Rudy Giuliani says his wife Judith Nathan would be welcome to sit in on cabinet and policy meetings if he were elected President.

How typical of his absolute arrogance.

If Hillary gets elected, we'd have Bill Clinton either sitting in on meetings or being Ambassador to the world.

Hillary Clinton says many people want her to appoint her husband secretary of State if she wins. Such nepotism was outlawed after John Kennedy made his brother Bobby attorney general, she noted at the fundraiser.

Then she added, to huge cheers, "But I sure can make him ambassador to the world!" That is a role the former president already is playing, mostly through the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

How is this even a close call?

This is a very weird campaign ad. The Obama campaign denies any knowledge or approval of it. I don't doubt them.

The San Francisco Chronicle call its "ground-breaking" for its remix of an Apple Computer Superbowl ad in 1984. Personally, I didn't like the ad and found it creepy.

The public won't ever see the ad on television. But, as one person quoted says,

...the success of "Hillary 1984" means that now "every candidate will have to worry about some guy with a video camera and a Mac being able to do whatever he or she wants."

Hillary Clinton will be on Good Morning America today, calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"The buck should stop somewhere," Clinton told ABC News senior political correspondent Jake Tapper, "and the attorney general — who still seems to confuse his prior role as the president's personal attorney with his duty to the system of justice and to the entire country — should resign.

She has a petition for you to sign on her website. John Edwards also called for Gonzales' resignation.

More....

Noting she has the same initials as the Human Rights Campaign, in an unpublicized speech Friday, Hillary Clinton offered gays a partnership in her Administration.

She also opposed "Don't Ask, Don't tell" for gays serving in the military, as do John Edwards and Barack Obama.

The group hasn't yet decided whom to endorse, and like many of us, won't for some time.

As to being closed to the press:

A young feminist writing at Alternet today says she's torn about voting for Hillary. Her feminist self tells her she should, while politically, she's not sure.

I don't think feminism requires one to to vote for a female candidate. People should vote for the candidate they view as most qualified -- the person they believe is best suited for the job.

It would be a milestone and an achievement to have a woman President. I've frequently said that I think Hillary is more than up to the task.

But, if I decide to support Hillary, it won't be because she's a woman. It will be because I think she's the best choice to lead our country, based upon her experience, intelligence and position on issues -- all issues, not female issues.

No one owes Hillary a vote because she's female. I'm glad she's running. I'm glad a woman is running. But it will be Hillary the candidate not Hillary the woman that sways me in the end if I decide to support her.

Update: I'm the guest poster at Hillary's blog today. If you follow my link, you'll see I've chronicled her election bid since 2000. I haven't yet decided whom I'm supporting to ultimately get the nomination. But I'm heartily endorsing her seeking it.

Hillary Clinton's blog went live today. Some of you may remember that she asked for submissions to become the first guest poster. More than 10,000 entries were received. The winner with the first post is Kelly G. Here's her entry.

Imagine my surprise when Peter Daou called me today to say my submitted post will be up tomorrow! Out of 10,000 plus submissions, I'm pretty amazed. So don't forget to go on over (when you're not checking out my live-blogging of the Scooter Libby closings at Huffington Post or reading what Big Tent and/or TChris have to say here.)

As I'm sitting in my hotel room in D.C. tonight, which is right across from a fire station with huge sirens going off every half hour or so as the firetrucks respond to the latest emergency, and about to catch up on the news of the day and then watch "24" and "What About Brian", two songs keep resonating through my head: Don Henley's New York Minute .

More...

Raw Story reports that Hillary Clinton gave a speech at an event by the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC Friday night in which she refused to rule out using miltary force with Iran.

Clinton told some 1,700 AIPAC supporters that the US must take any step to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal: We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons," she said. "In dealing with this threat ... no option can be taken off the table."

"To deny the Holocaust places Iran's leadership in company with the most despicable bigots and historical revisionists," she added. Clinton excoriated the Iranian administration's "pro-terrorist, anti-American, anti-Israeli rhetoric."

"We need to use every tool at our disposal, including diplomatic and economic in addition to the threat and use of military force," she added.

More...

If you missed out on Hillary Clinton's live webcast last night, you can participate tonight.

Have a question for the Senator? Log on and ask it.

Say hello to HillaryClinton.com.

Hillary has announced the formation of her presidential exploratory committee. She will begin with "a live conversation with America – an unprecedented series of video webcasts beginning Monday, January 22nd at 7pm EST for three nights."

I chronicled Hillary's 2000 run for Senator daily, back when TalkLeft was just a website, not a blog. I'm looking forward to following her presidential bid with the same enthusiasm -- although I like John Edwards as a candidate too.

It is exciting to have a serious female candidate for President. I'll be anxiously awaiting her position on issues to see if she's the candidate for me.

The New York Times has just published a revealing article on Hillary Clinton's meeting with Democrats with whom she is discussing issues related to her possible run for the Presidency. Some of the diners are talking out of school.

Mrs. Clinton told Democrats that she viewed her two strongest potential Democratic opponents as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina. They said that she viewed Mr. Obama as her biggest obstacle to the nomination, but that she believed the threat of his candidacy will diminish as voters learn how inexperienced he is in government and foreign affairs.

Without mentioning Mr. Obama by name, Mrs. Clinton and her camp are already asserting that experience will be a key attribute for any successful candidate during difficult times — an argument that her team will no doubt make in a more aggressive way against Mr. Obama if they both jump into the race.

Via Colorado Lib:

On The Chris Matthews Show this morning, one of the 12 regulars opined that Hillary Clinton's best choice for a runningmate would be Colorado Senator Ken Salazar.

Jason Bane provides his analysis over at 5280's Elevated Voices. The show transcript is here.

No, Hillary has not announced she will run for President yet, but the LA Times today has a four page article on her well-oiled campaign machine, which is loaded for bear and ready to strike the moment she makes her decision.

The article names the key players in her campaign, discusses Bill's role and then drops a big hint as to Hillary's strategy for winning. She is counting on the vote of those for whom the primary issue is seeing a woman elected President.

Along with the professionals, Clinton aides expect a groundswell of women — political operatives, donors, volunteers — would flock to Hillary Clinton because she is a female presidential candidate.