Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP.--
AP reporting:
Hillary Rodham Clinton has told congressional colleagues she would be open to becoming Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, saying she would consider it if it would help Democrats win the White House.
Clinton, a New York senator, made the comment on a conference call with other New York lawmakers Tuesday, according a participant on the call.
When I raised the issue last month, some seemed skeptical that Hillary would want the job.
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.--
It's WHITNEY. She's got Whitney Houston issues.
I said much the same thing about a month or so ago. Neither of them bring any executive or practical experience to the ticket, put any non-Deep Blue States in play, or bring any sort of ideological or regional balance to the ticket. Further putting both of them on the ticket prevents them from putting a (perceived) moderate Democrat governor of a Red or Purple State on the ticket who might bring gravitas to two one-term Senators utterly lacking in it.
It's lose-lose for Obama: say no and Hillary's voters will vote for McCain. Say yes and he looks weak (everyone knows he wouldn't really want her on the ticket and Bill back in the White House).
It's win-win for Hillary: if McCain wins, she's been a team player and she'll get the nomination in 2012; if McCain gets a second term, she'll possibly get the nomination in 2016. If Obama-Clinton wins, she'll get the nomination for president in 2016 and probably win.
Kathleen Sebelius is a better pick for Obama. Bobby Jindal would be McCain's best choice.
And I'm open to voting for McCain if he picks her.
Y'know, we've had some awful presidents who were very experienced, and some great presidents with very little experience. Lincoln is maybe the best example of the latter, but not the only one.
So I don't think the presidency is, or should be, a C.V. contest.
-- But yeah, "food taster" occurred to me too. To say nothing of Obama's odds of being shot by some redneck.
Can you imagine the media and political nightmares that would cause? Bush's message discipline was incredibly tight for a White House, but generally they leak like sieves as key figures jockey for position, trying to force their message, ideas, idealogy, pet projects, opinions, analysis, whatever -- into higher visibility, in order to affect the process.
Say Obama comes to a decision on, I dunno, the merits of a healthcare bill winding through the Senate and starts using the bully pulpit to help push on it (or against it), and Hillary thinks that's a bad idea. And she convices Bill. And they leak to the press that both Vice President Hillary and Former President Clinton think Obama is making a "huge mistake"?
Now, maybe, Hillary would keep any disagreements between her and Obama. And maybe Bill would play along. But what about the VP's staff? The President's staff? Sooner or later that would leak, undercutting Obama's decisions and leading to headlines about "Who is really running the White House" and "Is Obama making a mistake?" and just ginning up headlines that are enormous headaches for a President.
Hillary as Senator and Bill as ex-President are one thing -- they're on the sidelines, not in the loop, outside the decision making process, whatever -- but Hillary as VP and Bill as ex-President wandering around the White House 'cause he's married to the VP -- that implies a level of connection to decision making that simply isn't dismissable, even if Hillary and Bill are blowing hot air.
Obama would only take on that nightmare if forced, and Hillary doesn't have the votes for it anymore -- burned way too many bridges. I'm sure she'd LOVE to be vice President -- if an idiot on the internet like myself can see the sort of leverage she can have just by selectively leaking, I'm sure someone with her and her husband's political experience can think of a dozen more ways to try and make themselves the decision makers.
He should worry about that other diverse group who believe him to be an apostate.
This offer is just another means by which she is attempting to sink Obama. This puts Obama in the position of having to reject her 'offer' thus angering a fair portion of the rabid Hillary camp. He's now damned if he do/damned if he don't. She couldn't have played her cards any better (for the purpose of carrying out a scorched earth policy of vengeance against the party that didn't support her entitlement to the presidency)
Most disabled Americans do not want Hillary for VP, and a LOT of women are embarrased by her. Hillary's conduct throughout this campaign makes her appear to have a mental illness, not someone many of us would want with her fingers on the hot-Nuke button.
This was not a campaign about black vs. woman; but instead one whereby it would not have matter who Hillary ran against, she still would have lost because people don't like her or her politics -- anti-Americans With Disabilties, pro-REX 84 camps, pro-allowing an invasion of 10-100 million illegal Mexicans overrun our borders/invade out Country, pro-WalMart globalization destroy American manufacturing base/National Security/ship American jobs overseas, voted for the unnecessary preppie War in Iraq.
I can think of other more stable, more sensible, more dignified women who could have done justice to the Presidential race, and should be considered instead of hillary for the VP slot -- namely Speaker Pelosi. Senator Feinstein would also be a better choice. I also like Edwards for VP.
In sum, Hillary sunk her own ship by being such a pandering elitist, instead of listening to the concerns of everyday Americans.
She likewise SHOULD NEVER be nominated or confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice!! I would have preferred that sweet, nice Hariet Myers to Clinton-throw-a-temper-tantrum-until-she-gets-her-way.
Which group would that be?
Seriously, Obama would have to be literally suicidal to do this.
Napolitano no more puts Arizona in play than Lloyd Bentsen put Texas in play.
I doubt Sebelius puts Kansas in play, either--but picking her would fit the Obama themes of reconciliation and bipartisanship (Sebelius' father-in-law was a Republican Congressman and her Democratic lieutenant governor used to be the Republican state chairman) and she helps in Ohio, where her father was governor.
After much careful thought, I have now decided that I am open to being your Vice-President.
I look forward to your acceptance at my earliest convenience.
-Dan Weber
My predictions (except in basketball) are wrong so often that I took the liberty of pointing out a rare case in which I was right.
My earlier post pointed out that Obama could have ended this a long time ago if he were willing to pick Clinton.
For that reason, I assume that he's not willing to do this under any circumstances.
Jim
Yeah, it's modern tradition that the Presidential nominee chooses the VP nominee. But the actual rules are the convention chooses both halves of the ticket. If she can hold on to the support of her current pledged delegates and supporting superdelegates on the VP ballot, she just needs to pick up 206 votes to force her way on to the ticket. How many of the superdelegates who were cautious enough to wait until now to move to the Obama column would then to try to make it up to Clinton if she asks them to hake her the VP candidate?
If she winds up on the ticket over his objections, Obama's got a serious problem. If she makes a fight of it and loses to an Obama-chosen VP, he's also got a problem — the cries of "What, you couldn't even let her be Vice-President?" from Clinton supporters. Both could cost him in November.
McCain is 20 points ahead in the last AZ poll I saw. Do you really think that a smart VP pick can shift the balance so much?
Do I take that to mean you think she does just because she said so? I'm not denying that's one viable interpretation. I'm just saying it's not the only one.
She was my choice until I found out she doesn't actually exist.
He's talking about Muslims, but he's wrong. The recent public letter by a bunch of "experts" claiming that Muslims no longer consider apostasy a crime is utter nonsense, but Obama is nonetheless safe. Apostasy is a crime only on the part of a person of the age of reason. Since Obama left Islam as a child, even according to the most draconian schools of Islamic thought, the penalty for apostasy does not apply to him.
No one can seriously think most of us will feel that way. If she makes a fight of it and loses, I'm sure a big loud sigh of relief will rise from the crowd.
Why would Obama want to pick/have forced on him a woman who will continue to be as divisive as VP as she was throughout this campaign. That's just nuts. A sensible person would MOVE ON.
Someone should offer her an award for her cooperative return to the Senate, something say, like "Most couragous 08 Presidential campaigner. I am woman, hear me roar."
There is absolutely no question that Hillary "Lady Macbeth" Clinton is going to torpedo Barack Hussein Mohamad Obama's candidacy so she can run against President John McCain in 2012.
(1) Hildog will be Obama's veep
(2) Patterson will appoint Bill Clinton to her seat
(3) Reid will give Bill her seniority (including the armed-services post) and possibly Senate Whip
(4) The other Senators will mumble a bit but will realize that it is fait accompli.
This solves two major problems. First, it put Bill somewhere useful where he can help run the Senate and keep things going. Secondly, it keeps him out of the White House where he can cause trouble.
Gaius, Gaius, Gaius....
I love Bill, but I think his bullshit has gotten too enormous for even the Senate to contain.
LM: Title VII doesn't apply to Congress, so Oren isn't being illogical in what he suggests. It would, however, look like an back-room "old style politics" deal that a Chicago machine politician would do. Although that might hurt BHO's message, that would assume that his supporters are, in fact, paying attention to the message of his "message" and will consider his actions to see if his actions reflect his message. As I see little evidence supporting the conclusion that BHO's supporters are really paying attention to the substance of his message or his actions, I doubt a back-room deal would hurt his support. Thus, what Oren suggests looks like a possible strategy.
It's highly questionable whether the infant BHO was Islamic in the first place.
Edward Luttwak's ridiculous op ed on apostasy was thoroughly discredited by the NYT public editor in last Sunday's paper. Luttwak defended himself with an unnamed Islamic "expert," but the ombudmsan duly noted that even that expert said Luttwak was wrong.
That pretty much sums up how most of America is feeling at this moment.