Recommendation: Democratic alliance

ARTICLE: Obama Seeks To Unify Party For November, By Shailagh Murray and Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post, May 9, 2008; Page A01

I think Hillary is running for Veep at this point.

I also think Obama should consider this.

It would seal the deal with plenty of Dems he might not otherwise secure.

Comments

[Dirk]

Doesn't the downside outweigh any potential upside?

I mean Obama could unite the party by picking Webb or Sebelius [or maybe even Mark Warner] - without coming off like a hypocrite or planting a Bill's zipper sized time bomb in his administration. If he wants to go all team of rivals, he'd be better off on all fronts sticking Richardson and Edwards in his cabinet.

Besides' on the foreign policy front the Clinton camp is kind of scary. It says a lot to me that, party affiliation aside, you and Samantha Power have more in common in terms of world-view than Power and Madeline Albright.

[stuart abrams]

In the spirit of Sun Tzu/Vito Corleone, it might be the right move: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Constitutionally, the VP is a meaningless role, and the wise course might well be to return it to that status. My concern would be that a powerful VP Clinton would inevitably set up internecine politics that would be a disaster. So, I'd only do it if Obama has a clear strategy for keeping the Clintons under control. These folks are not natural team players. But the best way to control them might well be to put her on the ticket.

[Brent Grace]

I couldn't agree with Dirk more. If it's a simple math question, Jim Webb probably has much more "red state" appeal than Clinton. If it's an issue of national security experience, Jim Webb, Wes Clark and Chuck Hagel all have more experience than Clinton. I know there are polls that suggest that x percentage of Clinton's supporters may vote for McCain if Obama is the nominee, but any one of the guys I just named may siphon off a few independent and Republican votes back towards Obama. Finally, if Obama is trying to make himself look strong in the eyes of his own party and voters at large, then the last thing he should do is to allow himself to be pushed into accepting Hillary on the ticket.

Plus, as Dirk mentioned, Bill is a time bomb of bad publicity.

[Michael Frager]

I agree with Tom.

I think Hillary Clinton has a huge constituency. She is almost dead-even against Obama so it seems like a waste to leave her at the convention. Also, wouldn't all of her supposed "connections" in Washington be useful to an Obama presidency?

The final straw is the buzz factor such a pairing would generate.

[Alex C.]

I disagree. Hillary is in the race for one of two reasons:

1. She is in it to win it and is blinded by ambition/sunk costs of what she has done since 2000 to get to this point.

2. She is looking to BO to "donate" money to her campaign so that she can pay herself back for the $11 mil she's sunk in so far.

My bet is on the latter.

[Anonymous]

interesting analysis, Alex. my bet is on something more like the former. she said at the outset that she was going to run to win. Bill can earn that $11M back easily enough, and he owes her. she served his career for long enough and now it's her turn to run as far as her ambition and the electorate will take her.

possibility: she is measuring herself against Bill's success. does it rankle that she will probably not equal him (at least in this cycle)?

[Ted O'Connor]

Bill is the problem, not Hillary. You can't control Bill. She can't control Bill. Former Presidents can be a problem. Look at Jimmy Carter. Jimmy has his own foreign policy agenda which he engages in to the dismay of the current administration. Bill is a totally different cat. There is no telling what mischief he will get into if his wife is the Vice President of the United States. Does anyone, anyone in this entire universe think the Clintons will be good loyal soldiers?

I see Hillary running her own shop, backed by her own followers. Hollywood comes to the Vice Presidential Mansion. Bill will be flying around the world selling the Clinotn name and influence.

When the convention comes around, I think there will be a significant number of folks in the Obama camp who will be very much against picking Hillary as VP. Her use of the "Race Card" will be too bitter a pill to swallow.

McCain is having problems and will be vulnerable. Unless he picks a superb running mate, he is very beatable. Is there a woman the Republicans could pick for VP? That would be an interesting turn of events.

[Jarrod Myrick]

Does Sebelius guarantee Kansas? Does Webb or Warner guarantee VA? Zinni? Would Obama reach out to McCain for a cabinet position?