Clinton: The push to be veep
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008 9:22 AM by Domenico Montanaro
What does Hillary want? The New York Times reports that as many folks predicted, Bill Clinton is contemplating the idea of Hillary as Obama's running mate. "The reports about Mr. Clinton’s musings surface as the Obama camp has quietly begun the process of searching for a partner on the Democratic ticket. The prospect of an Obama-Clinton ticket has been fodder for political gossip for months, with some Democratic leaders pushing the idea as a way to unify the party. The Obama and Clinton campaigns have consistently shrugged off the idea, however, and Mrs. Clinton has been adamant that she is only interested in the presidency.”
“Yet anyone who knows the Clintons is well aware that, at times, they come to politics with different motivations. Both of them want to return to the White House; Mrs. Clinton, of New York, also enjoys being a senator, while Mr. Clinton, according to associates, sees the vice presidency as perhaps her best path to becoming president someday if she loses the nominating fight. And Mr. Clinton has his own ideas about his wife’s best interests -- even if she sometimes does not share them."
A few things to think about regarding HRC as Obama’s veep: Will the former president allow Jim Johnson to fully vet his business deals? Will he get a look at the library donor records? Will he be OK with the limitations on where he can speak and who he cuts business deals with?
“Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a Clinton booster, told The [New York] Post, ‘I am one that believes that if it works out that Senator Obama is the nominee, the strongest ticket would be Senator Clinton as vice president. No question in my mind. Because the constituencies in the votes are different. The weight of the states he carried versus the states she carried. It's different. And, therefore, if you combine them both, you've got the best electoral path.’ Feinstein said she promotes an Obama-Clinton ticket with everyone she talks to.
“Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a vice chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, said, ‘I'll encourage [Obama] to ask, and if he does, for her to say yes.’ He added, ‘She would be a good president if something ever were to happen to him. She'll deliver a heck of a lot of women in a lot of states.’”
Check out the Post’s cover, complete with an Obama-Clinton wedding cake: “Man and vice.”
And check out this graphic showing the pros and cons of putting Clinton on the ticket. (It also highlights that she’s wearing two different shoes.)
