Even though he hasn't officially declared his Senate candidacy yet, Harold Ford has been on a very strange charm offensive the past couple weeks, with a bonanza of increasingly weird insults and interviews alike. Following "his handlers" trading jabs with potential rival Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Ford sat down with the Post's own Woodward-in-residence Cindy Adams for a brief chat in a Brooklyn coffeehouse, in which the "New Yorker at heart" told her "New York is a city of transients," and described some of he and his wife's favorite haunts: "And we both love our neighborhood. Places like Rosa Mexicana, Starbucks, BLT Fish or, after church, First Presbyterian on 12th and Fifth, it's Big Daddy's on Park and 20th. They do great fried chicken." Jeez, I wonder if he travels to Starbucks via helicopter too.
While Ford might be enjoying his New York-flavored lattes and toying with journalists, Rep. Steve Israel, who had also been flirting with running for Senate, officially announced he wouldn't enter the race. Meanwhile, former President Clinton threw in his two-cents and endorsed Gillibrand today, even though he had previously
spoken highly of Ford, once calling him "the walking, living embodiment [of] where America ought to go in the 21st century."
And while Hillary Clinton, the former occupant of that seat, can't officially endorse a candidate as Secretary of State, she gave some hints as to her own future. In response to a question on The Tavis Smiley Show, she said she doesn't see herself remaining as the country's top diplomat for two terms: "No, I really can't. I mean it is just ... the whole eight. I mean that would be very challenging. It's a 24/7 job and I think at some point I will be very happy to pass it on to someone else." Maybe she'll have more time to get to know her husband's former advisor and her possible genetic-cousin, George Stephanopoulos.
