Martha Coakley for President?
Martha Coakely may just be running for Massachusetts Attorney General this year, but if Hotline On Call is right, there might be other aspirations at heart. In a round up of politically interesting down-ballot races from around the country, John Mercurio writes:
Meet Martha Coakley (D), future WH candidate. Let us explain: Coakley, the Middlesex DA, is running this fall to replace AG/Gov. candidate Tom Reilly (D). If she wins, Coakley might, as Reilly and others before him have done, set her sights on the state's top job. And, if ex-Gov. Michael Dukakis (D) and Gov. Mitt Romney (R) have shown us, that job is an attractive launching pad for nat'l office.
So is it possible? From a pragmatic standpoint, I find it intriguing. As a moderate, tough-on-crime Democrat Coakley could be quite palatable on the national scene. Perhaps, in some ways, everything that Hillary Clinton wants to be, and without all the baggage.
Unfortunately for Coakley, because she's just getting into statewide politics now, the clock may be ticking. Consider this: if she wins this year (and there's little chance she'll lose), Coakley will probably have to wait 8 years before there's an opening in the corner office. That will be 2014 and she will be aged 61. Coakley then would have to serve at least one full term as Governor to be viable nationally and the next Presidential race wouldn't be until 2020 when she's now 68. That's getting old to be President.
Now I know we've had older but before you accuse me of being sexist and paying to much attention to this woman's age, think about the current political scene. Bill Clinton was only 46 when he was elected and George W. Bush was 54. Of the 13 Democrats most likely to run in 2008, only John Kerry and Joe Biden will be over 65. On the Republican side it's similar, with 11 or so likely candidates, only Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain will be over 65. Point is, youth is a virtue in Presidential politics these days and Coakely could be pushing it if she tries to run in 2020.
Too bad though. Wouldn't it be great if not only the first Catholic president but the first woman president came from Massachusetts?
Let's just hope we don't send the first Mormon to the White House...
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