Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been chosen by the Democrats to give the party's response to President Bush's weekly radio address on Saturday.
It's another step back onto the national stage for Clinton, who has focused on issues affecting New York constituents and on developing relationships with Senate colleagues since her election two years ago.
Clinton will urge Congress to extend federal unemployment benefits to more than 800,000 people due to lose them Dec. 28, said Ranit Schmelzer, a spokeswoman for Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who tapped Clinton for the role.
It's the first time Clinton has been asked as senator to deliver the message, although as first lady she helped President Clinton deliver a radio address on the importance of mammograms, said a spokesman, Philippe Reines.
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political strategist, said that after the losses the Democrats suffered in the November elections, it's no surprise the party is turning to Clinton.
"She's the best the Democrats have right now," he said. "She's a Clinton, she's a celebrity. They need someone who can spark things up, make them feel like they have some juice and some power again."
Sheinkopf said Clinton has worked hard in the past year to develop relationships with other senators while still fighting for New York interests.
"She represents a distinctive portion of the Democratic party, a part that longs for the days when the Clintons were back in the White House and Democrats were not beaten election after election," he said.
While Clinton aides have said consistently that she does not plan to run for president in 2004, a poll released last weekend showed Clinton would lead the field of likely 2004 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination if she were to enter the race.
In an expanded field that included Clinton, the New York senator was the choice of 30 percent of registered Democrats in a Time/CNN poll.
While Clinton was initially careful not to cast herself in a national light, in the last six months she has taken on a larger fund-raising role and become more outspoken of President Bush, said independent pollster Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion.
"When you're a senator from New York, part of that is being on the national stage and she's now placing herself more in that role," he said.
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