time: Can Hillary Readjust to the Senate?

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1809789,00.html

Clinton's brief departure from the campaign trail up to Capitol Hill last week was a jarring reminder of what awaits her if, as most expect, she fails to win the Democratic nomination. As she weighs her return to the Senate, Clinton is in the uncomfortable position of being the focus of even more scrutiny and speculation than when she entered the chamber in 2001. Still relatively junior in terms of party seniority and with no committee chairmanship power base in sight, Clinton must adjust to a deliberative body where 17 of her colleagues openly supported her rival — and still others might feel she has divided the party by dragging out the race.

Many have speculated that Clinton, as a sort of consolation prize on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, might make a good Majority Leader. But those doing the speculating clearly don't understand the way the Senate works. Not only is majority leader actually a tedious, behind-the-scenes managerial position, but the current holder of that position, Harry Reid of Nevada, is a lot more popular in his party than outsiders realize, and his chief deputies, Dick Durbin and Charles Schumer, have their own ambitions. Senators want a leader they can call at any hour with complaints — in other words they want a referee, not a superstar. "The Senate needs to work on an hourly basis, a lot of labor-intensive work, and it's a major shift when you've been operating at a certain altitude to come back and get involved in the nuts and bolts of the Senate literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that's what involves," said Senator Chris Dodd, who himself recently returned from the presidential field and is one of the 17 who endorsed Barack Obama.

The congress for the people has no business bringing petty personal issues into our house.

Besides, Hillary could yet still become the one with the veto or signing pen.

She has no chance of winning the nomination, thus no chance of becoming President. The former is a necessary precondition for the latter.

within the senate: committee chairs, leadership roles etc. The point of the OP is that Clinton may very well have done in any chances she might have had for assuming a leadership position in the 2009 Senate, and will have to carry on instead as just a rank and file member of the team. By the way, in my opinion, she has no chance at a 2012 race should Obama lose. The Kitchen Sink strategy was a one shot deal. The amount of bad feelings it has caused will short circuit any effort she makes to organize a new campaign in four years.

And hilly doesn't stand a chance of getting the nomination. It's just deluded to believe she does. She'll return to being a Senate backbencher.

so she could jump from that perch to POTUS.

The Senate is ill-suited to her narcissism. Besides, I hope New Yorkers send her packing in the next senatorial contest. Surely NY has a real New Yorker and a real liberal who would better serve the people of that state!

Let her sulk in the Senate for 4 years.

there's probably a question as to whether she'd stand for re-election in 2012 anyway.

The DNC base has probably contacted both their Senator and SD to protest this primary behavior. If a large enough contingent of their Senate electorate is PISSED, what can a Senator do?

I think the picture of them hurrying to be photographed with Obama and refusing to meet with HRC was enough to say that her readjustment period might be less than ideal.

Welcome to the fallout of a failed scorched earth policy, Mrs. Clinton.

It was always pretty obvious to many of us in NY that we were only a stepping stone. If she has to abandon that quest I expect she'll abandon us as well. She will anyway if she thinks she can land Governor.