The Battle For Barack

The 2008 presidential race may still be a ways off, but sources say Democratic hopefuls New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden have already clashed in their courtship of potential running mate and presumed party savior Barack Obama. The wooing began not long after Obama won his Illinois senate seat last November when an unofficial “Clinton-Obama 2008” organization began circulating bumper stickers for the possible pairing. Sensing an opening, Clinton quickly bonded with Obama, playing up their shared Chicago roots and partnership on the outré Environmental and Public Works Committee. But Clinton's gonna have to do a lot better than that if she wants to outplay Biden, sources say. Not only was the silver-haired senator a fixture at Obama’s Chicago campaign fundraisers last year, he also managed to snag his new pal a coveted slot on the decidedly more glamorous Foreign Relations Committee, providing the two with some priceless photo ops in the battleground states of Iraq and Afghanistan. With a recent Pew Research poll showing a majority of Americans supposedly ready to vote for Hillary, the former First Lady isn’t likely to roll over and let Biden poach her hoped-for secret weapon. “Hillary practically adopted Obama, and now Joe’s stealing her baby,” says one Capitol Hill observer. “She’s definitely got a grudge against Biden.” No word on whether either would-be candidate has consulted Obama for his opinion on the matter.

Photo: NYDN