At least that's what senator Chuck Schumer is claiming, hoping, and doing all he can to make a reality. But aren't there, like, 35 Democrats already lining up to take her on? Indeed there are, but New York's powerful senior senator has taken a shine to Gillibrand, acting as a behind-the-scenes guardian angel for the upstate Blue Dog since even before she won her congressional seat — convincing Rahm Emanuel to "pour money into her race," sharing credit with her for the pork he brings home, pressing Harry Reid to grant her her preferred committee assignments, and throwing lucrative D.C. fund-raisers for her. Advisers say Schumer, besides appreciating her natural political abilities, "likes the fact that Ms. Gillibrand is open to his guidance and is deferential," unlike that cocksure know-it-all Hillary Clinton. For Gillibrand, whose legion of potential challengers are still some of the only people actually aware of her, Schumer seems like a worthwhile guy to defer to.

N.Y.’s Junior Senator Gains a Defender: The Senior Senator [NYT]