'Wary of Hillary' Democrats Speak Up

The "Does Hillary Clinton have brain damage?" kerfuffle seems to have faded. Next up: A few—but not many—Democrats fear she'll suffer politically for being considered a shoo-in candidate, Politico reports under the headline "The 'Wary of Hillary' Democrats." Among the concerns: The average voter may be put off by her "inevitability" (Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick), or her status will enable her to abandon the party's progressive wing in a push for the center (unnamed party operatives). Others nervously recall her "inevitable" status in 2008, and we all know how that worked out. Meanwhile, from the around the Web:

• "That doesn’t exactly sound like a tidal wave of opposition—or even wariness," writes Paul Waldman in the Washington Post. "But in the months to come, we’re going to see a lot of articles like this one. ... because political news needs conflict."
• "Hillary Clinton is in a pickle," writes Jonah Goldberg in the Baltimore Sun. "She's a shoo-in for her party's presidential nomination because of Barack Obama's failures. But those failures might keep her from getting the job."
• The press "recycles talking points concerning her hypothetical campaign while casting about desperately for something new," writes Ken Auletta at the New Yorker. "...Meanwhile, Clinton’s old nemesis the 'vast right-wing conspiracy' has begun declaring her not only politically but also clinically moribund."
• Hillary hasn't, ahem, declared her candidacy yet—but she has agreed to promote her new book, Hard Choices, in a World News special with Diane Sawyer on June 9. Could that be the big day? "Let the breath-holding begin," writes Nikki Gloudeman at The Moderate Voice.

(More Hillary Clinton stories.)