Terry McAuliffe Makes VP Pick: Not Hillary

The former national chairman of the Democratic Party who ran Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign this year told 200 Democratic activists in Fairfax County Tuesday that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine would be his party's best choice as Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate.

...

McAuliffe was adamant in his recommendation of Kaine as the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee Tuesday, although he stressed to the News-Press after his speech, which included an informal half-hour question and answer period, that the ultimate choice will be Obama's very personal one.

However, the fact that he proposed Kaine over his own candidate and long-time friend, Hillary Clinton, suggested that he knows the Clinton option is off the table.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[DRaymond]

Here's my take as to why Hillary shouldn't be Obama's VP. It acually has nothing to do with Obama.

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

[ShaunHammer]

Obama is not going to pick Hillary. Obama would LIKE to pick her because it might lock up the ticket but she will have nothing to do with it. She wants the 2012 ticket to be all hers.

If she ran now and was VP, there is no way she could run in 2012. She knows that if she waits till 2016 she will be advanced in her years and possibly not up to it.

[PumaAnn]

We've all had enough "signals" that we know.....it's not Hillary.

They don't like one another.

Hillary is reported today as going on the campaign trail for him. That's fine. She's a professional.

But there is no magic in that ticket. Half of us would be angry at her for accepting the position. LOL* The hate Obama stirred up means the other half would hate it for different reasons.

It's a no-win proposition!

[NewRiver]

Anyone he selects will "lock up the ticket" as the "ticket" will then be decided.

[econdr]

mcauliffe is such an amateur. he's like a little kid wearing a suit

[chillum101]

Terry is a three time loser, and example of where the Democratic part was, not where it needs to go.

Um...GWB was a nobody once too. And look where he got.

You folks in, or retired from the rust-belt states had better do a gut check soon. Get over name brand loyalty, admit that the more Clintonism is the last thing a divided country needs and vote for Obama. Are you really going to put the supreme court, the future of our country, and reproductive rights in the hands of McCain?
Grow up!

[closetodemfection]

What's your beef? Terry's clearly saying HRC won't be VP any time soon. BTW, if GWB wanted to mess with Roe V. Wade he would have. Mc Same could care less. That argument isn't flying with moderate dems.

[Marlyn]

... but but but Terry, you said "Hillary will WIN!"

[BigCheese]

Who cares what he thinks?

[TrueIndy08]

I don't like this guy one bit... but for once he has something that actually makes sense.... Tim Kaine should be the VP... but I will also be very happy with BIDEN....

as long as he didn't mention HRC, I am fine with it!

[donttasemebro]

Desperate attempt to stay relevant.

[MonicaL]

He promoted Kaine because he expects Obama to lose. He doesn't want a losing ticket to taint Hillary's chances in 2012. I worked in the Hillary campaign, and I know this to be a fact.

In fact, Hillary insiders are privately saying Obama will lose 53-47%. Not a landslide, but about a 3 million vote margin. And no close states -- Ohio and Florida will be firmly in McCain's column. (They are hoping for a bigger margin of defeat -- just so he will be finished, once and for all, and won't be able to mount a comeback in four years -- but it's not looking that way at the moment. But, you should expect Bill and Hillary to drag their feet about helping Obama, hoping to make the margin worse.)

Politics at its finest.

[PumaAnn]

Obama makes it clear he doesn't want Bill's help. When you talk to fundraisers and call Bill a "problem," then it's clear. Bill says he'll help. It's up to Obama, but he's moving on with his own Foundation and new projects in the world. Hillary has shown up and done her job well to promote unity. It certainly had nothing to do with her that Obama supporters booed her name at the first unity rally. They clearly want no unity. They have done nothing much but say, "Get over it," and been mad that grown adults who usually vote Democrat are not too keen on this strategy of winning their votes. Imagine that.

I agree with the campaign that Ohio and FL will be McCain's this year. I think CO is starting to shift back to Red. I think Obama will, indeed, come up short. He's not persuading anyone but those already in his column by things like the rock-star tour of Europe. I agree that it's best to distance herself. NO VP. It would harm her in 2012. She's been polite. But he's made it very easy to point out that she's not even on the short list. He opened that door. She just walked through it.

Terry is simply making sure that door remains clearly open for her exit. She can't come out as others have and bluntly say, "Not interested."

But.....Hillary ain't interested in playing second fiddle to Obama.

[closetodemfection]

Exactly. But then the party has known this from the beginning and they still chose to overlook the caucus corruption, arbitrarily enforce the MI FL party rules in the closest election in history - which made it impossible for the most electable candidate to get the nomination.

I knew this party was blowing it months ago. There is no way that a guy with no experience would EVER fly in a general no matter how fantastic of a speaker he is. Not when we're fighting two wars and have 5 dollar gas. Obama's newness has worn off and there's no substance to back up his words. Plus they've pissed off enough Democratic voters to make the margin worse. Whatever, I've resigned myself to four more years of RNC.

[LastLiberalRepublican]

Gee Terry, who'd a thunk? No more Hillary?

(Aah, life is good again.)

[Graywolf48]

Is McAuliffe related to Ron Popeil? They do look a lot alike, they could have been separated at birth. Every time I see this guy I think he should be hawking a rotisserie, or steak knives or perhaps the pocket fisherman. Any way, even if he really isn't Ron Popeil, he's still a huckster, and not as good at it as Popeil.

[AliveInNYC]

Can someone please explain to me why anyone would care what Mcauliffe thinks?

The guy did a HORRIBLE job as DNC chair and only got the position because of his friendship with hill & bill. He came close to destroying the party.

Ironically, any chance of Kaine getting the VP slot is probably out the window with this endorsement. The bad blood between Terry and the O campaign staff will hurt him.

[PumaAnn]

Unlike Dean, who has now run off (Today's report: only 54% will vote for Obama who are Democrats who voted for Hillary in the primary.)

Yep, Dean and Brazile are brilliant.

[Bulbul]

Barack Obama can chose as his running mate, from several knowns and unknowns , from the long list of names popping up here and there.
Barack Obama is a phenom. now, which is well and good. It is about time the wolrd looks at someone with admiration, for a change . It has been a very long seven plus years !
But, if he seriously wants to beat mcCain in the election..Obama need to seriously consider Senetor Hillary R. Clinton as his running mate , that of course if Hillary agrees to that.

[BCubedReg]

I agree Hiliary needs to be on the ticket if BO wants to have any chance of winning. However, I think is a horrible partnership. HRC adds nothing to the ticket except votes. I don't buy that BO or HRC have made nice. I doubt they even like, nor less respect one another. Though they share politically many of the same values and objectives Dem voters generally favor only one or the other candidate. In putting Clinton on the ticket, you would have to hope it didn't have Pyrrhic consequences (losses outweigh the gains).

[truthyguy]

If McAuliffe's qualifications are that he was national chairman of the Democratic Party when it couldn't elect what should have been a shoe-in for president in 2004, and ran Hillary's presidential campaign, I would not follow his recommendations on anything meaningful. From his numerous appearances on various talk shows and he gives the impression of being no different than any of the republican sleazy front men. He twists or misstates facts.

[wagadog]

Great picture -- hey, wait, who airbrushed the bottle of rum out of his right hand there? He was going to share that!