay rights. This could cost her important conservative support.

- THE INDEPENDENT