Hillary's 2012 End Game

By Wednesday morning, Hillary and Obama will up neck and neck in popular vote, give or take 100,000 votes between them.

That means the pressure will be on for him to make her his running-mate.

But she may not be interested. In fact, she will likely turn down recruiting efforts. If you take the Clintons at their word Obama is doomed to failure so why would she want to go down in flames with him this fall against McCain?

It's not like she hasn't made this perfectly clear. Her feelings about Obama's inadequacies have been articulated and broadcasted for months.

She has said he is an untried rookie who shouldn't get the nod and can't beat McCain. Her character assassination has been subtle but effective: The reference to Bobby Kennedy. Her doubts about his beliefs, (he's Christian or so they tell me). Her attacks on his manhood. Her husband's description of Obama's entire campaign as a "fairy tale."

All these statements and others will be generously splashed across Republican ads this fall to the point that some voters, who only wake up to their democracy during elections, may actually think she is McCain's running-mate.

Joining the Obama teams means she will have shot herself in the foot beforehand.

So what emerges is what I believe is the Clinton no-lose strategy.

They have used Obama's unelectability as their excuse to continue running against him even though they cannot win because, by saying he's unelectable, they help in part to bring about his defeat.

His defeat by McCain would make them look really smart and also set them up for the nomination and run in 2012. This is based on their professed logic that only Hillary can win against McCain; McCain will be a one-termer because he will be decrepit in four years and there will be a job vacancy in 2012 for the White House.

The tricky part for Hillary will be to appear to be a team player if she declines the VP slot or isn't even asked. Obama will offer both of them something in return for a few stump speeches made in between long absences from the campaign due to "exhaustion."

That's why this week will be great fun to watch because the delegate arithmetic simply doesn't work after Tuesday. And the real Hillary will be revealed in one of two scenarios:

If she becomes Obama's running mate, which makes sense to most Democrats, it will be because she never believed a word she said about his unelectability in the first place. And once in there, she and Bill will also make his life, and presidency should he win, miserable, according to former advisors like Dick Morris.

If, alternatively, she rejects offers to become the running-mate or play a major administration role, then she really believes Obama has no chance, she is not a team player and is willing to have Americans endure one term of McCain so she can take up White House residency in 2012.
Take your pick.

Comments

[klondiker]

This post is filled with so many lies and falsehoods that I don't even know where to start.


1. In the PA debate, she emphatically said "Yes" to the question of whether Obama can beat McCain.


2. Bill Clinton never described Obama's entire campaign as being fairy tale. He was referring specifically to the idea that Obama has been against the war from the start - which IS a fairy tale.


3. The interview in which she supposedly claimed that he's not Muslim, to which you're referring, has already been debunked by many, including HuffPo's own Rachel Sklar. Get over it. She firmly said no, over and over. What more do you want?



And, finally, thanks for the psychoanalysis, Sigmund, but, you are way off. If she doesn't accept the VP slot, it could be for all sorts of reasons - not because she doesn't think he can't win. Maybe she realizes (rightfully so) that the VP position is not where she can best serve the nation.

[bbbear]

Exactly! And I'm an ardent Obama supporter.

[davedave]

the end game is this.

she is either a team player or she will never get the nod. if she can't be as enthusiastic for obama as she would be for herself, the democratic party will rightly accuse her of the ultimate insult, enabling a bush win!

she can be bitter and tragic or a team player and triumph. she can be nader....

d

[WoodyGrant]

Yes, but I think this article is right on. I've been saying for months that Clinton may be exercising a "Kamikaze Hedge Strategy"--go all out and try to beat Obama. If she wins, she gets her goal; if she doesn't, but undermines him enough in the process that he loses to McCain, she says "I told you so" and picks up the pieces when she runs again in 2012. Look not at what politicians say, but their INCENTIVES. She's had few incentives to really help Obama to win; lots of incentives to help him lose. The only thing that may prevent this scenario is fear that the party will catch on and turn against her if Obama loses. She's got to play a delicate game (which she's been doing). The next few weeks will tell the tale--just how much and how well she mends the fences with Obama and really tries to help him win. If she doesn't....don't say you weren't warned.

[bbbear]

She can be pro or she can be con... and it's her choice. In the meantime, we can be fearless and kind or fearful and hateful. It's our choice. But those who choose the latter only choose to damage themselves.

[ynp7]

Who are these "most Democrats" who think Hillary on the ticket "makes sense?" I can think of few things that make LESS sense.

[RRonin]

Read Mo Dowd's column in the NYT from last Wednesday to see just how litte sense it makes.

[2LaneIA]

Another good reason to leave Iowa first. We will not change our minds.

[SteveNearDC]

HRC will not even hold on to her Senate seat, much less another run at the white house.

[BlueOnBlue]

The big problem with the 2012 strategy for Hillary is that if McCain takes the presidency, Washington DC might not be there in 2012. Expanding on and extending the belligerence and stupidity of the Bush years, it will be inevitable that some foreign power will decide it's time to just wipe us out and do it fairly effectively.

This will make campaigning rather difficult.

[BarryChamplain]

Bravo. Ms. Francis! All along, I have said that Hillary's scorched-Earth policy is nothing more than an campaign to kill Obama in the GE.

Most of my fellow Democrats... you know, the level-headed, thoughtful types... regard such a statement with disdain and outrage. They simply cannot, nay, WILL not believe that any Democratic candidate would deliberately and with malice aforethought screw the Party and its presumptive nominee, in order to ensure the election of a Republican in '08. That's just crazy talk.

These are, by and large, the same voices who could not, nay, WOULD not believe that the President Of The United States would ever lie to his own people about something as serious as war and the dangers which threaten them.

Thankfully, nothing lasts forever. But my fellow Dems... GET A DAMNED CLUE, WILLYA?*


(* = As for her reason for wanting McCain elected? I could speculate on that, too... but you first have to let it all go and accept that Hillary really, honestly is screwing you. Then, we'll talk more.)

[bakunin]

Earlier today, I watched what appeared to be a middle aged, upper middle class white woman screaming, literally screaming, that if Hillary were to be denied the nomination she would vote for McCain. It is beyond belief.

[Producer1]

I find it interesting that this "inelectable" candidate is by all standards beating the "electable" one. The Clinton camp's refusal to face reality astonishes me. She should have won this thing walking away in February and she didn't come close, then she lost 11 in a row. The race is over and she is proving nothing other than she is a sore loser.

[EinChicago]

He is absolutely thr electable one. Provided you can run the general election by caucus and allow teh Caucus Kid to pick and choose which states count and which don't.

Otherwise, it's an oranges to corrupt Chicago machine rotten apples comparison, at best.

[wheresthebeef]

Nice try. We'll be looking for you back behind the counter at McDonald's during the first term of the Obama Presidency.

[klondiker]

Yeah, by all standards....except, you know, the popular vote. Other than that one, he is beating her by all standards! Oh, and also in electoral votes (which will determine the GE). So, yeah, except for those two, he's beating her by all standards.

[ProgressiveBum]

Well said!

[bbbear]

Geeeez, we won. Obama's playing nice, why can't you? Please stop gloating.

[abby4ever]

One thing is mising. Even if the Republicans use all these things to bash Obama in the general election, their source is Hillary. Help!
What, she has high credibility? She doesn't exaggerate? Doesn't lie? Isn't deluded on some things?
Never had an agenda when she said these things about Obama?
A Republican ad against Obama that begins with anything like, "Even Senator Clinton said that Obama...", well, as I've said, consider the source---and the American people will.

[SDindependent]

Not to worry......... the Clinton and Bush dynasties will come to an end along with the mouthpieces that link the two like Lanny Davis. And losing remaining power in DC will be the most powerful lobby.... the Saudi Royal Family and the multi-national oil companies.

[jp5472]

Someone who actually knows the real score at why certain teams are scrambling in desperation to hang on to that last sliver of hope and continue the rape of this country for their own personal gain. Thanks for speaking the truth.

[FirstShirt]

I think you are right. If she had been thrashed early and often it might make sense to go for the VP. It is likely the unelected, elite superdelegates will hope to be the king makers for the next president of the US and pick Obama. She can play the deposed Queen.

Hillary can make a case that she could have won and be positioned for 2012.

[wheresthebeef]

"Hillary can make a case that she could have won and be positioned for another losing effort in 2012." There...fixed it for you.

[pakean3]

No No No.. as a Hillary supporter I would be outraged if she ran as his VP. No..

What exactly is trashy about Clinton. She is an honorable person. She comes from a good family and believes in family values. I doubt she ever did drugs in her youth. Tell me what is trashy about her? She has fought for women's rights and children's rights for over 35 years. So, tell me how do you come up calling her trash?

Obama is a young politician and he has already proved he can be trash when it comes to politics. Look at his first campaign.. Also look at all the lies about his struggles of coming from nothing while attending elite schools... Read between the lines of lies you are being fed. Do your own investigating and stop believing all that you are fed by the media and do some leg work yourselves people. Had Americans looked furthered into all the bull Bush crammed down our throats for years we would not be in the situation we are in today when it comes to this country.

[chrislarry]

HRC never smoked weed in college, in the 60's? please. Plus who cares?

"trash when it comes to politics. " than why has beaten the great clinton machine?

your the one putting politics above country/ideals/unseating this repub reign of terror......

[jackson93]

Whatever you may think about Sen. Obama, he was raised in a middle class family by a single mother and his maternal grandparents. This is true. He made some bad choices as young man, as many of us do. But he made the choice and the effort to turn his life around. He was able to got to those elite white schools not because he comes from wealth and privledge but because he worked hard, got good grades, earned scholarships, and went heavily into debt with student loans. It is a classic American success story. He worked hard to obtain that elite education, as did President and Senator Clinton, who also went to elite white schools.

[bbbear]

Thank you for being kind, and truthful. It's such a relief to find a bit of sanity on these hatefull and fearfull pages.

[skip4Obama]

You are incredibly naive and misled. Hillary stands for family values by her lack of ethics in this campaign and her tolerating Bill's sexual adventures; even in the White House behind her back. She is such a sad example to women who truly fight for equality and freedom. You need to begin to open your mind to the facts and learn from Hillary's deciet to the American people.

[FredNietzsche]

1. She voted in favor of the Iraq war, even though she knew, or should have known, that it was based on lies. She was afraid to oppose a war that was popular at the time because of the risk that it would result in a quick and decisive victory and damage her presidential prospects. In other words, a few thousand American soldiers and countless Iraqi lives weren't going to stop Madame Hillary's march to power.
2. When the chips were down with her campaign, she did not hesitate to exploit racial and religious prejudices to advance her cause. When that didn't work, she claimed that disagreement with her policies and opposition to her candidacy were all sexist. One cannot be against Hillary or for another candidate without embodying evil.
3. She encouraged, enabled, and defended her husband's reckless promiscuity for years, even though it shamed her and crippled his administration.
4. She denounces George W. Bush, but emulates him at every turn.

That's just four items. Not an exhaustive list by any means. But it won't mean anything to Chixiecrat extremists who would rather wallow in their own victimhood than do the least thing to help America and the world out of the muddy rut that 30 years of presidential idiocy have mired us in.

[jbatch]

She's lied about NAFTA, Bosnia, her role in the Irealnad peace process .. etc. etc.

[EuroPreacher]

Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, a Lakota Sioux born and raised on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, today endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for President. Mills, who won the 1964 Olympic gold in the 10,000-meter run in one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history, said that he was a lifelong Republican, but that he had been inspired by Obama’s track record of uniting Americans from all walks of life. He also noted Obama’s background as the son of a single, working mom and his youth in Hawaii and Indonesia as predictive of his ability to understand and work for people in underserved communities.

[chrislarry]

Maybe i have a different idea of "fun". Nothing about this is fun at this point. I see HRC's face and I want to wretch all over my Pumas.

[hopeless277]

Bill couldn't stand the vetting. Neither could Hill. So they will turn down the offer and continue to campaign for McCain. And the madwomen of America will eagerly follow.

[theMightyT]

I find it amazing that anyone, in four years, would look back at the debacle of this primary race post-February and even contemplate voting for Clinton. The legacy is trash... warm memories are gone... the Clintons have damaged themselves beyond repair, in my opinion. If Hillary were to run again in 2012 (assuming Obama loses, which i think is a stretch given the GE hasn't even started yet) I don't believe you'll see record votes for her, or much support from the party...

For all intents and purposes, the Clinton dream of another stay in the White House is dead...

[RedDogBear]

theMightyT took the words right out of my mouth. When this campaign started I supported Senator Clinton although I was worried about the "irrational hatred" that some people had for the Clintons. Well, now I see its very rational and I'm right there with them. I hope Clinton loses her Senate seat to a democratic primary challenger when her term is up. She has no chance to ever be president. She ran a strategy that burned bridges with the african american and progressive community (including Moveon -- a group started with the sole purpose of defending her husband) that can never be rebuilt. She divided the party in a way that is worse than anything I've ever seen since I started voting in the 70's. From now on its ABC: Anyone But Clinton.

[FirstShirt]

If I was a democrat I would hold my breath until after the November election. One reason Hillary has stayed in is because of the history of politics where something weird pops up at the end of the primaries to bring the leading candidate down [remember Howard Dean?].