Obviously George Washington was enormously famous. But he did not “run” for office as we understand the term today, but was rather selected unanimously by the CongressElectoral College. I have people e-mailing me who claim that Horace Greeley was more famous when he ran for president than Hillary Clinton is today. I have people claiming that Herbert Hoover was more famous when he ran for president than Hillary Clinton is today. So everybody, here’s the thing: When Hillary Clinton runs for president for the first time in 2008 — and that’s the caveat I missed, her running “for the first time” — she will do so as one of the most famous people on a planet with 6 billion people living on it, in the era of mass media. That’s all I’m saying. Does this mean she should be among the most famous people ever to run for president? No. I’m only trying to explain one of the many reasons why she is a very, very formidable candidate and why conservatives and Republicans will be doing themselves a terrible disservice if they doubt it.