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Dream Ticket

ClintonObamaOver the past few weeks I have been thinking that Obama might just pick Hillary Clinton as VP.  I know the media is saying that an Obama-Clinton ticket is unlikely, but still, consider this:

  1. Who is Bill Clinton going to speak before on Wednesday evening during the Democratic convention? I can’t imagine he would allow himself to be upstaged by anyone but is wife.
  2. Hillary Clinton has been doing a lot of campaigning for Obama while he is on vacation.
  3. The news that the Obama campaign does not yet have an office in Arkansas might also suggest that they know that will be no problem once Hillary Clinton is on the ticket.
  4. Consider too Patti Solis Doyle, a long time Clinton adviser and former campaign manager currently occupies the position of “chief of staff to the vice-presidential candidate.” 
  5. They are going to place Clinton’s name in nomination at the Democratic convention (which is not unusual, but given the close nature of the primary this year, it is not insignificant).
  6. Bringing Hillary Clinton on board would completely unite and energize the Democratic party.
  7. It would put Obama in a much stronger position to win Pennsylvania and Ohio, and it would add a degree of experience that conventional wisdom thinks is needed.
All of this has me thinking that it will be her. Could it be that an agreement was struck in the one-on-one meeting Obama had with Mrs. Clinton just prior to the suspension of her campaign?  Was the plan that Obama would take a few months to allow the idea to take root that he alone is the presidential candidate, that he can navigate a high profile foreign trip with grace and that he can run a strong campaign against McCain only then to add Clinton just prior to the convention?

I think it would be a very good choice for Obama.  It certainly would be historic on multiple levels. I have difficulty seeing how anyone McCain would choose could have an equal impact or come close to generating the level of excitement of a Obama-Clinton ticket.

3 Comments

  • Keep in mind that most of those moves were aimed at satisfying disgruntled Hillary supporters, the “Party Unity My Ass” people. Consider also that intrade.com has Biden shares going for $42 and Clinton going for $4.90. If you’re right, you can cheaply make a -lot- of money.
    Though I’ve been rooting for Sebelius for VP, I think the market probably has it correct: Biden gives Obama the right sort of foreign policy experience, plus he serves to distance Obama from the inevitable turn towards the negative. Biden’s attack dog status balances the pass McCain gets for being crotchety, and then McCain picks a blue-state type like Pawlenty to preserve his “maverick” status.

  • Josh may be right and my analysis wrong, but I am now beginning to hear others talk of the addition of Clinton as a game changer:
    David Gergen talks about it here .
    Ryan Davis talks about the extent to which choosing Clinton would be downright Lincoln-esque.
    Add to this that many think the announcement will come on Saturday at the Illinois state capitol. The symbolism of a son and daughter of Illinois running together for the Presidency and Vice-presidency of the United States would resonate beautifully with such a location.

  • Clinton’s up to $12, and Biden’s down to $36.