Obama and Clinton
For the sake of party unity, Barack Obama might not have any choice but to offer Hillary Clinton the opportunity to join him on the 2008 Democratic Party ticket as his running mate. She has won about 17 million votes and has established herself in her own right as a power inside the Democratic Party. Her support among women cannot be shrugged off. Her primary battles have shown she deserves to be given the option to either accept or reject the vice presidential slot. Her achievement as the first woman in American history to come so close to winning the presidential nomination of a major political party has opened doors for a new generation of women.
I just wish she had run a more dignified campaign instead of spewing forth Republican talking points. Bill Clinton should have kept his big mouth shut instead of angering African-American voters by saying that Obama had "put a hit out" on him. Hillary was at her worst when she triangulated against Obama by playing up John McCain's "experience" and denigrating Obama has offering nothing but "a speech." She should not have genuflected to Richard Mellon Scaife or parroted McCain's stupid gas tax "holiday."
But now it's time to put aside the acrimony of the primaries and get the party's act together.
The current Democratic scenario reminds me of the 1960 John F. Kennedy race. At the July convention in Los Angeles, John and Robert Kennedy offered the vice presidential slot to Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. They were convinced that Johnson would turn it down because he was such a powerful figure on Capitol Hill and he wouldn't want to join a younger candidate, an Irish Catholic, who could very well lose. But Johnson surprised the Kennedys by jumping at the chance to be vice president, he wasted no time in snatching up the offer. The political press called it a stroke of genius on the part of the Kennedys because Johnson could help in the South, but Johnson was in reality not their first choice.
My point is that Hillary should jump at the chance of becoming the first woman vice president. She will be in an excellent position to unite the party behind her leadership after Obama's two terms. And we will need her to be president for two terms because it's going to take at least 16 years to begin to clean up the damage to the nation that George W. Bush has left behind.
Think about Hillary's choices: She can either be a backbencher in the Senate helping the Obama administration win votes for Democratic-sponsored legislation, or she could be the first woman vice president. She wants to build back her support among African Americans in preparation of another presidential run. A President Obama could use Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore to great effect. Bill Clinton would have to toe the line -- and he would because that's the smart thing to do politically. Hillary could become the first woman president in 2016. She could help as Vice President with health care and other issues she has been involved with for decades. The question is whether Hillary would accept the VP slot. I think, like LBJ, she should jump at the chance. The card she holds is 17 million Democratic votes, including huge numbers of women.
Hillary has baggage. She energizes the Republican base in the most misogynistic, extreme, and irrational ways. She can be painted as a "dynastic" candidate because of the "Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton" narrative allowing McCain to pretend he is something "new." But as she herself has said on many occasions she shares with Obama far more positions on where she wants to take the nation than she does with McCain. And she brings no real "heft" in the form of being connected to the military other than being on the Armed Services Committee. (We all know that McCain is going to run on his military record and "heroism" as the dominant narrative of his campaign, which is why I like Jim Webb as a possible running mate.) Whether or not Hillary can deliver a swing state or two to Obama that he might have lost with another running mate is something we will just have to wait and see. I think Hillary will follow LBJ's path in 1960 and snatch up her place on the ticket if it is offered to her. And her 17 million votes show that even after all of her and Bill's negative attacks she deserves at least to be offered the VP slot.
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A Vice President pick should compliment a Presidential ticket, not subtract from or distract from the nominee. HRC made her claim of qualification based on experience, which was rejected by a majority of the voters. The fact that she has continued to maneuver to have the results of an invalid election counted, after the fact, or that she has attempted to convince the Superdelegates that her victories were more significant than the party's nominee, or that she is now playing the gender card, does not reflect well upon her ability to appeal to anybody outside her original base. In fact, this is the very type of insider gamemanship, attitude of entitlement and victimization that will continue to be rejected by mainstream voters. I see an Obama/ Clinton ticket as a disaster for the progressive movement. The new voters brought to the fold by Obama will question his judgement of picking someone so distasteful and will return to being disenfranchised. Many of the HRC supporters will never vote for Obama. As disappointing as that may be, we need to accept that and find a V.P. candidate that can help compensate for this short fall. Bill Richardson and John Edwards, bring their own respective strengths to the table, minus the baggage. The math isn't as simple as adding HRC & Obama's numbers together, there's definitely some algebra involved here.
I left a couple of comments on this last week, but they never showed up here. Maybe they were deemed abusive or something?
The idea that putting HRC on the ticket will unite a fractured party and automatically bring with it, her 17 million voters is a fantasy at best. HRC doesn't have a lock on those voters and neither does Obama have a lock on his voters. Voters have voted their preference between the candidates available, including the voters who cast ballots in FL, fully aware that the votes wouldn't count. There are HRC voters that voted for her, because they preferred her over the others, but that doesn't mean that she necessarily brings them to a ticket led by someone that they didn't want. Conversely, I suspect that there is a significant number of Obama voters, that weren't only expressing support for a different kind of candidate, but repudiate the politics represented by HRC.
Nope.
I still don't understand why people write stuff that HRC will be able to help pass legislation, help this ...help that....PL
With all due respect Mr. Palermo: Please Wake Up!
I find Hillary Clinton to be increasingly frightening, and the thought of her being in any active role in Obama's White House to be a horrifying thought.
I am convinced that the Hillary we now see is the true Hillary. The power hungry whose intolerance of any defeat causes her to start becoming mentally unhinged. There can be n o other explanation of her current behavior and comments.
Months ago, my "gut" warned me off supporting her candidacy. At the time, I couldn't quite put my finger on what caused my alarm bells to go off about her beyond I that had some doubt about her mental health.
I am hoping that leadership of the DNC can appropriately deal with her and not let all of us down.
Completely OT but I found this too late to post on your elegy for my former sister-in-law. I am the bereaved son's maternal aunt, and still use my maiden name which is his family name as well - you can find me at Dove's Eye View. Your elegy for S gave me comfort, because I see how well and truly she was loved, not only by Christopher, whom I had met a couple of times and knew as a kind and beautiful man, but also by a whole family connected to Christopher. Your precious words for my nephew reassure me that he has been loved well in Christopher's house (which I had long heard from my mom and brother); as my nephew tries to figure out his new life, he will have loving relatives from all sides to support him.
The death is indeed shocking and I am still processing it. She called me only a few months ago, distressed at news of my own serious illness. What a dear, loving soul. When my father died in 2006, she arrived at my mother's house that night so Mom wouldn't have to be alone. Never mind that she'd been divorced from their son for eight years at that point. My mother said for years that S was her daughter and always would be.
I am very sorry for your loss.
Paternal aunt. I am the paternal aunt. Sister of ex-husband. Sorry for the confusion - late night blogging.
Making Hillary VP would be the single dumbest thing Obama could do. This article is a classic example of Dem/Think: How Can We Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory?
Read my HuffPo article, "Please No Obama/Clinton Nightmare.
If Sen. Clinton had gracefully bowed out of the race when it became obvious she would not win, then having her on the ticket might have been a good thing. But she didn't and has been relentless in attacking Obama instead. Had she been pushing on policy or visionary issues in a way that broadened the debate while showing common ground, then either would have made a good VP choice for the other. But she waged a nasty campaign.
I don't think Obama and Clinton are as close in their ideas as they appear. I also think that was the real problem for Gore in 2000 more so than the Clinton scandals. I don't think Clinton believes in the kind of change Obama is talking about. He and the country would be much better served if someone else is chosen for the #2 spot.
I just don't think that Hillary can be brushed off because she won 17 million votes and 1,500 delegates or so -- she earned a spot on the ticket if she wants it -- I'd rather have Jim Webb, but she could be the first woman Vice President, that's not too shabby. Obama's people could control Bill and Hillary -- either they go along with the new president's policies or be shown the door -- they could be loose canons though -- but it would be a strong ticket --
You don't get to 'show the door' to the VP & the '2nd Lad', short of a tax evasion charge.
The VP should be someone to balance the ticket, an 'elder statesman' type, with
executive experience as a governor.
The matter of '17 million votes and 1,500 delegates' is certainly a big deal, though.
Just one that should not 'require' that Hill & Bill be in the Obama administration, PLEASE.
I don't think he needs to offer it to her. I think when her supporters think things through a bit more, they decide between the pro-choice candidate and the pro-life candidate. Let's try to mellow some of the bluster, she should have run a better campaign.
What cabinet post might she do well in? She's intelligent and accomplished in many ways. She does have remarkable strengths, and I think she could be effective in a post that plays to those strengths.
Don't think she should be president or vp.
There is only one thing that matters - winning. Whoever best increases the chances of a Nov. win must be the pick. I suspect that is Hillary, and have no problem with that. She has campaigned very hard, all over the country. _Democrats_ know her know her well and have voted for her by the millions (the race is nearly a tie). No other VP candidate will be as well known to voters. She's polished her campaigning skills and could continue just doing what she's been doing. There also would be little risk; think Quayle, Admiral Stockton, etc.
She does have high negatives, but I believe that they're mostly with conservatives. I don't think her negative ratings will be a liability in the Democratic vote. In fact, if Obama's weakness is with Democrats in swing states, Hillary might be the perfect remedy. In other words, she won't hurt with conservatives who won't vote the Dem ticket anyway, but her inclusion on the ticket might well be necessary to keep the party united.
If Hillary and Obama could come to an agreement as to her role and responsibilities if elected as VP, her inclusion could be more than symbolic and might sway more of her supporters to vote Dem. For example, name her as the leader of healthcare reform, or point-person for energy reform.
If Obama is the uniter he would like to be thought of as, here is a golden opportunity.
"She does have high negatives, but I believe that they're mostly with conservati
You are wrong. She also has high negatives among independents and moderates.
Yes. I have yet to meet any Independent that likes her over Obama.
Myself included.
Hillary's negatives are high among everyone, not just conservatives. That's why they're high. If winning is the only thing that matters, think about who can appeal to the 30 percent of the voters who are independents, and the minority of Republicans inclined to Obama. These are people who, by and large, who can't stand the D.C. establishment --- and who have despised Hillary Clinton for years. What does she do for us? Placate some white, female, pro-war Democrats over 50? If you think that's what the ticket needs, you're an incurable, losing Democrat.
Hillary should be on the ticket only if she is the nominee. Obama needs Clinton to win so I don't see why Clinton should oblige him after what his campaign/surrogates have done. I don't think the Clintons made any racist comment. It would never have been given a second thought if Obama had been 100% not 50% white.
Why hasn't the Obamis called McCain racist? After all McCain is saying Obama never served - that's a criticism and a big one too. Why? Because McCain is a white male and Hillary is a white female. So what we are seeing is sexism.
I don't think, you understand what racism is.
Not serving in the US is not a racist comment.
If you need to find racist comments, check out the quotes by Bill Clinton after the SC primaries and check out Hillary's comments about white folks in PA.
If you want to find the sexism, Hillary is the first to play that card during a CNN debate back in February. Obama did not follow-up with comment about his race.
There was a time when this might have been a good idea. But the Clintons have turned increasingly delusional. Forget for a moment their despicable behavior, which in this country is sometimes reasonable politics. What's really disturbing is that in the last few weeks, refusing to accept their loss, they have shown signs of a psychotic break. The last thing we need in the White House is a pair of power-hungry narcissists who are arguably crazier than Dick Cheney.
'The Dream Ticket' ??? - according to Paul Szep
http://www
No doubt this is Karl Rove's favorite pre-election fantasy. No doubt at all.
Hillary playing second banana to Obama? Sounds like it would be one big thorn in his side! That may be plan B though; go for the VP and arrange for Obama's mysterious death. Right of the Clinton Machine Play Book!
http://kli
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Posted May 22, 2008 | 01:35 PM (EST)