Hillary's Luck

It's hard to imagine a better dream-come-true for a candidate:
An opponent steps forward with a solid record, but a stature gap. She stumbles on her first day, then keeps on stumbling. And then her own party tries to pull the rug out from under her.
Short of facing Pee Wee Herman next year, Hillary Clinton couldn't have asked for a better break. By undercutting Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro, the New York Republicans are trying to make sure she doesn't have a serious race next year that could bring out a strong Democratic base, particulalrly upstate, and aid Democratic candidates for the state Senate, where the GOP is holding onto a narrow lead. A serious race would also bring Hillary lots of good press and boost her prospects for the 2008 presidential race.
With the one solid finisher the New York Republican party has, George Pataki, now setting sights on the national stage (can you say "pipe dream"?) it's going to be a great year for the Democrats, who have strong chance to sweep all four statewide offices and control both houses of the legislature.