Hillary Clinton's current email controversy will not harm her chances to be president, and any Democrats seeking to beat her in the primaries are wasting their time, said longtime Clinton adviser James Carville.
Appearing Sunday on "The Cats Roundtable" on New York's AM 970, Carville told host John Catsimatidis he has traveled the entire country and has had only three or so Democrats tell him they plan to vote for someone other that Clinton.
"And I know I run into more Democrats in more places than maybe anybody else in the United States," he said.
Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley both have indicated possible runs, but Carville pushed any real chance of either of them beating Clinton aside.
"Of course, Sen. Webb and Gov. O’Malley can run for anything that they want. But, in terms of the party, every poll that you see shows … 86 percent of the Democrats say they’re going to vote for Hillary," Carville said. "Who am I to tell Sen. Webb or Gov. O’Malley, who I both know, that you can’t run. You’re not going to win. But if you want to waste your time, that’s your business."
The Clinton and Obama camps are believed not to like each other, but Carville said there isn't anyone Obama can endorse in the primaries other than Clinton.
"I don’t think he can take a side against Secretary Clinton," he said.
Still, he said Obama has hurt the Democrat's brand – especially in the South where the party is "kind of decimated."
In the general election, Carville said he'd most like to see Clinton face business mogul Donald Trump or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, because they'd be easy to beat, "but I’m not going to have the chance."
The more realistic contenders, he said are Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker or Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
He said he isn't impressed with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's numbers yet, but if he can improve them "he’ll be formidable in the general."
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