Hillary Clinton is my #1 choice (I'm not sure there are any other viable female possibilities), but I would kill myself if Biden or Cuomo won the nomination.
Elizabeth Warren
Amy Klobuchar
Kirsten Gillibrand
Well, let's assume that Clinton doesn't run, and one of those three women ends up running in the Democratic primaries against an otherwise all male field? Don't you think that the one female candidate would get an awful lot of media attention just by virtue of being the only candidate with two X chromosomes.....enough to make her competitive both in polling and fundraising? I just get the feeling that there's a sense of unfinished business among many female Democratic voters from 2008, about wanting to elect the first female president. If Clinton doesn't run, then that feeling will be transferred onto whoever else looks remotely viable.
I was a huge fan of Elizabeth Warren running for Senate but I am very skeptical about her as a Presidential candidate, in spite of her high name recognition and massive fundraising ability. She has a mastery of domestic economic
policy, but there were several times during the campaign when it was clear she was
political neophyte. Most notably in her poor handling of the admittedly ridiculous controversy about her heritage. Perhaps she will rapidly transform into a political virtuoso over the next four years but I doubt it. It remains to be seen what her Senate committee assignments will be but right now she could not pass the Commander-In-Chief test, a particularly difficult hurdle for a female presidential candidate.
Kirsten Gillibrand is one of the most effective political messengers in the Democratic party and is also a great fundraiser. She won reelection with an overwhelming 72%. Her background in Asian studies and service on the Senate Armed Services Committee suggest she could pass the Commander-In-Chief test. Furthermore, Gillibrand is a Hillary protege and occupies Clinton's old Senate seat, so there is certain logic in her picking up the mantle if Hillary decides to not run. The biggest roadblock for Gillibrand's ambitions is Andrew Cuomo's probable interest in 2016. If he got in that would seriously complicate her chances.
Amy Klobuchar won reelection with an impressive 65%. The Midwest is a critical swing region and I could see Klobuchar appealing to those voters. She is funny and personable in public appearances ("I can see Iowa from my front porch.") and her carefully crafted political persona has steered a middle ground between the centrist and liberal wings of the Democratic Party. Problems: her speaking style is unexciting (hard to imagine Klobuchar throwing “red meat” to the base) and her national profile is very low. Lower than Gillibrand’s and way lower than Warren’s.
