Novak: Michelle Obama Nixed Hillary As VP

Conservative columnist Robert Novak alleges in a new column that Michelle Obama has nixed the idea of Hillary Clinton as a VP candidate:

Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama.

The Democratic front-runner's wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party's nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.

But the Obama campaign brushed off the column in colorful terms:

[Barack Obama] dismissed it with a flit of his hand. He nearly didn't say anything, but then offered: "My wife does not talk to Bob Novak on a regular basis."

Communications director Robert Gibbs suggested afterward that the article should be set aside "in case of a toilet paper emergency."

Comments

[BuckeyeNut]

Novak is a scumbag who I wouldn't trust for anything, however, I believe this story may be possible. I do not think that Michelle would want Hill around for any reason. I also still do not think that HRC would take the VP slot if offered. The only way these two are going to get together is if the powers that be in the DNC order it.

[Aleka4]

Goodness, it is just an overstatement of the obvious if you ask me. Of course Michelee would dislike Clinton - How would you feel about someone who attacked -your- spouse the way Clinton has gone after Obama? Nothing to do with politics but i should think it obvious that Michelle would loathe Clinton for her low racist tactics. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figrue that.

But! That doesn't mean she has any say in the VP. It is not her choice and I think it misleading to try to present her as making choices FOR Obama - it makes him look weak, which is, I am sure, the point of this article.

As someone else pointed out - he doesnt need her to tell him not to pick her.

[MsLiz]

Excellent assessment.

[lizr]

Even if it's correct, it was leaked as slime to negatively affect Obama.

We need to get smart about considering the Source.

Novak is rt up there w Cheney and Rove in the running for Prince of Darkness.

They are the Macbeth Witches in Drag.

[MiddleRoad1]

so the repubs have decided to fan the flames between Obama and Hillary supporters. I am not surprised. They are a pretty disusting bunch.

[DMW1]

Seriously, would you be shocked to learn the Republican Party was paying bloggers to stir up discontent on the political blogs? Now that I think of it, I wouldn't be shocked to find out either party hadn't at least considered the tactic.

[Sussanonymous]

Somebody help me out here: Why the antipathy for Michelle Obama? She's smart, loyal to her husband, attractive, unpretentious in everything I've seen, caring about women and children and the issues that particularly affect them. Yet there is so much animosity here. Why?

[DMW1]

I don't understand it either. Her instincts do not appear to be politically motivated, but rather out of love for and in the defense of her husband. The same cannot be said for all former first ladies.

[abby4ever]

She has made some unwise comments that some people interpret as her ingratitude to this country and her harsh judgement of some of its people. Me, I do think she has a kind of agenda.

[sharonh]

I think people are tired of attaching a spouse to the politician. Think of the difference in Hillary's campaign if Bill had just gone away. It complicates things. Nothing personal against Mrs. Obama.

[maribelle1963]

Thank you sussanonymous, for asking the question of the day.

Why, indeed?

[scrawf]

She's angry, and she appears to always be lecturing people. I can't forgive her for the "For the first time in my life, I'm proud of my country" remark. If anyone should be happy and thankful for all that they've achieved, it is Michelle Obama.

She is going to hurt him badly in the general election.

[HopeObama08]

Scrawf, you're just another clueless victim of the press ready to jump on simplistic conclusions. You need to verify the meaning of the word "emphatic" in the dictionary to understand what she meant when she said " "really" proud of her country".

[MiddleRoad1]

"She's angry, and she appears to always be lecturing people."

Are you sure you arent talking about Queen Hillary?

[zigzag1]

And why the "if anyone should be happy and thankful for all they have achieved, it is Michelle Obama"? Are you saying she has never experienced racial prejudice in her life or that she ought to be happy us white folks let her
go to college? You should be damn thankful we have elected all those white men for hundreds of years and that we let women vote.

[bentenrai]

If she's angry, it doesn't show. What are you talking about?

[Snerdgronk]

scrawf: "... She's angry, and she appears to always be lecturing people."

SG: Lecturing!? ... Like, 'Your library book is overdue'?


Snerd

[lizr]

She is an intelligent and strong black woman and that scares the crap out of white racists.

No brainer.

White women are scary enough to this group, MO is over the top.

It is a new world and they will have to deal with it....

the learning curve could be steep.

[dtrain51]

My goodness, does any one really do research any more,this is crazy, please start checking for facts, I'm really surprise at Huff taking Robert Novak the man who outst V. Plame a CIA undercover employee, and now Huff just post what he said.

[Snerdgronk]

Comic (R)elief ....!

Snerd

[lizr]

I appreciate Huffpost for keeping us on top of the thinking of the Repugs.

We need to know in which ways they will be attacking.

Racist snark is not unexpected­.. but a quick response from the O's is a good thing!

Entertaining repartee strengthens us, and the campaign seems to be very good at this!

May they stay this strong!!

And may we!!

[jubo]

It is odd how often smugness is mistaken for clairvoyance in the Media.

[TooLooze]

Obama is soooo good. I can't wait till he debates McCain. What do you want to bet that Obama will "lose" some debates (like Gore did) based on the fact that he isn't a moron like his opponent. Personally I think its about time we had an "elitist" in the White House.

[jubo]

(apologies in advance as this is irresistible) Laud Trek?

[harriscrl3]

He's the only person that can insult you and you dont know you are being insulted. Like what he told Romney in his interview with Blitzer: Romney use the same arguments against John McCain that he is now using against me and look where he is and McCain is LOL.

Carol

[lizr]

that was hysterical, and thanks Carol for reminding us!!!!

He is so sly he completely cracks me up!!

We are so unused to someone with some style and intelligence using these kinds of comebacks.

Comic relief is so welcome!!!

[jubo]

Please stop quoting moribund has beens.

[joeinvt]

Michelle could do Barack more damage than Rev. Wright. After all, he can't reject her. Whether it's about Clinton as VP or anything else, she will hurt Barack if if she comes across as mean or vindictive. As much as she may dislike Hillary, she needs to keep her mouth shut unless she is saying something positive or complimentary.

[CapitalistRebel]

As an Obama supporter, I agree. She is a smart woman and could be an asset to him, but she has to be extremely careful in choosing her words out on the campaign trail.

[abby4ever]

I agree as well. One of his strongest attributes is leadership---and that will be perceived as having gone down the drain if voters think his wife is calling the shots on who he asks to be VP, or calling the shots on anything, for that matter. She really does need to shut up, to put it plainly. On the other hand, Novak has a reputation for stretching things a bit or even fabricating them, so it's hard to say.
But Michelle needs to be quiet anyway, she has already angered many voters by not being proud of America until just a few months ago!

[BuckeyeNut]

I don't like her for several reasons. The latest is when she said that people with two pieces of the pie are going to have to give one of them up. I've worked 55 years for my very modest 2 pieces and I'll be damm if I am just going to give one of them up while I am sure Michelle will keep her whole pie to herself.

[harriscrl3]

Youre joking right? Did Hilary keep her mouth shut when Bill Clinton running we need to be careful telling women particularly that they need to keep their mouth shut because that sounds awflully like telling them to know their place and thats BS.

Carol

[joeinvt]

Right and she lost. Don't you care if Obama wins? I do.

[abby4ever]

Oh, I don't think we need to be as careful as all that. People are too sensitive these days, always looking for trouble in someone's choice of words. Pretty soon free speech will be only a memory.

[dtrain51]

joeinvt, please explain, if Michelle says something to hurt Hillary feeling the she's mean and hurt Sen. Obama, but Hillary has been say all kind of s--t about Sen. Obama,smears,race card and just out right lies, and she's is called a fighter, please explain why that is.

[joeinvt]

It is not a matter of whether Michelle is justified or not. I am making a pragmatic argument. There is no way I can see how it helps Obama in any way if Michelle is seen as mean or vindictive in any way. Now is the time for her to be gracious. I could be wrong.

[reggieb]

joeinvt, you do know that Cindy McCain broke up a marriage, plagerized, and stole drugs from a medical foundation that she set up? She was involved in the Keating 5 scandal - I think she kept the books. Money, sex, drugs, theft.....­. Michelle Obama has to get busy to catch up with that.

[lizr]

KEATING 5...

this is a nice piece of history to be brought up again and again..

I don't think the younger gen has a clue about how corrupt, and that she was a part of that...Ver­y interestin­g..

(twirls mustache)

[amazinggrace]

Bob Novak, the famous outer of Valerie Plame Wilson. Sure anyone would believe him.......­..........­...Did anyone see him stalk off the stage on Crossfire when James Carville would not stop talking?

Robert Novak, the voice of the absurd.

[lthuedk 1]

http://www.light-to-dark.com/pundits_selling_gametes.html

[justobserve]

If he accepts her demand to be his VP, he needs a foodtaster.

[overclocker1980]

Then we just don't vote for him. Simple enough. She should never be allowed close to any position of power again. I'm looking at NY to end this and kick her to the curb at their first chance.

[abby4ever]

How could he even think of asking her to be on the ticket with him, when she is the embodiment of the kind of politics he has been preaching against for a year? To justify it, he'd have to convince voters that she has had a real change of political heart. Fat chance of that.

[harriscrl3]

He wont do it because its a LOSER ticket. He puts her as his VP and he wont have to worry about Jermiah Wright or Michelle because HIlary Clinton as his VP will DO HIM IN.

Thankfully some democrats are smart enough to see that which is why I dont see it working. My money is on Rendell, Strickland or Kaine.

Carol

[WarriorLemming]

rofl, very funny and true, justobserve. On a serious note though I think most wives are protective of their husbands and Michelle isn't the one running for office so she is allowed to have and express real feelings. If it had been my husband that Hillay had said and implied all sorts of things about I'm not sure I could be as restrained as Michelle is and I admire her for that.

[TGCNY]

Boy these people would do anything for recognition huh please Mr.Novak get a life we all should respect the presumptive nominees choice and i for one knows it cant be Hillary because she does relate to the message in any way about Change.

[aceholiday]

nothing worse than a tp emergency. except perhaps another authoritarian president

[HuffingPuffing]

Whenever I read or hear anything by Bob Novak my bullshit-o-meter swings wildly to the right and I ask myself: for whose benefit is he writing this? He's a partisan hack, with questionable morals, yet somehow he feels qualified to present scurrilous or invented gossip as journalism.
Hey Bob, guess what, I'm a journalist too and you'll never believe what I heard over tea at the Willard - McCain is going to pick Joe Lieberman as his running mate, and I heard the juiciest tidbit about Dick Cheney enjoying not one but two skewers of grilled baby hearts at a recent luncheon. I'm making it up you say? Now, why would I do that? You're saying I'm trying to advance an agenda? I guess you'd know absolutely nothing about that now, would you?
People like Novak are tools of the establishment, in every possible way. This election season we need to question the source every time, and ask "cui bono" - who benefits from this?

[sharonh]

Since when did the presumptive or, for that matter, sitting First Lady have a role in policy as important as this. Shouldn't she be picking out china patterns? Well, I guess somebody has to tell Obama which way the wind is blowing.

[reggieb]

your post assumes that novak has credibility

[sharonh]

I stand corrected. The source was not considered.

[DMW1]

Ummm, are you forgetting sitting first lady Hillary Clinton and her $13 million dollar failed health care plan?

[sharonh]

I consider myself a pretty open-minded type of person, but when people bring this subject up it gets my blood boiling. My mother is elderly and dependent on the social systems, such as they are, for her health care. My poor mother. She was just told that her insurance is done paying for her meds for the rest of the year, the rest of the year. People would rather laugh at Hillary's attempts to make life better for these people, than to address it themselves. At least she was trying to make a plan. She was literally "working" on one. Was she compensated in any way? It this had been a think tank study, they would have gotten millions or more for the type of work she did. What was her motive? BYW, Obama has modeled his current health care plan on Hillary's "failed attempt".