Remember how a couple of months ago Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to run for president if the Democrats retook the Senate because she was going to make a bid to be the first female Senate majority leader and quietly wield power from that position instead of making a big noisy fuss by running for president? Yeah, well, today’s slightly more credible fantasy from the “dear God, please don’t let her be running” camp is that Clinton may not run for president if Barack Obama decides to get into the race.

Maybe she will run and maybe she won’t, but whatever happens I have a sneaking suspicion Obama is not going to look nearly as golden a year from now as he does today. Even senators who have won reasonably serious contests can wilt under the glare of presidential-level scrutiny (See: Allen, George Felix), and the one advantage Clinton has over Obama is that her coals have already been pretty well raked over. Today, for example, we learn via FOX News (clip via Crooks & Liars) that Obama’s middle name is Hussein. Now, Obama managed to win in Illinois in 2004 despite a name that’s just one letter off from that of America’s most wanted, but let’s also recall that Allen’s collapse began with a focus on his middle name by the Jim Webb camp. According to an analysis on MyDD earlier this month, Obama has more room to grow than any other Democratic presidential contender, in that he wins support from such a high percentage of those who have already heard of him while also falling well short of universal name recognition. But it’s unrealistic to think his negatives won’t be made to grow as his fame does, as well.

To be cross-posted at Tapped once the site is back up.