I agree with Towney that Hillary's appeal is largely exaggerated. Maybe she's popular in New York but I think in the rest of the country she is viewed as a shifty politician by liberals and anathema to conservatives. But she does have a powerful cmpaign machine and may bulldoze the other potentials with it and her standing in the "Democratic Leadership"(a force I'd like to see toppled from the Democratic Party).
I haven't really looked into Vilsak or Richardson yet. I think Obama might surprise people if he thinks as much as he talks... but I still don't think he has a shot. If Hillary's money doesn't destroy him, the mudslinging will (He's already shown that he can't take it and that could prove fatal over time).
But I don't think Hillary can win, so I hope the Crat Leaders pull their heads out and think about it. If Giulliani wins the Pub candidacy, it's over for Clinton. Chances are if McCain or possibly even Romney wins, a lot of Crats and moderates will prefer to vote Republican. Even I would, unless some real far-right loon wins the candidacy. Because no matter what Hillary says, we already know from experience it means very little. Her views are like the weather in Michigan. Normally I like it when candidates are flexible and able to change their minds... but it seems to me she does it far too transparently for purely political reasons.
I'll have to look into this Richardson guy.

__________________
"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

I have always had the impression that she hasnt a bone of conviction in her body. In lieu of a principled position, what is deemed politically expedient seems sufficient to her purpose.

__________________
"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

The Clinton's business partners, The McDougals, were convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges brought by Starr. The Clintons escaped because Susan McDougal spent 18 months in prison for contempt for refusing to testify against the Clintons at Starr's Little Rock grand jury. Lucky Bubba and Hillary - they were saved a d__b b___h willing to fall on her sword to save the Clintons. Did Hillary and Bubba come out of this smelling like a rose? Noooooooo ..... just incredibly lucky.

__________________
Read this post quick before the mods delete it!