Obama Expert Predicts Chelsea Clinton Presidency

Forget Hillary Clinton as vice president or a 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Buzz is already building that budding TV journalist and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton will enter politics and become the first-ever woman president of the United States.

Clinton associates have long whispered that the politically-trained daughter would be perfect for politics, but now an Obama expert who advises Fortune 500 firms on communications has bluntly predicted a continuation of the Clinton dynasty.

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"It doesn't matter if she keeps her new television job, or if she quits—Chelsea can do it," says Gil Peretz, author of Obama's Secrets, a book on how to communicate like the president. "She started to gain substantive political experience when she campaigned for her mother in 2008.

"The name 'Clinton' could be the new 'Kennedy' buzz in politics," he adds.

Peretz, promoting his book on Obama, suggests a Clinton run in 2020, when she will be 40.

Clinton has eschewed politics, but did campaign briefly with her dad, Bill, during his 1996 presidential reelection campaign. She also played a starring role in her mother's New York Senate campaign.

She also recently surprised friends when she joined NBC News as a special correspondent. Many had presumed that her family's often acid relations with the media would repel her from the industry.

Peretz doesn't appear to have any ties to the Clintons, though he has analyzed Bill Clinton's post-presidential speeches. He also has a track record of observing politics and advising corporations including Microsoft, Motorola, Coca-Cola, and IBM on communications.

"There are people who say that Chelsea is not as charismatic as her father," he says. "Not too many people know that 12 years ago, Barack Obama was an average communicator. Give her time. She has the best debate coaches at home."

• See a collection of political cartoons on the GOP hopefuls.
• See a slide show of 10 issues driving Obama's re-election campaign.
• See photos of 2012 GOP candidates.

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