Obama's Clinton Dilemma

As Dave Neiwart points out over at FDL, the results for Hillary in North Carolina and Indiana were less than she needed, and may have destroyed her chances with the superdelegates. Her speech sounded suspiciously like a concession speech. Now anyone counting Hillary out until she formally says she's out is taking a big chance, this is the energizer bunny of candidates. But let's assume she will decide the gig's up and to throw in the towel and turn our eyes forward.

Obama has his work cut out for him. The possibility that a lot of Hillary's white working class base could turn to McCain or stay home should be a real worry for him. There's been a great deal of bitterness and anger on both sides of the fight. And, to be crass and point out the unpalatable truth, there isn't a lot in it for Hillary to back Obama in a more than pro-forma "going through the motions" fashion. If he loses, she's the presumptive nominee in 4 years, after all. If he wins, she probably has to wait 8 years, and she's not getting any younger. If she really wants to be president, well, Obama's still in the way. Now I'm not saying she won't help Obama even if such thoughts are going through her mind, no doubt she understands what another 4 years of a Republican presidency would mean. Still, there's help, and there's going all out. And there's a lot of space between the two.

So if I'm Obama; if I'm one of Obama's advisors, no matter how much I may share the view of some associated with the campaign about Hillary, I'd be thinking real hard right now about what it's going to take to bring her and Bill on board in a big way, so that they do everything possible to really deliver the votes of their supporters.

For Bill, probably a seat on the Supremes if the opportunity comes up (and it will, if Obama is elected.) For Hillary? Probably Senate Majority leader--it's not like Harry Reid really likes the job anyway.

For our hopes of there being a Democratic President taking office in 2009 I trust that similar thoughts are going through Obama's mind. Because he's going to need all the help he can get.

Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Indiana and North Carolina primary results

Comments

[SolarPowerGuy]

"So if I'm Obama... I'd be thinking real hard right now about what it's going to take to bring her and Bill on board in a big way... For Bill, probably a seat on the Supremes if the opportunity comes up (and it will, if Obama is elected.) For Hillary? Probably Senate Majority leader".

Wow, so if the Clintons lose the bid for the Executive Branch, we're just supposed to esconce their Republican-lite politics in the Judicial and Legislative branches? That's pragmatic to a fault. Have you stopped to think what damage they could do from such high perches?

Think about the early 1990's debate over health care policy. Paul Wellstone and over 100 Democrats in Congress knew that the moral thing to do was to advocate a single-payer system. The Clintons wanted to make sure that the private insurance industry still got their cut, becoming in effect public utilities.

I could easily see Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Majority Leader REFUSING to advance legislation which would stop the Iraq War. She certainly shows no enthusiasm for stopping it now.

[FranksMusings]

This is how George W. won the White House the last two times: some Democratic voters like SolarPowerGuy are more interested in purifying the Party’s pedigree than in building the coalitions needed to defeat the Republican juggernaut. Let us hope that Obama shows himself to be smarter than Gore or Kerry. I think the Clintons can bring the necessary shrewdness to his November campaign.

[smayhew]

NO you lunatic .. this contest was so close as to be nearly 50-50 - he needs to clean up the vomit you people have spewed to get the rest of us on board...
It's doesn't look good from my point of view.

[PioneerKing]

IAN:

You and the MSM have bought into the Clinton spiel. Ian, get off the Clinton spin wagon.
You all act assume Hillary WILL be able to win over ALL of the Obamacans; last nights polling, which the MSM is not discussing today, revealed the number of Obamacans who NOW say they won't vote for Hillary has risen to 60%.

For many Obamacans it is the first time they have gotten involved in politics and, Obamacans include lots of African-Americans and other voters whose registrations were inactive because they were turned off politics.
Obama got these folks out and voting again, for the Clinton campaign to assume these voters WILL turn to Hillary, rather than stay home is ludicrous; some voters will feel that it's better to sit it out, vote for Nader, or vote for Ron Paul than support Hillary.
Dude I'm here in middle America working in the trenches and I guarantee you there's a multitude of Obamacans who would rather sit the general election out than vote for Hillary, and there are millions of folks who just can't stand the Clintons.
Bill weathered the republican attack machine because he was an incumbent. This time around the Clintons owe a lot of people who are not wiling to carry their water and, AA who saved Bill's presidency no longer looks upon the Clintons favorably and no longer feel beholden to the Clintons.
BTW there' plenty of new dirt for the republicans to throw at the Clintons.

[dbrockx]

Turn the page, means it has already been read, annotated, updated, etc. Obama don't need neiither one of them. bILL AS A SUPREME COURT JUDGE, please, THEY SUPPOSE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF CHARACTER, INTEGRITY, . Obama needs to ignore them, The clintons are like a bad rash that keeps coming back, you got to get rid of it altogehter. Obama's message is about change and HRC and her husband are still living in the past. Look at the type of voters she attracts. Give Obama some credit, he don't need someone he can't trust and the clintons are ones he can't trust

[standforpeace]

I hate to bring up the good old days, but Bill Clinton's license to practice in Arkansas was suspended for 5 years because of he lied under oath. The U.S. Supreme Court was acting to disbar him from practicing before them when he cut them off with a preemptive resignation. Do you really think that we should be appointing a guy to the Court who can't even appear before there as a lawyer? Not going to happen. Any other suggestions?

[MalamuteMan]

Liberal... Progressiv­e... Moderate..­. They’re all just labels. No matter what we call our selves our beliefs are all over the map. We need to stop worrying so much about the specific differences between our ideologies and concentrate on our common goals and aspirations.

Almost every American (and many others around the world) has paid a heavy price for the self-serving socially divisive tactics of Rove, Cheney, Bush and their ilk. Now McCain is jumping on their band wagon because he thinks this will win him the presidency. The great appeal of Obama is his steadfast determination to work against these pernicious tactics. He knows that turning things around is going to require consensus, compromise, and a positive vision that ALL Americans (except perhaps large corporations and the super wealthy) can share. A huge majority of Americans, liberal, conservative, and “whatever”, are eager to do something different. No matter how rancorous the Democratic primary has been, if we can’t join forces and put someone with better integrity than McCain in the Whitehouse this year, then real democracy in America is dead.

[standforpeace]

I hope that the Clintons will get on board. If they care about this country as much as they say they do, they won't have to be offered any bribes. However, even if they don't we should be careful not to overestimate their importance going forward for two important reasons. First, Obama differs from our past two nominees in one critical way -- he is the most amazing fundraiser ever! So he is not going to need Bill to get the funds to compete. Second there are many other Democrats who teamed with Hillary who can help Obama reach out to the voters who have been most resistant to him. So for instance here in Ohio, our popular Governor Strickland delivered his base in the rural southern parts of the state for Hillary. If anyone has a chance of bringing these folks on board for Obama, it's Governor Strickland rather than Hillary. Likewise the NYT, just had a story this morning about a speech that McCain gave reassuring conservatives that he will appoint strict constructionist judges. The white feminist leadership that got behind Hillary knows what that means and they are going to suck up their disappointment and work their asses off to deny McCain that opportunity by bringing that part of Hillary's base over to Obama. There is no reason to offer BIll and Hillary the Lincoln Bedroom or anything else. She needs to work her way back into the fold rather than getting some carte blanche treatment

[wrabbitt]

Obama beware that Hillary don't obliterate you too, Don 't turn your back on her she will use the Republican sword of lobbyist money to fell the giant.

[NABNYC]

I disagree. Obama should not turn his campaign into some porkbelly favor-dispensing corrupt system just like the old-style politicians have always run. Isn't the point that Obama is trying to change things? If he does this, it's just same ole same ole.

Party insiders should tell the Clintons to get their butts out on the campaign trail and clean up some of the mess they have created in the last few months, and that if they don't do it, they'll be thrown out of the party.

Bill Clinton on the Supreme Court: why? He's a Republican. He's anti-union, pro-Wal-Mart. What does anyone think Bill Clinton has to offer to the country? He's spent the past 7 years wading in manure collecting money from the richest and most corrupt people in the world. He would be a terrible choice.

Half the people in the country dislike Hillary even more than they dislike George Bush. If she's the Senate leader, that just means the public will reject all the Democratic ideas that are proposed.

Bad idea. Send the Clintons a bus ticket back to the Ozarks and re-build.

[Star123]

Why do you think Reich and Richardson got in the chow line? Hello?

[smayhew]

Amen - how do these Obamaniacs miss the fact that his guy is not 'new' - he only thing that's 'new' is that he keeps saying he's 'new' ...
Do you think you're electing a king? He's close to Bush with the politics of personality crap - but like Bush - his claims have no merit - he's a pure Chicago pol - read his autobiogs

[missjabez]

Bill Clinton on the Supreme Court? LMAO! He's become more of an entertainer than anything else. Give him a political talk show on one of the cable channels.

[ObserverinVancouver]

Sen. Obama will have to walk a fine line in dealing with the Clintons but I think he should be very careful to stick to symbolic gestures rather than anything substantive. For instance, in my view, Bill Richardson would be a strong VP nominee. After the fuss they made over Richardson's endorsing Sen. Obama, they might squawk loudly at that nomination. Sen. Obama has to make sure that if he wants to select Richardson (or make any other personnel decisions) he is free to do so without being obliged to do more than listen to them politely. They can advise but he has to draw the line at their consenting.

Harold Ford Jr. last night was pitching the case for Sen. Clinton as vice-presidential nominee. How could Sen. Obama rest easy wondering what the heck they might be doing behind his back, before or after the election? Mitt Romney made the most trenchant remark in this whole process when he said it worried him to think of Bill Clinton loose in the White House with nothing to do. Or think of him popping off to Kazakstan to schmooze with his buddy the insane president. I think Bill Cllinton would be completely incapable of understanding that that might be a problem.

Bill Clinton as a Supreme Court Justice is a huge joke, even if (as people are pointing out below) he had not been disbarred. Sen. Clinton as Senate Majority Leader would probably work out well.

[KSH]

I am a Democrat and I voted for Bill twice but if ANYONE puts Slick Willy on the Supreme Court they will be considered a joke. Are you serious? Bill on the Supreme Court?

[smayhew]

Not as ridiculous as Oprah's new Dr Phil in the White House!

[generaldelivery]

Hillary will be given the position of Scapegoat-in-Chief because after Obama loses all the Obama ditto-heads will blame her because she "didn't campaign hard enough".
The hate-Hillaryites will never be deprived of their pleasure.

[danyll]

You are delirious if you think Obama will lose to McCain! Come on! Get your head out of the sand.

[Squirtapotamus]

Looks like you are the one doing the hating here. Try to find it in your heart to forgive, please.

[LISABONA]

After I read all the comments, fair and not so fair, I ask myself,if Obama would be able to unite the blacks with the whites,I know, he won 90-95 % of the black vote,.I know,his life dream is to became the first black president but what kind of teaching he will follow? he will follow his pastor 20 years of teachings? I consider this questions to be legitimate. If he doesn't believe what his pastorJ.Wr­ight preached,why him and his wife attended this church for so long? if between two people is no chemistry is,no way they can be friends for 20 years,you have to live almost inside of each other,to have the same point of views,agree almost 100% of everything, to be able to have such a durrable friendship­.Believe-m­e,my dilema is not driven by any racist feelings.I­'m just concerned what kind of future Obama will be able to bring to all of us.The truth is,Obama can't win over McCain the presidency,just whith those who supported him,he needs all of us.But, the legitimate question I ask,if he is by merit where he is today or,if many of us would known about him,his association with many dubious people before, he will be where he is?Certanly NO then,where is the truth and fairness.T­he American people,was robbed by the media unfairly and left behind with th e sour feeling, they vere forced to decide toward Obama . I have the same feeling too.

[KSH]

If an ex coke head and drunkard can be President for 8 years. Obama has nothing to worry about. I am sure that Obama will not enslave all the white people, or lynch them or inject them with HIV. No worries!

[pros54]

You have somebody whose message is so different from that of his pastor of 20yrs how come you can in honesty question if he will act according to those messages. If for twenty years I hear a particlar message and my actions are opposite to that for that 20yrs how can you question if at my old age I will now start adhering to the message? Please go get some non biased reasoning because you are essentially showing yourself up for what you are. I am sure you are a Clinton supporter who despite all her lies and voting for a criminal war you are still wishing was the leading candidate and you want to paint Obama with Rev. Right lather. Obama is running for president Sir, not Rev. Wright. Some people really start me. Fact is Obama is half white no matter how race is defined in this country. He learned to be black as a teenager but his natural state is really white seeing his formative years were molded by the white side of his family. So for Obama blackness is an acquired not congenital trait and yet blacks are not worried about this but a pseudo educated white person like you is.

[LISABONA]

I don't believe in hypocrit pastors,who are willing to take the last penny for the poor and biuld mansions for themselfs,living luxurious life style. I believe in compassion and love toward other human being. This is the religion,my mother taught me.

[pros54]

If Obama were to suffer a head injury or anything that causes his mind to regress what do you think he will regress to? Believe it or not he will regress to a "typical white person" whatever that means if it means anything essentially what I am saying is that all his biases will be those of his mother and grand father and mother. And when he acts without thinking it is also their reflex response that he will manifest. So get over yourself and join the awakening that is happening in the country. We will all be better of for it.

[poppaculture]

LISABONA, your concerns are premised on the assumption that Pastor Wright's CHURCH did no good.
You are fortunate to never have had a pastor with whom you disagreed. I stayed a member of a church because I believed in THE GREATER GOOD the church was doing (despite my disagreements with the pastor -- and the pastor married me, and we were CIVIL to each other--and he did provice SOME spiritual guidance). The CONGREGATION made the community BETTER. >>> The CHURCH was bigger than the pastor. I can understand why Obama did not leave his CHURCH or its congregation.


I believe Obama will be a leader like Reagan. Talking directly to the people, and asking us to help him shape American policy.

[LISABONA]

You know,my beliefs vere never in a church and his pastor,because I detest all of them,inclusive yours if is J.Wright.H­e build for himself,far from your little community,a million dollar mansion with two Mercedes,in an exclusive white community.­Seems to me,he wants to be equal,but not with the "little blacks",he wants to be equal with the "big whites".Th­is kind of hypocrit pastor doeasn't deserve your and others respect.My religion,is in my heart,to care for others,to help if I can,to feel sorrow for those" have not",this is my religion,not like many of ardent church goers, after they get out from the church,they don't care and respect the life of others,they kill,rob for no any regards whatsoever about nobody's loss or pain they caused.To have compassion and love for others,this should be everybody's church.

[farseer]

As Obama said, he goes to church to worship God, not to worship the pastor. Therein lies the answer to your question. That plus the fact that by all accounts the great part of what Wright talked about was theology, not politics. Plenty of people disagree with the politics or personal philosophy or personality of their pastor or rabbi, or for that matter their doctor or their auto mechanic or their kid's soccer teacher, but they don't patronize these people because of their politics, personality, etc.

[navalflightofficer]

After reading the posts on Huffpost and here, I tend to agree with Ian Welsh. The virulent hatred of the Clintons expressed here continues to shock and disturb me. During the worst days of the Bush administration, when "liberal" was used as a perjorative, I proudly declared myself a liberal. If you folks are what passes for a "liberal" today, I want nothing of it.

[Tulka2]

Oh, people get all worked up on their computer in the office basement. What all the storm and drang is about is disgust with the status quo. Disgust with politics as usual. Unfortunatly, this is simply not H. Clinton's moment. Bad timing. How to get you Clinton loyalists back on board is the question..­.? How about President Bill in Ruth Badder Ginsberg's seat...? I like it.

[blessedfrog]

I really don't see Bill CLinton as wanting to be a Supreme Court Justice - do y'all?

Just a sidebar here.

[Yansher]

same here. I just dont see it especially after the 'L' fiasco

[beachbob]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again:

Bill Clinton should be either our next Secretary of State -- or even better -- UN Ambassador. Either appointment would be problematic if Hillary is elected (nepotism) but NOT if Obama is.

The rest of the sane world LOVES Bill Clinton. In addition, appointing him our UN Ambassador keeps him out of DC without raising eyebrows. Doesn't he in fact now live within walking dfistance?

I really like the idea of Hillary as Majority Leader. She's certainly got moe grit than Harry Reid! But actually, I think the best person for this job is Ted Kennedy. He deserves it -- and more to the point -- we deserve having him there.

Biden or Richardson for State. Wesley Clark for Defense. Edwards for Attorney General. I voted for Hillary, but if that's the kind of cabinet Obama will appoint he could wind up as one of the greatest Presidents of all time.

McCain, on the other hand, will appoint scum.

[justobserve]

Obama should have nothing to do with promoting the Clintons just because they are Clintons. They lost the nomination due to their untrustworthiness. If Obama have any relationship with this couple, he would be critisized for his bad judgment. Furthermore, who would think an ex-president who lied under oath would be a judge? Or a candidate who lost the race because she lied too many times for anything? Their political future is dead! They can make millions by dealing with their friends for sure, but no more in the government.