Seven Reasons Why Hillary Was the Better Choice
On June 4, the night Obama clinched the delegate count, many commentators were stunned that Hillary refused to go away. I wrote a blog saying Obama should freeze her out. Instead, he embraced her in a bid for her base. But he largely failed. Nearly three months later, she still commands an army of die-hard supporters. So the facts have changed. Now, instead of embracing her and the base she still commands, he's frozen her out.
Here are seven reasons why Hillary Clinton would have been the better choice to win in November than Joe Biden:
1. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Obama would have done well to adhere to Sun-Tzu's 2,400-year old saying. Now there's nothing to stop the Clintons, if they choose, from undermining an Obama presidency so Hillary can run in 2012. If she's VP she can't mount a primary challenge four years from now.
2. Get them campaigning for you. Whatever you think of him, Bill Clinton is one of the best campaigners of the modern era. He and she will make some appearances for Obama. But it will be nothing like the support they could generate for Obama if Hillary were on the ticket. Remember Gore thought he could win without Bill campaigning hard for him.
3. Pick up the Scranton Vote. One of the arguments for Biden is that he can secure that base of white, blue-collar, Democratic voters in places like Scranton and Columbus. But didn't those voters form one of the two pillars of Hillary's formidable support? She owned Pennsylvania and Ohio, without which it is said Obama can't win. Even though Biden is white and talks tough, how many supporters did he have among that voting group? Hillary could have delivered them on a platter. Now they may just stay home, or worse yet, vote for McCain.
4. Hillary's women supporters. Women formed the second pillar of Hillary's base. Many of them say they would rather vote for McCain than Obama. How does Biden change that? Writing in The New Republic, Hillary spokesman Howard Wolfson said Biden "won't automatically bring along disaffected Hillary voters, especially those who are older women. But no one was going to do that besides Hillary anyway." According to John Zogby, "only 56% of Clinton-backers would vote for Obama, while 21% intend to vote for McCain." Biden making up that 21% is doubtful. Obama thought he could buy Hillary's supporters with the roll call vote next week in Denver. But they may now take that opportunity to stage pro-Hillary demonstrations that will make Obama look like a weak leader of a still divided party. For all his talk of uniting the country, he should have united the party first.
5. Hillary has more name recognition. For what it's worth and in our celebrity-driven culture it's worth a lot, Hillary Clinton is one of the most famous women in America and beyond. Maybe that was a problem for Obama, already one of the most famous men in the world. Remember what they said about Charles' envy of Diana's fame. Biden has been around a very long time, but except for two brief national campaigns, he hasn't commanded anywhere near the stage Hillary has. As my co-author Mike Gravel pointed out to me, Biden had about the same polling numbers as he did and Gravel was climbing out of obscurity, while Biden has been in the public eye for 30 years.
6. Biden is a loose cannon. The more one talks, the higher the odds of saying something stupid. And Biden has said many stupid things over the years. Like having to have an Indian accent to go into a Seven-Eleven and that his running mate was clean, at least. It's just a matter of time before he embarrasses Obama. Hillary is steely. She's way too disciplined to cause this problem. Biden is also overrated. Among an electorate that knows too little about international events, even when they directly impact their lives, Joe Biden looks like an expert on foreign affairs. He can rattle off the names of foreign leaders. But does that really make him a master of international intrigue? What diplomatic experience does he really bring? Biden voted for the Iraq war, like Hillary, so he doesn't add any better judgment than she would have brought.
7. Show Obama is sure of himself. By not picking Hillary, Obama demonstrates that he is too insecure to have her and her husband back in their old home while he tries to figure out how to run the White House and the country. Could he stand up to them and tell them who is president? With Hillary by his side we'd know that he'd value her and Bill's advice but be his own man. Bill and Hillary are formidable intellects. Obama won't feel threatened by Joe Biden.
Yes Hillary was a pain. Yes Bill and she played too loose with racial innuendo during the primary campaign. But if the object is to win the White House back from the Republicans, Obama has just made it doubly difficult without the Clintons by his side, working night and day for him. He has shown he couldn't put personal animosity and insecurities aside for the good of the party and perhaps ultimately of the country.
UPDATE: In response to many of the comments made, I am an Obama supporter and have never backed Hillary Clinton and disapproved of her behavior during the primaries. It is not about who we "like." Obama says it was a "personal" decision, but it should have been a political decision. I am writing this purely from a strategic, not emotional, point of view. She would have made the ticket stronger for the reason given above.
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Lauria's comments rehash a tired defense of a broken poiltical system, and it's sad characters who refuse to accept their waning pertinence. Had Obama brought Clinton onto the ticket, it would have been a complete capitulation to fear and the old, corrupt guard. Now that, would have been weakness. Those who might switch their vote out of vindictiveness, as opposed to thoughtful consideration, are on the margins where they belong. Lauria bloats their importance.
The entire Clinton political apparatus is broken, why bring that back in?
Has anyone else noticed how the MSM and blog coverage of the Democrats has become divisive and or negative almost continually?
I agree 100%, it's like the trolls are really beginning to influence the blogs. Just tell em what they want to hear. Disgusting.
She commands an army of what .... 50? Give me a break. PUMAs raised only $50,000 in two months. What does that tell you?
Bam Bam needs a backbone that Hillary Clinton has. He's leading in the polls on economics after quickly stealing John's idea (offshore drilling)--he is for it after he was against it.
No way! Senator Obama made the right choice. I watched the convention last night and Senator Biden's body language showed that he is truly committed to this ticket. Never underestimate the value of loyalty and commitment.
You know, as a partisan Democrat, I do have to say I'm getting a bit tired of (a) the ongoing Bill & Hillary Clinton psychodrama, and (b) all these whiny Clinton supporters. Jack Cafferty of CNN had the best comment about the situation: Obama won! And if any of you haven't read the Atlantic article on all the missteps and backbiting in Hilary's campaign, complete with excerpts of caustic emails and memos, you should. It shows that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be marked by the same chaos and childish internecine rivalries as her campaign. I am in particular annoyed by female supporters of Clinton who claim they will seriously consider voting for McCain. Want more justices like Samuel Alito and John Roberts? Want your sons and grandsons to stay in Iraq 100 years? Then go ahead and vote for McCain, fools!
Good call Casbah. Having read the many articles and reports of the numerous Clinton missteps, I feel way can safely say we dodged a bullet when Hillary Clinton failed to secure the Democratic candidacy. I am equally tired of all these comments by people who should know better on what Obama coulda, woulda, shoulda done. Get over it folks, HRC is done in the Presidential game this year.
Casbah is correct, but I have a question. What do Hillary supporters think Obama did during the primaries that alienated them so much? The only answers I've ever seen are that he stole the nomination from her and that the media displayed some misogynistic tendencies. They can't be blaming Obama for what the media does; besides, my take on the media (gleaned from regularly watching MSNBC, CNN, ABC and NBC evening news shows, Stewart and Colbert, and reading Time, Newsweek, and the Nation) was that it tended toward being pro Hillary and anti Obama. So how did he steal the nomination? My understanding is that he campaigned hard in Iowa while she took it for granted as she was practically annointed at that point. Personally, Hillary lost me when she voted to authorize the war. I was devastated by her vote as it signaled that she put politics above ethics. So, even though I'm a 60-year-old woman, I'm not her fan. Neither is my 84-year-old mother or my 93-year-old mother-in-law. I did hear an explanation yesterday from an MSNBC producer that may be close to the truth. That was that the media and the Clinton campaign did a great disservice to her supporters by not telling them that it was over in February. Essentially, they were patsies, and that could indeed make them angry enough to find a scapegoat in Obama. I'm sorry for them, but they are beginning to disgust me.
The Obama campaign painted the last sucessful Democratic president and first lady as racists. The Clintons are in no way racists and didn't say anything remotely racist. They are not that dumb or racist.
It is a shame that the race card was played against them. Hillary won half the votes buy wasn't even considered for VP. She would have picked him for VP. Obama is risking the presidency by not puting Hillary on the ticket. Hillary was more respected by the generals than any other Democrat including Biden. She has more foreign contacts than Obama, McCain or Binden. She would have been the best VP pick for the Democratic party by far.
Thank you for answering. I think you are right that the Clintons are not racist, but I think Geraldine Ferrara's remarks, speaking on behalf of their campaign, could certainly have been construed that way. If you're going to use what some surrogate on a campaign says--like you did for your accusation--as a justification, then you have to start there. Although I hate to resort to this, part of the problem again seems to be the media creating upheavals to improve ratings rather than providing the thoughtful, investigative journalism we so long for.
Poor Barack can't win for losing if he nominated her you would have critics stating that he was caving into the pressure.Also who says Hillary wanted to be VP?Hillary doesn't think Barack can win and she doesn't want him to win. She doesn't want to tie herself to a ship that she hopes sinks.How many former potential vps lose the election and are viable presidential candidates 4 years later.Hillary's mind is on 2012 bottom line.I think Hillary and her supporters are playing a deadly game banking on 2012.Barack doesn't win,Hillary can't win.yeah I said it
And how would the Democratic party react to her if she was seen to have undermined Obama so that McCain wins this year? I don't see that as clearing the way for her run in 2012. Quite the contrary.
The one and ONLY reason needed that Hillary should NOT be chosen for VP :
Bill CLinton
If he were not in the picture, she would have been a great choice. But, you can't have 2 presidents in America. Or 3. Do you REALLY think Bill could stay out of the picture? Don't be so naive.
I am a woman who agrees with this take wholeheartedly. Although, Hillary has some positions I can not abide, ie abortion, I would feel ever so much more hopeful that she will make the good decisions on this and many other issues. I would have voted Dem for her, I will now bite the bullet and vote for the lessor of two evils...McCain....Hard to swallow! Why couldn't Obama do the right thing? Why do politicans have to push the limits? Obama/Clinton would have been a "shoe in"!
Politics as usual......
You lose legitimacy when Hillary is your first choice while McCain is your second. That simply points to a cult of personality around Hillary without any ideological underpinnings.
It also exhibits a complete lack of understanding of politics. Hillary or McCain?? Are you serious? I guess this lack of loyalty would be indicative of a Hill supporter. Vote completely against your interest, why don'tcha?
tmbaran....I wrote last week why Obama should pick Hillary. In my family alone, there are 5
members that say they wouldn't vote for Obama unless Hillary was on the ticket & I was one of them but please hear me out. Here are just some facts.
In the last 8 years, our U.S. dollar has lost over .40 to the Euro. In 2000, it was worth $1.08 and now it is below .65!!!! My son spent 6 months in India in 2006 and while he was there, the value of the U.S. dollar lost almost 25%, IN JUST 6 MONTHS!! McCain wants to keep the same economic policy as Bush!!!
In 2004, my wife had cancer and although I was paying almost $1,000 a month for insurance, she was denied coverage because of loopholes in the policy. Obama does not want to set up Gov't Hospitals, he just wants to give affordable insurance to people that actually pays your bill when you need it. McCain says he wants more affordable insurance but what is his plan? Nothing, more of the same. Record profits for insurance companies.
Concerning abortion...Do you really want to see women dying because they are performing back alley abortions like they did before Roe v. Wade? Pro Choice is not Pro abortion.
You will pay more taxes with McCain unless your rich.
Please read both candidates policies before you decide which is the lesser of 2 evils!!
Just think what McCain's camp would do with all the personal attacks the Clintons made on Obama and the praise they showered upon McCain if she were the VP candidate.
As opposed to what, Biden's comment that he'd be "proud to be John McCain's running mate" or maybe his comment about Obama's needing "on the job training" as President? No, I don't think Hillary would have opened up any more avenues of attack than Biden does. The fact is that the R's dodged a bullet when Obama decided to forego "The Dream Team". As long as the R's don't get too ham-handed in their praise of Hillary (thereby forcing her to respond with enthusiastic support of Obama), all this VP decision did was to give the Republicans a "Fifth Column" in the Democratic camp. And, let's face it, the Clintons and their supporters have some legit gripes about how they were handled during the primaries. The question remains whether or not the Obama camp, having dismissed Hillary as a "racist c**t" and her supporters as "ignorant, red-necked bigots" can now bring them back into the fold.
Women who support McCain, the anti-women's rights candidate, or plan to stay home election day, or to vote for Obama but not work for him, suggest that there is some degree of truth in gender stereotypes: a significant minority of women apparently ARE too emotional to make rational decisions based on their own self-interest, or the nation's overall best interest.
There is no doubt that Hillary would have clinched the election. Ted Kennedy is too busy using his power to bring about the dreams of his family. It was truly disgusting to see this man who never had any integrity, as proven by his past disasters actually take over the party. This is not dreamtime-it is reality time. Obama is seriously wrong at this time. We need a strong leader and it is high time we had a woman as president. Hillary was it. The Democrats will come to regret this very serious mistake and unfortunately it will cost us all.
What do you mean? I think women might be selling themselves short with Hillary, this is an amazing time in our country. An African American man might be our next president, and for the first time ever a woman had a real shot at it. And all you can do is say "it should have been a woman... waaaah." Well I say we ARE ready for a woman president but that didn't happen this time around. There are plenty of incredibly successful and intelligent women in this country who are capable of running it that can be elected in the future... or do you disagree?
The problem is that it all comes down to BS. I mean we are regressing if we are still talking about nominating a candidate based on skin color or gender. I would ask all Hillary supporters to accept that their candidate did not win this time around, but look ahead. Examine the two choices in front of you, their policy positions and where you think they will lead this country. Please.
Are you talking about Teddy Kennedy? Cause I don't really see him trying to take over the party, and haven't since 1980! And I KNOW you're not talking about Obama, because that man has more integrity in his little finger than McBush has in his, OR Cindy's entire bodies!!
And for what it's worth, grow up and realize that your chosen candidate LOST, and at this point in time the only reasonable thing to do is to ensure that the country survives, by making sure that McCain does NOT get elected POTUS!!!!!
But, you must admit the first day of the convention was profoundly inspiring.
You're wrong, insightful. Obama is just what this country needs at this time. Hillary and Bill are backing him (as they should). The alternative (McCain) has a ready answer to every question, "POW, POW...bomb, bomb, bomb Iran...drill, drill, drill...ad nauseum. If you want our country to go up in flames and suffer the worst depression since the 20's & 30's, then go ahead and vote for McCain. You'll get your wish.
There's a difference between strength and conniving desperation. The latter is what I saw during Hillary's campaign after Super Tuesday.
i can't believe how many annoying questions were being asked to nancy pelosi and john kerry last night. i was about to break my television. can we agree to keep daytime television anchors on the news in the MORNING!!!??
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