This might be a result of the long and vitriolic, at times, campaign, but all this talk about the possibility of Hillary being the VP-candidate seems a bit presumptuous to me. Granted, there are legitimate arguments about why she should be on the ticket, but once again, Hillary is banking on being inevitable.
Within the past few months, there have been some harsh words thrown around by supporters of both Democratic campaigns, which is understandable, to a certain extent. But, now that we have a winner, some of the same people who were the most vocal against Obama (namely, Lanny Davis) are suddenly pushing for Hillary to be vice-president (I might also add that in that previous link to voteboth.com, still has "Clinton/Obama '08" in the logo, but I'll chalk that up to it being so soon after the primaries). As if she were entitled to it because she came in second. It doesn't work that way anymore.
I am open to the possibility to Hillary being on the ticket. And given her popularity within the party, it is important that she not be cut out of the loop entirely. But, she, or her surrogates, are in no position to presume anything.
Comments (1)
The only thing from Clinton herself was "I'm open to the possibility". Which really means, "if Obama asks, I won't say no."
You're right, though, some of her supporters are already banging that drum. From the perspective of what the job actually entails (have a pulse in case the President losses his), she's ideal. This is because she has many of the same stances on issues as Obama. Should the unthinkable happen, she would be likely to continue to pursue Obama's goals.
From the point of view of winning the general election (more important, in my opinion), it's too soon to tell. Right now, there are many more Democrats willing to vote for McCain (McCainocrats) than Republicans willing to vote for Obama (Obamacans). My bet is much of that is due to Clinton supporters being upset that Obama beat their candidate. A Clinton VP spot would quickly reduce the number of McCainocrats.
My guess is that those jaded Clinton supporters will slowly come back into the fold without a Clinton VP. Thus I think the advantage of a Clinton VP doesn't offset the negative: it would most assuredly reduce the number of Obamacans. Republicans _hate_ the Clintons. They have done an exceedingly good job of vilifying her and her husband (even many Dems have fallen for it). This makes it much less likely that Republicans who see McCain as Bush III would cross over.
I'm just tossing spitballs at the chalk board. Let's see what sticks, shall we?
Posted by sidfaiwu![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.spitballpolitics.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 4, 2008 1:25 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 13:25