Ex-city pol: I like Hil, not seeking job

ABOUT THE ONLY person on TV more than Hillary Clinton this past week was Christine Quinn.

The former New York City Council speaker — and unsuccessful 2013 mayoral candidate — appeared daily on cable television proudly touting Clinton’s accomplishments, including appearances every morning on CNN as a talking head, a primetime spot on “Anderson Cooper 360” and numerous interviews on New York’s broadcast networks.

She swears she’s not planning a new career in front of the cameras.

“Not to sound cheesy, and I know it does sound cheesy, but I am just honored and I see this as an opportunity to help Hillary Clinton, who I adore,” said Quinn.

Clinton’s historymaking bid to become the first woman President of the United States has some parallels to Quinn’s efforts two years ago to be the city’s first woman mayor, but she is quick to point out what she thinks will be one big difference. “She’s going to win,” Quinn (photo) said with a laugh.

That aside, she admitted that some of the scrutiny Clinton has faced — over her clothes, appearance, and most recently her tone of voice when accepting the Democratic nomination — was reminiscent of the troubles she had during her race two years ago.

“Women get treated differently than men,” Quinn said. “It’s not just our voices, our hair, our clothes. It goes to more than that. There’s almost this societal permission to treat women candidates worse and throw the kitchen sink at them.”

Quinn’s work last week as a Clinton surrogate — and the possible next President’s obvious affinity for her — could put the former city councilwoman from Chelsea in line for a position in the administration, political experts say.

“I think it suggests she’s bound for bigger things,” said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College and author. “This is an important steppingstone for her. I don’t think she has the national name recognition, but the TV presence is giving her that.”

Quinn could be a particularly appealing candidate for a role in the Clinton White House because she is also a lesbian and can do outreach with the LGBT community.

For her part, Quinn insisted she was currently only interested on her current job as president and CEO of Win, the largest nonprofit in the city serving homeless women and families. A WHIRLWIND TWO weeks of intense partisan political theater presented two starkly different visions of the future of America — and left two very different candidates locked in a heated battle for the White House.

At Donald Trump’s Republican convention, America was cast as a nation quickly headed for chaos and economic ruin. Immigrants were cast as criminals, terrorists were said to be hiding in every dark corner, the government nearly past the point of repair.

“I alone can fix it,” Trump said as he accepted the GOP nomination in Cleveland.

The Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia was a four-day critique of Trump’s vision.

“America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger,” Hillary Clinton said as she became the first woman nominated for President by a major political party.

The two candidates, and their unprecedented unfavorability among voters, embody the deep intellectual division among many in the country.

Almost as soon as the last balloons fell, the speeches ended, and the protesters went home, the clash over the battleground states began.

The remaining 100 days before Election Day are poised to be an ideological war focused on the economy and national security, according to political strategists and experts.

A Reuters poll released Friday shows Clinton with a lead of six percentage points. A national online survey by RABA Research, a bipartisan polling firm, shows Clinton beating Trump by 15 points.

But experts say voters in a handful of swing states could determine who will be sitting in the Oval Office come January. Polling is close in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The next few weeks will be framed “by both candidates fleshing out their themes and messages and making strategic decisions on which states they will concentrate on for the campaign,” according to David Caputo, president emeritus and professor of Political Science at Pace University.

“The election will ultimately come down to turnout,” Caputo predicted.

Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, wasted no time Friday, kicking off a weekend-long