Terry McAuliffe Wants Back in the Game...With Hillary

Former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe wants back into big-time politics and has told others that he will run Hillary's '08 campaign for president:

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has told business associates and Democratic donors that he will chair Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign next year, according to several Democratic sources.

Together, Clinton, the favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and McAuliffe, the top money man in Democratic politics, have a good chance of raising $100 million before the first official contest, the Iowa caucuses in January 2008.

While Clinton and her staff insist she is focused solely on winning reelection in New York this November, the decision over who will be in charge of getting her elected to the White House is already settled.

McAuliffe told The Hill yesterday that Clinton has not made a decision on running for president and will not do so until after Nov. 7. McAuliffe also denied telling friends that he will serve as chairman, although sources contradict him.

He acknowledged that he would play a “huge role” in her presidential campaign if it materializes and that he has recruited donors for a possible White House run.

McAuliffe was chairman of the DNC during their losses in 2000, 2002 and 2004 (not to mention his prediction that Jeb Bush would be defeated for reelection). I welcome him back.