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Is he waiting in the wings?

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

October 19, 2006

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton's team has plenty of real and perceived rivals (John Spencer, John McCain, Al Gore, George Bush, to name just a few) but the man they're watching most closely these days is Clinton protege Barack Obama.

Clinton's allies, donors and operatives have always known that the charisma-dripping Democrat from Illinois was toying with a presidential run. But Obama's refusal to rule out a White House campaign sends shudders through the Clinton camp.

"They were in a tizzy about the possibility of Al Gore running, they were in a tizzy about Mark Warner and now they're in a tizzy about Barack Obama," said a Democratic operative with ties to Clinton.

Obama sounded semi-presidential in an interview with Time magazine's Joe Klein, saying he hadn't "unraveled that puzzle yet," referring to the 2008 race.

What makes Obama so dangerous to Clinton is that he's the only other Democrat (barring the entry of Gore) whose fame transcends regional and ideological labels. During a recent foray to Iowa, Obama was greeted like a rock star. He's the most sought-after Democratic official at fundraisers this year, according to Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

"Hillary's inner circle are talking about him a lot, and why shouldn't they?" said a former aide to Bill Clinton. "Obama's a sensation; he's one of these walk-on-water types. Everybody loves him. He's a huge threat to her - huge."

If Clinton's campaign is burdened by three decades worth of political baggage, Obama has the benefit of boarding the campaign with nary a carry-on. With less than two years in the Senate, he's got only a handful of votes to be judged on and he's done a Clintonesque job of collaborating with Republicans on non-controversial issues.

There are uncanny similarities between the pair: Both are best-selling authors swamped by autograph seekers, both are veritable cash machines (Obama has cultivated billionaires like Warren Buffett and developed a fundraising base on the coasts), both have been nominated for spoken-word Grammys and both are Illinois natives (Obama likes the White Sox, Clinton is a Cubs fan who claims to love the Yankees).

Clinton took Obama under her wing when he entered the Senate, counseling him on how to balance fame and politics.

But there's always been an undercurrent of rivalry: In 2005, Obama quipped in earshot of a Chicago Tribune reporter: "I outpoll her in Illinois."

He went on to say he was only kidding.