Hillary for 2016?

Hillary Clinton isn’t going to replace Joe Biden in 2012, say Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman at Politico, but don’t rule her out for a run at the White House in 2016. The speculation was ignited by an offhand comment from Bob Woodward on CNN that a Biden-Clinton swap was "on the table." Robert Gibbs and Clinton herself have catagorically denied the rumor, with Clinton saying, “I have absolutely no interest and no reason for doing anything other than just dismissing these stories and moving on. I think the vice president is doing a wonderful job.” Politico points out that speculation along these lines is likely to continue, especially given the number of former Clinton campaign staffers waiting in the wings, doing contentious things like running polls matching Clinton up with Obama in 2012, as Mark Penn recently did. However, these former staffers'—and possibly Clinton’s—real objective isn’t the vice presidency but the presidency. Regarding the Biden rumor, one top 2008 campaign official says, “Not happening,” but adds, “Stay tuned for 2016.”