Dear Barack: The Veep Choice That Could Shock the World

Dear Barack,

If you truly want to electrify the country with your Vice Presidential choice, I've got two words for you: Choose Hillary.
I realize you're never going to do this, because it runs contrary to your play-it-safe nature, overdetermined nature, but let me offer my rationale.
1. It's a Display of Strength
As a political gesture, it's essentially Lincolnian in nature. You're saying to the world: I'm secure enough to make my central rival into my partner -- my junior partner. It's a way of co-opting her, rather than allowing her (and her husband) to be perceived as waiting in the wings for your failure. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, capiche?
It also shows that you have the courage to take a chance, to ignore the droning pundits. Oddly enough, it would be so surprising as to make you look like a maverick.
2. It Makes Sense Strategically
On a practical level, nominating her will insure the fierce loyalty of the 18 million folks who voted for her. It's the surest way to harness the massive potential energy of her partisans. And to appeal to the millions of "undecideds" who remember the Clinton era as one of peace and prosperity.
3. She (and Bill) Will Make Incredible Attack Dogs
None of this John Edwards French poodle stuff. They'll tear the stuffing out of McCain and his second-ran. And give you the space to set out your positive agenda.
4. She Is Ready to Lead
In announcing her as your choice, you should stress one point: she is the most qualified candidate you could find. Not only will this make you look upright and gallant, but it addresses the underlying concern about your inexperience. Whatever might be said about Hillary, it's accepted that she's a pro.
5. Catharsis
Hillary may have gotten hammered for saying so out loud, but she's right. Her true believers want catharsis. They want a sense that her historic candidacy has been validated. And that the two of you have made up, and joined forces. The pundits will mutter complaints, but because this option has been virtually eliminated in people's minds, the overall reaction will be ecstatic. Hillary's presence at the convention will be triumphant, rather than aggrieved.

My advice would to withhold naming a VP selection until the convention itself, and to nominate her on live TV, during primetime. Can you imagine how insane the energy will be if you show the guts to do this? To stand on-stage and tell the nation, "I have thought long and hard about who the most qualified candidate for Vice President is, and there is no question in my mind that her name is Hillary Rodham Clinton." As a piece of theater - and the political conventions are nothing but, at this point - it can't be topped.

Hoping you'll ditch the script & write your own ticket,
Steve

Comments

[speeddeeps]

The idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I can't imagine." -Mitt Romney

[cruisepuppy7452a]

He's right, if barack does not choose Biden, he must choose Hillary to win. In a debate, she is unbeatable. She can speak off the cuff intelligently like Bill could, knows the issues, understands domestic policy. She was in the white house before so its not new to her. The lady has the chops for the job. It would give him credibility in truly making this a change forward, a woman and a black man, who would have thunk it. Hello. The two would bring back jobs, end the war, get us back on track, force impeachment hearings, and get us the rights we lost under Bush. Folks, its win/win with her or Biden on the ticket either way. Without them, we stand to lose Big Time.

[JimR]

She is the WORST possible pick. Good God.

[tds1273]

Appeasement is NOT the answer.


NO.


Puma, catharsis, Recreate 68, this article- it is all just part of Operation Chaos. The Clintons work for the Rethuglicans. They are not to the left. Bill's impeachment allowed Bush to litterally get away with murder. Hillary is a two faced serpent. They are on the inside with all the other neo-con crooks and killers.

[pleeezzze]

Can we assume then, that YOU are the one who gets to decide ???

[janpradder]

I just had the same thought this morning, that the brouhaha about the Puma's/Clinton supporters who want to destroy Obama's chances could be another Op Chaos plan.
Hmmmm.....

[chitown8]

As much as I hate to say it, I agree 100% Bill Clinton can distract the Mccain Campaign Obama and Hill can point out the message. I am warming up to Hill. The primaries are over I say give her a chance. Also have her announce to the world that she regrets voting for the Iraq war. It might work.

[foxbat]

In using the author's points:

1) He's already gone Lincolnian by having HillaryBill speak in primetime spots, on different nights, where Chelsea will announce her mom. She's also has her name in nomination and several items of her platform in the Dem platform.
2) Many Clinton voters who aren't going to vote for Obama now, are not likely to be extreme loyalists even if she gets the nod. Some will come along and be energized, but even more of the Republican base would be energized. Many who supported Clinton and don't like Obama will still vote Dem.
3) Since when has Bill ever needed a reason/permission to be an attack dog? He's not going to take direction from Obama; nor does he need to. Lindsey Graham's a great attack dog and he's not going to be VP. Being VP isn't a prereqisite for Bill and Hillary going rabid, foaming mad on the attack; being a Dem staring at another four years like the last eight should be enough.
4) Biden or Gore would also be ready to lead. Gore won't accept, but Biden will and has much better foreign and security credentials than Clinton.
5) I'll conceed Hillary's followers' catharsis, but this is about more than catharsis. Hillary could have squashed a lot of this earlier on, but waited. I think things would be easier to absorb if it hadn't gotten to this point. It's harder now not to usurp Obama's potential strength at this point.

[janpradder]

I believe you are right about Biden or Gore. I wouldn't count Gore out if Obama wants him badly enough or feels he needs him to win.
On Feb. 5th I was at the Kodak Theater (the first debate with Obama/Clinton), and I felt our party had two fantastic candidates. Brushing the dust off, I have different feelings.
But I want to feel we still have a "dream" ticket.
I like Obama - Gore.

[KISHAGREEN]

Hey Steve,

If Bill and Hillary could be trusted wouldn't they be "tearing the stuffing" out of McCain already?

So far her failed campaign has deverted valuable campaign dollars away from Obama and the other down-ticket Democrats as they attempt to raise money still for her massive debt.

Her presence hurts him more by rallying the Republican base and for the record the GOP would further paint him as a chump who caved to the pressure of disgrunted, middle-aged white women.

[ivegotblisteronmefingers]

It just occurred to me that perhaps the Obama camp has kept the Clinton camp out of the fray on purpose. As popular as Pres. Clinton may be among die-hards, both he ann Sen. Clinton are hate, hate, hated amongst righties. No. 42 may be the new Jimmy Carter (I have met Pres.Carte­r and I think he's great). As much as we do need our own attack dogs, maybe these guys are not that doggie.

[DennyCrane]

1. It's a Display of Strength
Actually, it's a display of weakness. It shows that Obama caved into pressure from the rest of his party.
2. It Makes Sense Strategically
Not really. You assume that the 18 million who voted for Hillary will automatically line up for Obama. But the truth is that many of the people who voted for her did so only because they didn't want to vote for the black guy. Putting Hillary on the ticket won't make Obama white and to many of her supporters, that's why they will never support Obama. They'd rather see him lose so Hillary can run again in 2012.
3. She (and Bill) Will Make Incredible Attack Dogs
Maybe at first, but Obama will have no control over Bill and Hill. Even Hillary couldn't control Bill. These two cannot be trusted to help Obama. More likely, they will say and do things to hurt his campaign. It's in their best interests that he lose to McCain so she can run again in 2012.
4. She Is Ready to Lead
This is laughable. She couldn't even lead a presidential campaign. Just look at the way she mismanaged her finances and all the infighting among her staff.
5. Catharsis
Her supporters won't feel catharsis. In their minds, Hillary should be at the top of the ticket. Anything less is unacceptable. They won't feel better having her VP. Instead, it'll be a constant reminded of what they lost.

[Missmn]

100% correct on all points. Let me just add that many Obama supporters would have a hard time supporting an Obama/Clinton ticket after her campaign laid the groundwork for McCain during the primaries.

[JimR]

"many Obama supporters would have a hard time supporting an Obama/Clinton ticket "

Yup. And I'm one of them.

[MrTessier]

I think there's no chance of this happening. You seem to be overlooking what Obama has done in every aspect of his campaign. He's consistently picked moderate advisors who do not breed distrust by the right, but share some opinions with them. I don't think he has any fear of considerable numbers jumping to McCain because he's running to the right, and progressives would have to be out of their mind to jump on that bandwagon. Hillary, like her or dislike her, brings intense partisanship to the ticket, and he's been avoiding this at every step, he seems to have a genuine distaste for it. Attack dogs can easily be produced if that's what he wants to do.

If you look at a almost all of the other possible VP picks, not one of them seems to be hyper partisan. They all have a track record of being thoughtful and moderate. I think Hillary is out, not through any fault of her own really, but because she re-inforces the red state/blue state divide that Obama is trying to destroy with this campaign. In that sense she is strategically a bad choice.

[standard]

"On a practical level, [it] will insure the fierce loyalty of the 18 million folks who voted for her."

Puh-leeze! There's plenty of evidence that the vast majority of those folks already support Obama. Many of the rest wouldn't vote for a Black candidate if the Republics ran a Hitler-Stalin ticket. If Obama picks Mrs. Clinton for VP, tens of millions of Democrats who supported him but want change, not old-style lie-with-a­-straight-­face politics, will embrace third party candidates; several million independents will switch to McCain; and campaign contributions will run dry. America's entire supply of white women past 50 is too small to counter those effects. It would cost the Party this election and, for four more years, condemn the world to further war and America to further erosion of our world standing, our economy, and our civil liberties.

[Tommygun264]

Here's something that would shock the world even more:

Accept that Hillary lost and let it go.

[ewoman]

Respectively, Steve, I cannot agree with you.

1. It's more of a show of strength to go beyond the Clinton admin to find a VP. I would be worried about Obama the entire time he was in office, what with "gotta be prez" Hillary and her "gotta be prez" hubby holding the second-in-command positions. What happened to Lincoln?
2. No sense strategically - her 18 million votes aren't there any more. From what I read recently, she only has 250 die-hards who met secretly in Colorado this past week...or was that a dream? McCain is helping greatly with the undecideds as he keeps opening his mouth and spouting strange and mystical new strategies (such as sucking water from Colorado to help his home state).
3. Hillary and Bill won't guard anything - neither person has backed Obama significantly since June. How can I expect that of them now?
4. She is not ready to lead, as witnessed by the meltdown of her campaign strategy.
5. If Hillary would have conceded in proper fashion, her followers would already have their holy "catharsis­."

But, if Obama did choose her, I would still vote Democrat. But, I would petition for double security for Obama.

[AgathaX]

There is nothing strong about picking someone who has been a thorn in your side merely to appear strong. Moreover, her incompetent campaign gave Obama far more reasons not to pick her than to pick her. In the end, no drama Obama will never pick the perpetual drama of a Clinton.

[Dustee]

Steve you gotta stop drinking the kool-aid, dawg.

If you want to help Hillary...­you can pay off those millions of dollars that she loaned herself for her campaign.

Hillary's campaign was a mess. She couldn't even lead that. She's 'business as usual'.

We need CHANGE! Not the same old insider politics as usual, especially with duel Veeps in the Clintons. We don't need to encourage the rethugs to get out there and vote because the Clintons are on the ticket.

We need CHANGE.

Spread the word.

[MissDaphne]

I'm sure Senator Obama is getting lots and lots of advice, solicited and otherwise, Steve, about who he should select as his Vice President.

From what I have observed of just about every step of his campaign, he has excellent judgment and almost perfect pitch.

I fully expect him to pick someone who will be best for him, and, more importantly, best for all of us.

[barackobama4prez]

Except she's NOT ready to lead as evidenced by her poor campaign.

[justobserve]

Unfortumately, the Clintons are the kind of attack dogs that voters had shown they do not want this time. Hill's "18 million votes" included voters who had voted for her when she WAS the "Inevitable leader". Her team's arrogant and chaotic mismanagement of the campaign exposed what kind of "experience" Hill claimed after 35 years in the political arena: the same kind of "experience" that failed the health care overhaul in 1993, the passivity that cost 250,000 more deaths in BosniaI and the inactivity that led to Rwanda genocide,.­.. Even after her concession, the kind of innuendos, drama playing didn't energize voters, in fact, they turned voters off even more.
If the number "18 million votes" were correct, Hill would have cleared her debt easily in a flash: each of those "18 millions" needs only donate one or two bucks to help. We knew that didn't happen! For a well-known name with 100 million dollars and 100 superdelegates more than other cndidates at the beginning, Hill should have got more than the often-stated "18 millions" . To most voters, Hillary was exposed as a fake and that had turned them off in great numbers and she lost. She was all about herself and Bill's legacy. She WAS NOT a champion for women: she got all her fame by being an overbearing wife of a governor and president, that is very different from all the women she claimed to represent.
Despite all the advantages, Hill was not chosen by voters.