What would Hillary Clinton Want from Obama? Is it the Vice Presidency? Jim might well be right that Obama might have good reason to offer Clinton this, and it might even make for a strong ticket (though I'm not sure that would be so). But I wonder whether Hillary would want this. The Vice Presidency is a notoriously low-power job. A President who genuinely trusts the Vice President may bring the Vice President informally into lots of important decisions (consider Bush and Cheney), but I doubt that Obama would be willing to do this with Clinton, or that Clinton would much like this sort of role.
The Vice Presidency is often a stepping-stone to the Presidency, but I doubt that it would be for Hillary, who'll be 69 in November 2016 — quite old for a first-term President, notwithstanding Reagan and McCain. Query how the higher life expectancy for women plays out here; query also how the conventional wisdom that men are seen as aging more gracefully than women (I stress "seen" here, because that's the relevant matter) might come into play. But I do suspect that she won't see herself as a viable 2016 candidate, and a 2012 insurgent run against a President Obama would likely be impossible if she's part of the Administration.
Nor would running as Vice-President and losing increase her chances of being the Presidential nominee in 2012; if anything, it would likely decrease them. Maybe she might just like the historic element of being the first female Vice President, but I doubt it.
What then might Clinton want more than her job as Senator? How about Attorney General or Secretary of State? Would it look bad for Obama to make this sort of offer before the election? (My sense is that primary rivals do sometimes get Cabinet positions, consider Bush Sr. and Jack Kemp, but that no deal is generally made beforehand.) How about Supreme Court Justice, for which there is something of a precedent in the Eisenhower-Warren situation, though I understand that it's not clear whether there had been an explicit deal?
Would she want those sorts of positions? Would she be an asset to the campaign if such a deal were announced beforehand? What if no such official deal were announced, but a quiet offer and acceptance led her to withdraw, publicly endorse Obama, and enthusiastically campaign for him?
This is way outside my area of expertise, so it may well be that all these options are nonstarters, and that I'm mistaken about her likely lack of enthusiasm for the Vice Presidency. Still, I thought these might be interesting alternatives to discuss.
UPDATE: Commenter GV, writes "What reason would Obama have to offer Clinton anything? Since Indiana, she has stopped attacking him, so the primary no longer hurts him. She has already said she'll campaign for him if she loses. It's clear to everyone now, even Hillary, that this race is over." I take it that one reason would be to win over some of the Hillary partisans who might otherwise be miffed at how he and his voters have treated their candidate, and who might therefore stay home come election day.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP.--
- Attorney General Hillary Clinton? Secretary of State? Justice?
- Obama probably has the power to get Clinton to drop out.--
Perhaps head of the ATF, with her love of firearms and boilermakers?
If she really is demanding anything of Obama, it's probably that she wants her people to be in the positions you're talking about. She wants a say in who fills out the cabinet and other important appointments. Why sacrifice an important position like Senator from New York when you can just control other offices by proxy?
Bingo! (Some help David Bernstein off the floor. And those other guys, too.)
Barack Hussein Mohamad Obama would confirm that he truly is the naive idiot that I believe he is if he offers Hillary Clinton a cabinet position. The analogy between an Obama cabinet and President Lincoln's cabinet is meritless because none of Lincoln's cabinet members was married to a former POTUS. If Her Imperial Majesty was wise (a tall request), she would demand a lifetime appointment SCOTUS and if for some reason the position of Chief Justice becomes available during Caliph Obama's presidency, that she be elevated to Chief Justice of SCOTUS.
LMAO. Classic.
History question: has any (non-incumbent) presidential candidate ever publicly named someone to a (potential) cabinet post prior to the election?
Honestly, a three-way deal with Reid that lands her as Majority Leader seems more likely than that, to me. But what would Reid want? Probably too moderate for a VP pick or the Court, although he does help with the experience problem...
I doubt Obama would use this particular logic, since I doubt he believes that he or his campaign have treated her badly. If he were to use this approach, I'm sure he'd justify it to himself and to the world as recompense for the way the press or the Republicans treated her.
That's why she's still running. To try and make sure Obama doesn't win in November.
Especially not if President Obama doesn't really and truly hope she will be confirmed and twist Congressional arms to make it happen (as he won't).
always getting thrown in front of the bus.
The phrase "thrown under the bus" must be thrown under the bus...
By most accounts I've seen, Sen. Clinton has actually earned a fair amount of respect from her colleagues in the Senate, even from the Republicans who were naturally very skeptical of her going in. In addition to rewarding her for discretion, they may actually think she'll do a pretty good job as majority leader. Plus, should Obama lose, that position would enable her to be the de facto leader of the Democratic party for McCain's first term. And should Obama win, she will have sufficient national clout to help the Senate protect its institutional prerogatives from being overrun by the President.
Actually, the perfect ticket is McCain-Obama [Obama-McCain]. Each is the other's ideal running mate.
destinygoal?Regarding the question of what Hillary would do next, why not the VP? If you are nearing the end of your career, and you have the chance to make history (first female VP and w/ the first black president - definitly compelling stuff) in a job that lets you ride off into the sunset, why the heck not? Maybe it is b/c it is the end of the day and I'm worn out and looking for a good job w/ low work, but here is my take: In the suggested jobs she is looking at lower profile positions for the long term, with much more work. Why not take a high profile position w/ low work?
I hope not. I realize it's unpardonably elitist, but one thing I appreciate about the Clinton-Bush appointments is the consistently high standard of intellectual gravitas. Hillary's no dolt, but she'd be at least a full step backwards.
The only reason I think it's plausible despite many drawbacks is how certain all the pundits seem to be that it will never happen.
Maybe he'd think of it as assassination insurance. She's the only person in the country the nut cases fear more than him.
At that rate, assassins might as well just stay home.
We are so screwed.
This assumes that the offer would be made public or at least leaked, doesn't it? And these kinds of offers never are. No presidential candidate is going to announce what his Cabinet would look like if he won.
I'm leaning towards Richard Lugar, the Republican Senator from Indiana. Decent guy, very strong foreign policy credentials, would probably carry his (very red) state in November. If Obama wants to think outside the box on this issue, he could do a lot worse than Lugar.
Her best hope is to go around looking presidential and hope that Obama either tanks in November, makes himself so unpopular as President(a la Ford and Carter) that she can justify a primary fight in 2012, or just outright dies.
A long shot, but the only shot she's got left.
The goal would not be to win but to stop Obama from winning.
Exactly. The Clintons are capable of anything. Just as Vince Foster.
I've never heard of a "conservative" who would vote for Clinton over McCain. I personally know several who will, however, vote for Obama this fall barring the proverbial "dead girl, live boy" problem.
Supreme Court justice is more powerful, but I doubt she'd be confirmed. Plus I'd expect Obama to appoint justices who are at least plausibly non-political, i.e. the left's version of John Roberts whoever that may be.
What else is there?
Clinton is not going to throw away all the leverage and support she has gained in this race without getting some very substantial reward for so doing. Period. She will not drop out unless she cuts a lucrative deal that pays her a political profit. Period. She will drag the fight to the convention if need be. She will campaign to the bitter end, to keep that leverage as strong as possible, and her "buyout" price at max. Despite all the "dead candidate" talk she is still in fighting range, she has the power to cripple Obama's run even before the nomination while also hurting the party downticket, and she is going to collect, one way or another.
She wants to move up, not fall down, and she will insist on advancing in political power. She has millions in campaign debt, much of it her own money, and she'll want that back. She wants to make history in a position of national power, preferably with a "first woman to" in front of it, and she's not getting any younger. There has never been a female SML, and VP looks unlikely.
I'm not saying that's the reward she would demand, but given the player it has to be on the list. The party can either cut a deal, or suffer for not doing so, in which case she is vindicated and has another shot in four years with enhanced credibility.
Well, yes, for some values of
"real conservative".
I don't see any reason Hillary would want to leave her Senate seat, but if she does, the one job that might make sense is Governor of New York in 2010. Shouldn't be that hard to ease aside accidental Governor Patterson, and then she'd have an executive position that wouldn't be beholden to Obama.
Umm, really? It was my understanding that she's still got the support of almost half of the committed superdelegates. That's pretty impressive for someone unwelcome in the Democratic party.
Maybe, but a lot of them would stay home in a Clinton / McCain race, and would not stay home in an Obama / McCain race.
For this cycle anyway there's very little chance that the Dem senate leader will be the minority leader. Certainly it would be tough to be much less effective than Reid. And SML really does have a large amount of power and control over the Senate.
Also, rangaro, "Ms Clinton"? Is there some animus towards her marriage now?
As for Cornellian's suggestion of Dick Lugar--I have heard not even a squeak about Lugar being anything other than an orthodox Republican. He's not even maverick enough like John McCain was in 2004 to sound even plausible.
Others in her circle will get the usual lobbying jobs, and maintain the usual stranglehold on the bureaucracy for another generation. If Obama declines nominate her people for the 2nd tier jobs, she can undermine him from the Senate safely, get herself set up as DSCC chair, and pick and choose which Senate candidates the DNC will bankroll and which ones they will freeze out.
Control of the money is everything to the Clintons. She will bow out and find a way to keep control of the Party's money.
I think Her Nibs has more sense than to even ask. Curse of the Golden Flower was on TV last night, and the analogy that serves here is that of Prince Jen's reaction to his mother-in-law's plot : How can you do this?!? Of course they'll blame me first! Innocent or not, she'd be a marked woman. Heck, they might even amend the Constitution to eliminate Article III Sec. III (Corruption of Blood)...
Dick Durbin might also need inducement to step out of Hillary's way (but there are any number of Cabinet positions he'd be as good as any pick Obama could make for)...
How about Ann Coulter, who said she would campaigh for HRC rather than vote for McCain?
Yes, but they're not dog kibble either and they'd still be "first woman to" landmarks. But lateral at best instead of upwards. Reid might (would) object to losing SML, but the key factor there is having the votes among the Dem Senators. And hey, it's just a guess. There are other potentials. The one thing I consider certain is that she's not going go without a lucrative (to her) deal. Without that she'll fight it to the convention floor.
Control of the money is everything to the Clintons.
I think control of the power is more apt--but then, money IS power.
You're either confused about what socialism means or who Clinton and Obama are.
From your mouth to God's ears.
I've seen a couple of people say this. Why would anyone doubt she'd be confirmed without a Republican filibuster? Which Democrat would vote against? And I'd expect her to get a fair number of Republican votes. Senators tend to rubber stamp nominations of other Senators generally, and Hillary is well-regarded by many of her Republican peers.
Who wants a job? Nobody. What folks really want is money.
Hillary doesn't want a job, other than President. What for?
Here is the deal:
Hillary and Bill know that Hillary will not be the 2008 Dem nominee. I also assume that Hillary does not want to be the VP, nor does Obama want her and her baggage and Bill and his baggage weighing down his train.
But, the Clintons have run up a lot of bills, including a very important one of $21 million owed to them. They also drained Hillary’s senate campaign fund.
Further, there is the Clinton endorsement. Obama must have it. He has accused Hillary of favoring McCain over himself. We wouldn’t want a little thing like money to cause a problem would we?
On June 4, after the last primary, Obama and Hillary hold a joint victory rally. Hill and Bill endorse Obama. The Obama campaign assumes, and promptly pays Hillary’s campaign debt, including that $21 million. Obama agrees that he will use the public financing in the general election, and that any surplus funds remaining after the Convention will be split between Obama and Clinton’s senatorial campaign funds.
O.K., there is a reason for Hillary to stay in the race.
I believe you forgot to add Bill's love of cigars. That covers all the bases for the ATF.