This is an announcement I'd expected, but it is coming a year or two ahead of schedule.  So for now I'm taking this as a rumor;

"FRIENDS of Hillary Clinton have been whispering the unthinkable. Despite her status as the runaway frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, some of her closest advisers say she might opt out of the White House race and seek to lead her party in the Senate. "

The reasoning is particularly suspect;

"I would not be surprised if she were to decide that the best contribution she can make to her country is to forget about being president and become a consensus-maker in the Senate,” said a leading Democratic party insider. “She believes there is no trust between the two political sides and that we can’t function as a democracy without it.”

As senator for New York, Clinton has forged alliances across party lines with leading Republicans such as Senator John McCain and Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives. In the eyes of the electorate, however, she is a potentially divisive figure. "

If McCain and Gingrich believe her schtick, they are both dumber than stumps!  In addition, Shrillary has more skeletons in her closet than most folks have in their family tree.  If she thinks the electorate has a problem with her now, wait until a few of them come leaping out to say "BOO!"

So what's the bottom line here?  According to this story, Shrillary is the powerhouse in the Democrat arsenal.  She's raised $33 mil for her SENATE election, while the moron who is the titular head of the DNC has a meager $11+ mil in their coffers.  How long do you think Dean will be DNC chair after November?  You can make book it will not be Screamin' Dean! 

The article suggests Shrillary may hold out for Dingy Harry's spot as MINORITY Senate leader...interesting point here; they do not sound so sure about the possibility of the Donks taking over the Senate. 

"The solution, insiders say, is for Clinton to take over as Senate minority leader in 2009 from the lacklustre Harry Reid, senator for Nevada. One well-respected blog, The Washington Note, recently claimed that Reid privately told Clinton the job was hers if she gave up her presidential ambitions.

Reid’s office denied it, but the claim made its way into the Los Angeles Times where it was suggested she would make a “superlative Senate leader” while keeping her options open for the 2012 presidential race. "

Who knows, maybe she's holding out for the possibility that all the folks who know where all the "bodies are buried" will be dead by 2012?