Clinton Backer Rendell: Dem Nominee Should Offer Loser VP Slot

The Atlantic:

Atlantic Media political director Ron Brownstein interviewed Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell for today's National Journal On Air, which airs at 1:00 pm ET on Sirius Satellite Radio -- or right here. As usual, Rendell makes some news.

Brownstein: Do you think it would make sense for the winner to offer the Vice Presidency to the loser, either way?

Rendell: I do - and that doesn't mean the loser has to accept. But I think it's important that it be offered, and if the loser doesn't accept, I think the loser can say why. But no, I think that would be very, very important. You know, obviously, I'd love to see a Clinton/Obama ticket. But if Senator Obama won, I think his offering it to Senator Clinton would be a great gesture. I'm not sure she would take it, I'm not sure he would take it. But either way, I think that it would be good if the offer were made.

Read the whole story: The Atlantic

Comments

[savertime]

01:06 PM on 03/09/2008

There is not a snowballs chance in hell that Hillary Clinton would offer the #2 ticket to Obama, SHOULD SHE WIN THE NOMINATION.

Beside the fact that Bill has already promised the #2 to about a couple of dozen people to win their endorsements and campaign support for Hillary, there is no way they could justify having Obama "a heart beat away from the presidency" after all the effort they'e expended defining him as "not ready, inexperienced, and too green."

Anyone gullible enough to fall for yet another Clinton ploy to secure the nomination is already a Clinton supporter.

[Gogetter]

08:17 AM on 03/09/2008

"The Dem nominee should offer the loser VP slot". Rendell and Bill Clinton know there's no way in hell Hillary Clinton wants to be VP. And it costs them nothing the say she'd offer Obama the VP slot. It's obvious that this talk is just a campaign ploy to soften Obama's support. Hillary wants the power. If Obama's the President and Clinton's the VP, he'd better sleep with one eye open.

[AC500]

08:30 PM on 03/08/2008

Which is it, Clintons? .... First you say Obama's not fit to be commander and chief ... then you say ... Hillary may have him as a Vice-President. Your desperation is showing.

[AC500]

08:18 PM on 03/08/2008

Do the math. Obama doesn't need Clinton as VP.

[nacilbuper]

08:43 AM on 03/09/2008

ABSOLUTELY!

once again, team clinton is hedging their bets.

obama doesn't need senator clinton in any way, shape or fashion. if he wins the nomination, he's has a mortal lock on the presidency.

clinton desperately needs obama to ensure a victory, and she knows it.

[MrFister]

08:00 PM on 03/08/2008

OBAMA SUPPORTERS: Make your voice heard -- we will not vote for Hillary Clinton in a general election!

Our Goal is 500,000 signatures by April 22nd.

Let the DNC know that you will not support the politics of fear propagated by Senator Clinton and Senator McCain.

SIGN THE OBAMA LOYALIST DOCTRINE NOW

http://obamaloyalistdoctrine.googlepages.com/home

[globality]

06:47 PM on 03/13/2008

Find another way to do your petition

why should I pay 2 $

[armadillious2002]

07:20 PM on 03/08/2008

Would be fine with me as long as Obama is at the top of the ticket - great idea Hillary.

[Manx]

04:21 PM on 03/08/2008

At one time, I supported Hillary Clinton. But after her disloyal endorsement of McCain over Obama, I wouldn't want to see her even as vice-president. She has betrayed the Democratic party and that can never be forgiven or forgotten.

[globality]

03:47 PM on 03/08/2008

clintonscandals2008.com

Clinton has her high end donor base and H527

Obama has over one million donors and individuals like me willing to get down and dirty

I paid 250$ to create this site. I know Senator Obama would not approve of this and I am sorry but we all have to slam Hillary so that he can keep the high road.

http://www.clintonscandals2008.com

[antaeus]

03:28 PM on 03/08/2008

The virtue of the kind of traditional machine Democratic Party loyalty that characterizes Clinton's politics is that voters will actually support the generic Dem nominee. The downside of the kind of energized enthusiasm that characterizes Obama's politics is that personality cultist devoted to a single individual threaten to take their toys and go home unless they get their own way. Rendell thinks it makes more sense to come together than to be a screaming idealist.

[Tankan]

03:22 PM on 03/08/2008

Hey Ed, if Hillary were veep, where would that leave Bill?

I think you need to think it out again!

[lovethesinner]

02:53 PM on 03/08/2008

Ed Rendell should kiss my ass.

Obama/Clinton, or Clinton/Obama can only mean one thing: fraud.

Obama cannot campaign on ending the "politics of the past" and then accept it's poster child as "next in line", anymore than Hillary can campaign on "he's a drug addict, a muslim ("as far as I can tell",) and incompetent to pick up red phones at early hours of the day.

There's only one way I'll vote as a Democrat in '08. And I won't be voting for "Driving Miss Daisy" whether she's sitting in the front or the back of the bus.

Obama/Webb, (Gore, McKaskill, Napoitano, Richardson, Biden, Edwards) in '08

[antaeus]

03:14 PM on 03/08/2008

Another declaration a la Mrs. Obama that the Democratic Party can drop dead unless she herself gets to lead it (because, of course, she wants to continue to be able to be proud of America for the first time in her life). That's just Naderism 2.0

Rendell is just looking forward to the end of this process and in doing so advocating for party unity. Real, honest-to-goodness grown-up progressiveness know that the Supreme Court is more important than getting their favorite candidate elected, and they will vote for any Dem. Only personality cultists will run away form the process in a huff.

[TruthBeTold4us]

02:30 PM on 03/08/2008

If you do some research on Hillary Clinton's backer, PA governor Ed Rendell, you will find some disturbing things:

1) Racial insensitivity - in a statement to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rendell said "You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate," he said bluntly. A highly elected Democratic party official has no business making a racially charged statement like this.

2) Ties to cable and telecom lobbyists - Rendell pushed through legislation supporting Verizon and Comcast at the expense of local, more competitive internet broadband providers.

3) Ties to Norman Hsu - In a Pittsburg Tribune-Review story of 9/09/07, it was reported that Rendell took and KEPT $38,000 in campaign contributions from Hsu and stated Hsu was "one of the best 10 people I've met" in spite of the fact that Hsu had just been exposed as a fugitive.

4) A story of 11/20/07 brought up the possible inappropriate relationship between blonde lobbyist Leslie Merrill McCombs and Rendell, who she was lobbying for $75 million in tax breaks for movie makers.

5) A story that appeared here on Huffington several months ago about a Philly TV anchor, Alycia Lane, who was arrested in NY for punching a police officer and then called Gov Rendell for help.

6) There's the ties to then DNC head Ed Rendell to the Peter Paul, Hillary & Bill Clinton fraud and campaign funds scandal (see peterfpaul.com) in which Aaron Tonken claims Rendell offered him a $100,000 state job he was not qualified for when he was indicted in CA on charges relating to fundraising. This also ties into the FEC fines Senator Clinton's campaign paid for hiding $720,000 donated by Peter Paul on a 1/30/06 FEC report.

7) There was also reports of an affair being kept under wraps tying Gov Rendell with a then 17 year old coed at the University of Pittsburgh.

8) A government watchdog group just released a report in March of 2008 naming the PA legislature, headed by Gov Rendell, as one of the least productive, most secretive and least accountable in the nation (see blog by Tony Phyrillas).

Hillary Clinton and the media claim Obama should be judged by the company he keeps. So should Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton should denounce Gov. Ed Rendell's comments regarding PA residents voting based on race as racially insensitive and in direct opposition to the ideals of the Democratic party.

Clinton should also distance herself from Gov Ed Rendell based on his ties to Norman Hsu and claiming Hsu is one of the 10 best people he ever met.

Hillary Clinton's acceptance of Rendell's support of her candidacy in Pennsylvania shows poor judgment, lack of integrity and associating with a possible racist and government figure that kept corrupt campaign contributions from a known felon.

Where is the mainstream media on reporting this? Where is the mainstream media on demanding to see her tax returns, White House records and Bill Clinton's library donor list before any more votes are cast?

What does it take to get the mainstream media to do their job? Emails? Phone calls? How about a national boycott of their sponsors if they refuse to act responsibly?

[antaeus]

03:24 PM on 03/08/2008

In the same off-the-cuff interview with the Post-Gazette, he said a lot of people in PA wouldn't be confident of a woman commander-in-chief. He was simply characterizing the cultural attitudes of a very old, traditional state. You know, if you scream "racism" at everything, then it only trivializes actual instances of racism.

As for the sleazy innuendo about an affair, is that coming form the same Obama operative who dragged out the dirty personal laundry of Obama's senate opponent in Illinois, Blair Hull? That's _way_ sleazier then simply repeating someone's middle name.

[TruthBeTold4us]

11:19 PM on 03/08/2008

Nice try. When the mainstream media finally has to ask the tough questions of Hillary Clinton, she will be toast. Hillary is making a big deal about some acquaintances of Obama's yet we are not to question her political and business alliance with Gov Rendell? Gov Rendell that has ties to Norman Hsu, the Peter Paul lawsuit, etc, etc??

As to sources, all of the information I quoted here was from various mainstream PA newspapers and tv news stories. Are you calling them sleazy?

[Silpat]

06:57 AM on 03/09/2008

This Rendell guy seems to reek of racism. Wow, what a good job you Democrats have done in selecting political leaders.

[Gogetter]

02:12 PM on 03/08/2008

This is just a campaign ploy the Clinton's are using to say, "Hey, all you Obama supporters. Soften your support for Obama. Don't worry, I'll take your guy along as VP". Now, Bill Clinton and Rendell are echoing the "possibility". It's just strategy, cynical, dis-ingenuous, old school politics. And smart, by the way. Do you think there's a chance in hell that Sen. Clinton would even consider running as VP on an Obama-Clinton ticket. No way. Clint is 60 years old. Clinton wants the top spot and there's no way she's gonna wait four, maybe eight years for it. Besides, listen to her rhetoric over the past week. She seems more interested in a McCain-Clinton ticket.

[Shocktheworld]

01:26 PM on 03/08/2008

I actually agree with Gov. Rendell on this issue. When Obama wins the nomination, he should offer Hillary the VP spot. It would be nice to have a VP with a backbone on the Dem side this time around.

[TruthBeTold4us]

11:25 PM on 03/08/2008

Obama should NOT offer the Clintons an opportunity to stab him in the back at every turn and use the office of Vice President to manipulate at every chance to position Hillary for another run in 2012. Obama does not need Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton needs him. For Bill Clinton to make campaign speeches declaring Obama should be HER vice president on the ticket is as ludicrous as him declaring he never had sex with that woman. Obama is ahead in delegates and does not begin to have the baggage that the Clintons are carrying. Obama also shows judgment in that he did not give the Republicans a huge campaign endorsement for John McCain as Hillary did - not once, not twice but 3 times in the past week.

[Plowboy]

12:56 PM on 03/08/2008

Here's a better idea. Get all the Republicans to vote in the open Democraatic primaries for Her Hillaryship. Then in the fall McCain and she can compromise and offer us a choice between McCain/Clinton and Clinton/McCain. With her recent campaign rhetoric, that seems to be what she would really like.

[brwnizofmine]

09:41 PM on 03/08/2008

That sounds like a wonderful idea, she's a better fit with McCain than the Democrats.