Chelsea 2016: In Hillary's Crosshairs?

The momentum for a Chelsea Clinton presidential run in 2016 is building, if a bit slowly. It began a few months ago on these pages, and Buzzfeed has this today:

With her mother's campaign apparently winding down, is Chelsea Clinton thinking about politics? In an exclusive with People, her dad says the campaign has taught him that his daughter "is really good at" working the electorate. Will the future Madame President Clinton have the first name of Chelsea?

Aside from the obvious question of how People magazine keeps getting political exclusives, this made me wonder if Hillary Clinton would eschew a run of her own in 2016, or would she oppose Chelsea? Could they end up on a Dream Ticket 2: Electric Boogaloo? Who gets Wolfson?

As luck would have it, future-me has one of those super-fast ethernet connections that cause time and space to bend, so I can check out what future-me is surfing. (Note to future-me: Would it kill you to check out a World Series box score?) Let's fast-forward 8 years, to the end of President Obama's 2nd term, to see what might happen.

Hillary Vows to Fight to Convention

May 23, 2016 - On today's Hillary Clinton conference call, Communications Director Howard Wolfson seemed to rule out an early exit from the race for the Democratic nomination, and renewed attacks on the current front-runner, Chelsea Clinton.

"I think the voters have made it clear, they don't want another political dynasty. Senator Rodham-Clinton stands for the kind of change Americans want."

After some brief levity regarding the stunning outcome of this year's Kentucky Derby, Wolfson turned the call over to single-monikered Press Secretary Katherine, who fielded questions from reporters with her usual flair.

Reporter: Your campaign has been pressing Chelsea on the transparency issue, but don't you see that strategy as ultimately self-defeating?

Spokesperson: Chelsea was in the Clinton White House for all of those scandals, yet she refused to talk to the press about it at all in 2008, even to a 9 year-old reporter. What is she hiding?

Chelsea Clinton's campaign has been fending off jabs like these for months, from questions about her USO trip to Bosnia to charges that she is the sexist's candidate. "What control does Chelsea have over who Maxim Magazine endorses?" said a Chelsea spokesman.

For their part, Team Chelsea has strenuously opposed Rodham-Clinton's efforts to seat double-delegates from Florida and Michigan "to make up for 2008," and charges of elitism have been tough for them to shrug off. While Rodham-Clinton spent the weekend refereeing Wrestlemania, Chelsea was off giving "another pretty speech."

Pressure is mounting for the Democrats to settle on a ticket so they can begin to campaign against presumptive Republican nominee Mel Gibson, but many fear that the vitriol of this campaign has made a "ChelsIllary Ticket" very unlikely.