Hillary Clinton's announcement over the weekend that she plans to run for the US presidency in 2008 took nobody by surprise. Speculation had been rampant for months. Now, the speculation can shift to analyzing what her chances of eventually taking over the Oval Office might be.

At first glance, not bad. After all, after spending eight years in the White House when husband Bill was in office and another six on Capitol Hill as Senator from New York, she knows Washington politics well. She also surprised her critics by turning into an effective lawmaker -- and was re-elected with a 30 percentage point-margin last year. That combined with name-recognition and middle-of-the-road politics make her the first woman in US history to stand a realistic chance of being elected president.

She could, however, be beaten by her rival Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, for the very same reasons. Inside and outside her party people fear that her name may be too closely associated with the controversies of the Clinton administration, and that Barack may be the best choice to avoid a dynastic Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton succession.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung describes Clinton's candidacy as "long anticipated" and "historical."

"She is the first woman with a realistic chance to become president of the United States and that could earn her some votes. But do the Americans -- who in these wartimes have become used to defining their president through his role as commander in chief -- really want a woman in the Oval Office? Apart from the fact that Hillary Clinton won't be able to win over the rednecks, her main problem will be the men and women in the political center."

"During her six years in Senate, she has carefully positioned herself in the middle and discarded her image as left-wing. But has this change really benefited her? She previously supported the Iraq war because she thought that this was the only way to be elect-able for the political center. Now she's trying to join the ranks of the anti-war opposition without losing credibility."

"Her personality is another issue. Clinton comes across as calculating and cold, in contrast to the warm impression her husband (or even Barack Obama) makes. She is the favorite in the race for the Democratic nomination, but she is the unloved favorite. This will be her greatest problem."

Hillary's relationship with Bill Clinton -- which earned them the nickname "Billary" as early as 1975 when the two married -- is probably the greatest threat to the Republicans, writes the center-right Die Welt. But Hillary Clinton, who was the first first lady to ever have a post-graduate degree or a career, has achieved and endured more than any other woman in American politics.

"She put up with Ken Starr, Monica Lewinsky, the impeachment-process, and she survived the virulent talk about her being anti-Semitic, ordering the assassination of Vince Foster, or taking $8 million in advances for her book in December 2000."

"When she ran for Senate in New York, many complained loudly that she was little more than a carpet-bagger with no connection to the state apart from her millionaire friends in Manhattan. But she was resplendent in victory and over the next six years she silenced her worst enemies through hard work. Her landslide re-election in 2006 was like a coronation. Bill Clinton used to say to his friends that America's first female president would be a conservative like Margaret Thatcher. He may have been wrong."

Her image as calculating career woman has made Clinton an enemy to conservative America, comments the left leaning Berliner Zeitung.

"Just as they downplayed her loyalty to Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky affair, they fail to give her credit for her commitment to the families of soldiers in New York or for her efforts to build bi-partisan alliances. To her critics, every action is just part of the political strategy of an ambitious woman who wants to reign in the White House. Her greatest challenge in 2008 will be to overcome this image and add a human element to it."

The paper also takes a look at her chances against her main rival, Barack Obama.

"Obama is particularly dangerous because he's backed by the same financial donors as Clinton -- after all, they share the same voters. The son of a Kenyan father and American mother attracts African-Americans, liberals and women, as does Clinton. Hillary still has the financial edge over her competition but Obama has already announced that he will start fund-raising in New York -- practically a declaration of war on Clinton."