Obama-Clinton Group VoteBoth Shuts Down

WASHINGTON — An effort to urge Barack Obama to pick former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate is shutting down under the assumption she is not a contender for the No. 2 spot.

The two former Clinton staffers who started the group Vote Both say Obama's decision to offer Clinton a prime-time speaking role at the Democratic Party nominating convention and other signals suggest Obama will not chose her.

"Because it seems that Senator Obama has made his decision to offer the slot on the ticket to another candidate, we believe that continuing to ask him to pick Hillary is no longer helpful to our party's chances of winning in November," Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora wrote in an e-mail they planned to send Thursday to the 40,000-plus supporters who signed onto their online petition.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the campaign won't comment on the vice presidential search and hasn't finalized the convention speaking program. Obama and Clinton advisers have said Clinton is likely to speak on the convention's second night, Aug. 26, which is the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the amendment giving the women the right to vote.

Parkhomenko and Arora have a combined 10 years experience working for Clinton. Most recently Arora was a press aide to her presidential campaign and Parkhomenko was executive assistant to former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, who is now chief of staff for Obama's yet-to-be named vice presidential nominee.

In an interview, Arora was coy about what makes them so confident Clinton won't be chosen.

"All indications we have from people close to Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are that Hillary is not on the short list," Arora said. "We're looking at how we can _ if we can _ use Vote Both to help him because we want a Democrat in the White House."

Obama said this week that he wants a running mate who will help him change how business has been conducted in Washington _ seen by many as an indication that he won't pick Clinton.

___

On the Net:

http://www.voteboth.com

Comments

[mike53]

Good for BO. He put that woman in her place.

[ohmercy]

Ahhhhh...
Exactly the kind of comment that created the PUMA backlash.
Keep it up... you put aq crack in the party already, maybe you can make sure it splits completely.

And then you will blame "that woman" just like all woman beaters do.

[sd4peace]

Don't pay him any attention, he's a troll trying to stir up trouble.

[Grunty1]

Just like the Republican base, you let emotional attacks from other Republicans get you riled up to act against your own best interest, but FOR theirs.

[olivia]

Most of us don't see it that way. He tried as hard as possible to be gracious, to let her save face.

[Fabienne]

There are hardly any PUMAs out there any more. The backlash is minimal.

[olivia]

That's not what happened. He did refuse to be bullied by her, however.

[PumaAnn]

Yes, she bullied him so by raising millions for him and campaigning hard on his behalf.

Bully that she is. LOL*

I will continue to point out that the O supporters are hilarious in their pretense for unity. Hate the candidate that won 18 million votes and commanded loyalty as she did and still think that'll win others over?

Stupid thinking. Every single insult about Hill took a voter out of the party. And these are long-time Dems, too. They'll be missed, whether you think so or not.

Once people leave, they may not come back.

[NikkiT]

Well - if obama doesn't put hillary on the ticket, the super delegates -her pledged delegates- can put her on the ticket.

i will vote mccain if hillary is not on the ticket.

[superbust]

Awww, gee whiz.

No offense, but nobody cares.

[Pupadup4oBama]

Kewl - don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[gobarackgo]

Buh bye!

[MilesTone]

Good to know that you are carefully analyzing who would make the better President rather than basing it on any irrational decision such as a former candidate not being on the ticket.

[nclayla]

Okay.............
Vote for someone who cannot function without the assistance of Lieberman by his side.
Vote for someone who readily admits he does not understand the massive economic problems our nations faces.
Vote for someone who is taking attack ads to a new record low.

The rest of us happen to think that we deserve better and will be working for Obama. We wish you had joined us, but we can, and will, win without you.

Bye, Nikki!

[WasteNJ]

I guess anything's better than voting for the "inexperienced Black man"... huh?

Make sure you register Republican, and don't come back.

[JJ30]

Well I'm glad they came to their senses and will now come out and support Obama. I'm glad their not bitter like these pesky PUMA people.

[nclayla]

Yeah - I was surprised and heartened to learn they are now considering how to use Vote Both to support Obama. I hope they will will. Thank you, Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora!

[PumaAnn]

Unity must be authentic. There's no unity in the party. The issues raised were strong-armed. The damage done with the MI and FL decisions entirely too deep to go away.

It's not going away. O's polls show a decline in women support this past month. I predict he'll dip lower. Being 60% of the Dem party, losing the women is substantial. He'll have to get that number back through Independents, who are Reagan Dems. He'll have to go even more conservative.

So all the anti-Hill hatred just is ensuring that progressive goals will be even more elusive.

Faux-progressives won the Hate battle but lost the war.

Congratulations.

[theMightyT]

Again, Ann... no credibiltiy whatsoever.

Your predictions are flatulence.

For an example of authentic unity, I suggest you reread the article above. Unlike your organization, Vote Both has accepted that Hillary is out of the picture and is moving on towards the goal of a democratic president. Advocating party unity.

Not being complete hypocrites, like yourself and PUMA.

[olivia]

There is plenty of unity in the party. More than 99% unity. You're not on board by your own choice.

We're winning without you.

[Fabienne]

What polls are you looking at?

[schicklett3]

From the bottom of my heart I thank you.
Lets join together, lets send Senator Obama to the White House with the biggest win in American history!
Lets show the Republican Party that we will not be Swift-Boated, that we will not let lies and rumors prevail, and that we are UNITED FOR CHANGE!
God Bless America!

[DRaymond]

Good for Hillary!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bya0SWWCVI

[ohmercy]

Amen!

Great vid.
My thoughts exactly.
Hillary as VeeP would be a comedown for her.
She has so much more to do that THAT nonsense.

[harriscrl3]

In listening to Obama's approach to what John McCain is saying about him in his ads. If Obama had picked Hilary it would have KILLED his message there is no doubt in my mind. Obama's response to McCain's ad same old politics. But thats not the worse part of it. I can see the republicans ad if Hilary was the VP He failed the commander in chief test he claims to be a different kind of politician he claim to be the future and not the past and here he is picking someone who represents everything he claims to be against. It would kill his message and if folks would think and use common sense they would see why he cant chose her. He would have to remake his message completely after reading about Tim Kaine I see why he might be at the top of the list. I also think it might be Byah I dont think it will be Biden anymore because he has too many years in Washington.

Carol

[ohmercy]

yeah... don't want anyone with years and years of experience a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
not that it matters, none of those three are Progressive enough.
There are some very admiral qualities in Kaine though-- but there are others I am uncomfortable with... I like Biden just because I do-- I mean I just like him, despite his atrocious voting record from a progressive point of view.

Bayh is far too centrist... his voting record is also not something I would want a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

When looking at an analysis of voting records Clinton is the most Progressive of all four of them... which is one good reason to keep her from getting lost in the VEEP position. She has too much work to do.
Far better for her to be in the Senate where she can have more influence.

[Grunty1]

Mc'Cain has a ton of "experience", but he is a lunatic unfit for office (or dog catcher)

B'ush had more experience than either O'bama and H'illary, and we see how well THAT worked out.

The number of years in an elected seat matter much less than what you DO with the it.

[olivia]

Her "experience" is greatly exaggerated.

Not all experience is presidential experience.

Not all experience is an advantage. The experience she cites so much is exactly what I hope Washington will get away from, forever.

Pure intentions matter, too, and raw skill. Out with the old, in with the new.

[Fabienne]

What is more progressive about her voting record? Please do tell us. Check out the legislation she has not initiated when she was in the Senate. Perhaps she voted for "progressive" legislation, but her vote for the war and her continued support of it years after its inception pretty much balances out to her detriment, considering the fact that the war was the most egregious blunder this country has made in many years.

[WasteNJ]

The news cycle would be all about how Hillary will help/hurt Obama's chances and how the GOP now has unlimited ammo to fire at Obama. Not to mention a fundraising boost and voter turnout boost thanks to the right's entrenched hatred of everything Clinton.

I think the correct term for a HRC VP slot would be "Albatross".

[marymansour]

"It's not the tragedies that kill us, it's the messes" wrote the inimitable Dorothy Parker.
Hillary Clinton's campaign was messy from the git go with internecine struggles within the group and the atrocious handling of her finances. Obama has stated that he wants someone who will govern with him and not just be dispatched to funerals. Hillary has proven that she is not that person.

[ohmercy]

blah blah blah blah blah....
yeah, its just terrible how she ran the campaign.
awful. She did make some screw ups, picked some people based on loyalty and stayed loyal too long.
Loyalty is so pesky-- its a nice quality to have but it can kill you in the long run.
And she really should have been poring over those accounts at night making sure she knew where all the money went down to the last penny. I mean that is her job after all and she should have stayed on top of it.
And WHY didn't she have been "lets all get along" retreats on off hours?
No Brainer..
I just can't understand how she managed to stay in so long and win state after state after state and get all those votes. Its just inexplicable.
Didn't she have something like more cast votes than Obama... not that they all counted, I understand that, but didn't more people actually cast votes for her?
What's up with that?

Well, whatever, no, we wouldn't want a work horse in the administration who actually has a lot of Washington Power... not to mention someone who has an actual PROGRESSIVE voting record in comparison to the presumptive nominee. (according to an independent government watch group analysis)
http://tinyurl.com/2t95yp
http://tinyurl.com/35prxb

[Grunty1]

If there are any PUMA members who are actually Democrats and not Republican plants:

THIS is how it is supposed to be done!

[Agnim]

Hilary Clinton took herself out of VP contention a long time ago by the way she did her 'kitchen sink' campaigning.

Imagine running from behind and offering the front runner the VP spot? That was so audacious of the Clintons. lol

Moreover, the Clintons were always harping on the silliness that Obama was not tough enough; because he did not attack her in kind, and sully his image. Imagine a female challenging a male's manhood by publicly telling him that he's not tough enough?

Reminds one of females who are always inviting a beat down by daring males.

No Obama will 'act tough enough' and reject the once goading Hillary.

[ndnndpendent]

She took the low road didn't she and now that strategy came back to bite her? I had high hopes for women, so it will be very disappointing if he does not chose a female running mate. Now if he fails to chose a woman and McCain does, this makes it much tougher for Obama to win. I wish he would chose a woman for VP.

[olivia]

It makes me sad to think that any woman would cast a vote based on gender before the qualifications and intentions of the candidate. Those people are putting a personal issue before country. There is too much at stake after 8 years of Bush killing and stealing.

[WasteNJ]

Obama should choose the best VP candidate, male or female, black or white or brown or whatever. And we all need to get behind that. Who cares about VP when there's powerful cabinet posts that can make a real difference? No doubt there will be some women appointed. It's all good.

[personalpolitical]

Common sense signaled a long time ago that it wasn't happening. Give me a break, these people were idiots from Day One.

[NovaBoy]

Hey, Adam, Sam, here's a clue . . . IT WAS NEVER HELPFUL!!!!!

[blaqntelligence]

Much respect to Adam Parkhomenko and Sam Arora. They went the distance for their candidate and are now willing to support the Democratic candidate. The piece above give no evidence of hard feelings just a desire to do the right thing.
Much respect..

[PoliJunkie]

Now will Lanny Davis please go away?

[Northlite]

Lanny is like a God to so many of us. Its unfortunate that Hillary won't be able to appoint Lanny to the Supreme Court, as she had promised. If Obama had any smarts, he would bring Lanny into the center of his campaign. I will suggest to O that he put Lanny on the short list for VP!

[olivia]

LOL if this is not satire you need help!

[olivia]

PUMAs have thrown Lanny under the bus because he asked them to be reasonable.

[oscartucker]

Lanny Davis has an op-ed in a newspaper today--still talking about HRC as Veep.

[Charmed]

Well it took them long enough to realize what others have known for a while. But why didn't hillary come out and denouce the group as her supporters demand that Obama denouce everything someone says about her. The double standards are just staggering.

[loax]

It is about time some of these groups realize that they are doing nothing for the part and are only trying to asuage their bruised feelings.