Bush bets Hillary Clinton to be Democratic nominee
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush, breaking a self-imposed silence on the 2008 race to succeed him, now says Senator Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, according to a new book.
"She's got a national presence and this is becoming a national primary," Bush said in an interview with political journalist Bill Sammon for his tome "The Evangelical President."
"And therefore the person with the national presence, who has got the ability to raise enough money to sustain an effort in a multiplicity of sites, has got a good chance to be nominated," Bush told Sammon.
In excerpts of the book, Bush told Sammon that he would work to ensure that the nominee from his Republican party would beat Hillary Clinton, who leads Senator Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards in national polls.
"I think our candidate can beat her, but it's going to be a tough race," Bush said. "I will work to see to it that a Republican wins and therefore don't accept the premise that a Democrat will win. I truly think the Republicans will hold the White House."
The president had refused to comment publicly on the November 2008 election to succeed him, even though -- or perhaps because -- the winner will inherit thorny issues like the war in Iraq that is set to define his legacy.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, who pointedly declined to dispute the article, told reporters "frankly, it's difficult to not talk about the '08 election a lot" for someone with "a keen interest" in the outcome.
"The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter what the president thinks about who will win the Democratic primary," said Perino, who shrugged off speculation that Bush and some top aides have talked up Hillary Clinton's prospects to energize the Republican base.
At a press conference last week, the unpopular leader insisted he would be a "strong asset" for the Republican nominee, and then laid out a possible strategy for courting voters.
"Candidates who go out and say that 'the United States is vulnerable to attack and we're going to make sure our professionals have the tools necessary to protect us' are going to do well," he said.
"Candidates who go out and say that helping these Iraqis realize the benefits of democracy are going to do well. Candidates who go out and say that it's very important for the United States to have clear principles when it comes to foreign policy, they'll do well," he said.
"Candidates who say 'we're not going to raise your taxes' will do well," he said.
