Presumably with the Energizer Bunny as a mascot.
What if?
Eh, much of her power and popularity comes from the Dem party connections and her husbands popular Democratic administration, not her personal appeal. She couldn’t carry an independent run, and she knows it. It’ll never happen.
Hillary wants to be president. She’s ambitious, not delusional. She’s still in it only because she hasn’t yet definitively lost. Once that happens, she’ll give Obama a quick thumbs up and begin preparing to try again in 2012.
Where’s her base to come from?
What ever else you can say about Hillary, she’s pragmatic. She knows Ross Perot struggled to get on the ballot in 1992 and ran the most successful third-party campaign since Teddy Roosevelt – and still didn’t win a single state. She also knows that if she bolted the Democratic Party for one of the small third parties that are already on the ballot, her political future would be dead. As in, no Democrat power broker, donor or loyalist would even bother to spit on her when she walked past them.
Hillary will continue to run as long as she figures she has a 50-50 shot at getting the nomination. If she doesn’t get it, she might not be Obama’s most enthusiastic supporter, but she won’t bolt the party.
It’ll definitely be interesting, if Obama wins, to watch Clinton run a shadow 2012 presidential bid, signaled at underneath the support she’ll appear to be giving Obama.
Hillary wants the White House so bad she can taste it but she’s too smart and strategic to go third party.
As has anyone who has ever run for the office. 
Touché.
I should have said she wants it more that all presidential candidates ever in history – combined.
And you know this how?
I am certain whoever loses the Democratic nomination will endorse the winner and encourage his or her supporters to vote Democratic.
Hillary: “I’m sure Obama would be an adequate president… as far as I know”
I like Obama’s quip better. Something like:
“We’re both better than McCain and any of the three of us are better than Bush.” (or something like that)
Sure she’ll mouth the platitudes, but she won’t mean it. IF she meant it, she’d have dropped out by now. No, she’s sticking in the race long enough to kill Obama’s chances in the general, either by slinging enough dirt to taint him or by causing enough of her supporters to sit out the general or vote for McCain. Then in 2012 she can run as “the candidate that should have been nominated 4 years ago”. If Obama wins and gets 8 years, she’ll be too old to run in 2016, and likely at a huge disadvantage against the sitting VP for the nomination anyway.
Perhaps we should begin another thread.
Regarding the OP, I don’t think she would leave the Democratic Party.
I think Clinton’s too smart to sabotage Obama. She knows people will already being eyeing her with suspicion. So if Obama gets the nomination, she’ll be so enthusiastic in her support it will be astonishing. She’ll want everyone to know by Election Day that she backed the Democratic nominee and was Obama’s strongest supporter. If he wins, she’ll be back in good graces and can claim that she helped get him elected. If he loses, she wants to be sure nobody blames her for not trying hard enough.
The same sewer it comes from now — disgruntled elderly white female bigots who dropped out of high school, drink, smoke, and are in bad health. Don’t forget that she has ancestors and relatives in every state that holds a primary.
Umm, Hillary is still a senator in the **majority ** party. There is no way she’d make a 3rd party run. She will be very powerful in the Senate as health care reform will be on the agenda during President Obama’s first term.
I don’t disagree with you-once Obama is the nominee. Until then, I think she’ll be doing exactly as I outlined above. She has to sabotage Obama’s chances without overtly doing so, IYKWIM. If Obama wins the general, her chance to be president is gone. She’s doing every thing she can to get the nomination, if that fails, she’s got to do as much damage to Obama in the process as possible, so she has a shot in '12.
Hillary is running for president because she wants to be president. There is no possible way she can become the president on a third party ticket, therefore there is absolutely no chance she will run on a third party ticket. Running on a third party ticket isn’t just merely an exercise in futility, it would torpedo her future prospects in the Democratic party.
Nice to see there’s no bigotry in the Obama camp.