HILLARY RUNNING? – AT 8:43 A.M. ET:  This is making the internet rounds this morning.  A major Dem donor claims that Bill Clinton told him that Hillary is definitely running in 2016.  From the New York Post:

A Greek-American real-estate honcho claims Bill Clinton told him that wife Hillary will again chase the presidency in 2016, according to a new report.

“Hillary will be our next president and she will be a great one,” Angelo Tsakopoulos, 76, told the Greek Reporter at a private banquet in California last weekend. “I talked to her husband, and he confirmed it. She will run.”

Tsakapoulos has been a heavyweight donor to Clinton political campaigns and counts the power couple as close friends.

President Obama appointed the real-estate big’s daughter, Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, as ambassador to Hungary in 2010 and she was sworn in by then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The power broker’s daughter is expected to serve as a key adviser to Hillary during her second run at the presidency, her father told the paper.

COMMENT:  A new Fox poll has Clinton at the top when the question was asked, "Who would make a good president?"  Condi Rice was second.

No doubt Clinton, if she does in fact run, would be a formidable candidate.  The media would do for her what it did for Obama.  There would be a compelling narrative of "the first woman president." 

But wait.  No reason for despair.  What if her opponent were Marco Rubio?  What do Dems say to Hispanics about the man who would be "the first Hispanic president"?  I think Clinton would be beatable, especially if her record as secretary of state starts to unravel, as it should.

Prepare for a tough fight, Republicans, but don't panic.  Remember, though:  Only a first-class candidate can defeat a Hillary Clinton.  The next white guy in line will no longer be acceptable.  Fortunately, the GOP bench is very deep.

February 14,  2013