Gov. Clinton meet Vice President Powell

When they took this picture of me and Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2006, we were just about to go LIVE for an interview at the 5th anniversary of September 11th. She was NOT a declared presidential candidate at the time although there were “rumblings”. In the back of my mind, though, I thought it is possible that I have a picture of me standing with a future President of the United States.

I never thought I’d be standing there with the future Governor of New York. But that’s what some political writers are floating.

The always classy and politically astute, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek writes about “Hillary’s Consolation Prize”, Governor of New York. You can read the entire piece here. But with apologies to Jonathan, here’s a summary with a slight twist:

• Hillary “steps aside” for the good of the party before the Democratic Convention.
• Barack Obama nails the Democratic nomination.
• Hillary grits her teeth, smiles and is credited with “saving the party”.
• John McCain gets the Republican nomination and surprises everyone by…here’s the twist:

• McCain chooses Colin Powell as his running mate.
• Barack suffers a narrow defeat in the November election and returns to the Senate.
• McCain is President of the United States for 1 term.
• Back in the Senate, Hillary becomes Senate Majority Leader, but things are awkward.
• Payback with fellow Senators who backed Obama is tough.
• New York Gov. David Paterson reveals yet another affair/scandal/drug use/skanky behavior and hints he may not run.
• Hillary mounts a “listening tour” for Gov. of New York.
• Hillary runs for Gov. and wins, renewing her “poli-mo” (political momentum).
• Hillary runs in 2012 for President. Wins the nomination, wins the election, enters the White House and says “sorry I was four years late.”

An interesting scenario. But several assumptions have to be made:

• Colin Powell agrees to accept the position of Vice President.
• McCain is in fact a one term president.
• Barack Obama pulls an Al Gore and sidelines his political career in favor of a Nobel Prize during Hillay’s 2012 campaign.
• Rudy Giuliani is happy at Giuliani Partners after serving 4 years in the McCain administration and sees the Governor’s mansion as a step down.

For the record, the Clinton campaign has denied any talk of a consolation prize. John McCain is far away from selecting his Veep. Gov. Patterson is finished with mea culpas.

But this is what’s so cool about politics sometimes. Some of the wildest scenarios can actually come true. And if Hillary Clinton doesn’t hit a home run in Pennsylvania, this scenario may not so outlandish.