Clinton Supporters: Obama Won’t Choose Hillary for VP
[Guest post by DRJ]
The NY Times’ The Caucus reports that Clinton aides who started a website to pressure Barack Obama to select Hillary Clinton as his VP have suspended their efforts, acknowledging that Obama will not pick Hillary:
“In an e-mail message shutting down the effort, the two men said Mr. Obama’s offer of a keynote address to Mrs. Clinton at the Democratic National Convention indicated that she would not be tapped to be his No. 2. It is expected that she will speak on Tuesday night, Aug. 26.
“Because it seems that Senator Obama has made his decision to offer the slot on the ticket to another candidate,” the men wrote, “we believe that continuing to ask him to pick Hillary is no longer helpful to our party’s chances of winning in November.”
Obama has done everything he can to keep the Clintons out of his campaign without alienating Hillary’s supporters. In addition, it seems like he’s only done one or two events to help Hillary pay her campaign debts and even that was lackluster since he almost forgot to ask for donations.
It will be interesting to see how the Clintons respond now and over the next three months.
— DRJ
Not sure why Clinton would take it if it were offered to her. NY Senator plus presumptive 2012 nominee if Obama loses is better than VP even if he wins, if she is still harboring an ambition to the Presidency.
Even if it is an eight year Obama presidency, the traditional Democratic lions of the Senate will be dying off or voted out, and she will by that time herself become one of the ruling lions. She will gain national prominence just through attrition in the Senate over the next few years if she stays.
Give her eight more years in the Senate and no one will be questioning her experience or accuse her of being a First Lady playing at being a serious politician. By then she may well be party leader in either the majority or minority, or at least a Senator who has served long enough that no one could question her experience if they question her policies.
Give her four or eight years as VP and she looks like someone who is a candidate for President simply because she was married to one guy with the job and served under another with the job who defeated her in a primary.
Aplomb (b6fba6) — 7/31/2008 @ 10:38 pmFour words: Associate Supreme Court Justice.
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 7/31/2008 @ 10:56 pmDrumwaster, shut your mouth. A known criminal getting elected in normal. Making one a member of the SCOTUS would finally kill all (what little they have left) respect for the court and court system.
Scrapiron (c36902) — 7/31/2008 @ 11:47 pmtheir announcement is an attack of the blindingly obvious. no schisse that he wouldn’t pick her.
i’d pay to see a cage match between her & Michelle though, and i don;t even like wrasslin.
redc1c4 (ae7a64) — 8/1/2008 @ 12:12 amFace it, the Hillary Clinton brand is fast losing relevance in the face of present events. This is the stark reality. This was what her unrelenting fight for the nomination was all about, a fight for existence. She didnt only lose the nomination to Obama, she lost a dynasty. I am willing to bet that Barack Obama does not need the clinton’s to win in Nov. If he did he would have picked her. Sorry folks.
love2008 (c7c069) — 8/1/2008 @ 12:34 am^ HRC has friends with money bundle$. BHO needs that support. Plus her 16, 17 million voters.
Vermont Neighbor (31ccb6) — 8/1/2008 @ 1:24 am#6
love2008 (c7c069) — 8/1/2008 @ 4:42 amPlus her 16, 17 million voters
Almost 80% of whom have switched over to Obama, I might chip in VN.
Why not Hill or Bill on SCOTUS? The libs have no problem electing an impeached judge from Miami to House of Rep. Pelosi even wanted the dude running House Intelligence Committee.
Polls show women over 50 actually prefer McCain by a small margin. Urkel has not been ordained in Denver as yet. Hopefully the demonrats will show us what a real circus/zoo they can entertain us with all the various attention-seeking special interests groups running amok. You’ll note the DNC isn’t paying taxes on the gasoline they apppropriate from the city of Denver’s pumps. Way to save a few bucks for them, but off limits to rest of America. Wonder what pompous over-the-top BS Urkel will use to entertain. Maybe he can even surpass Lurch’s, “I’m Yawn sKerry, reporting for duty!!”
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 8/1/2008 @ 6:56 am#2
Four words: Associate Supreme Court Justice.
— Unfortunately, given the near guarantee that Hillary would do the same for Obama if she became president, that is a very real possibility.
#7
Icy Truth (64b9c8) — 8/1/2008 @ 7:27 am— I’d add that those “friends with money bundle$” have yet to pay off Hillary’s campaign debt. As for her 16 or 17 million voters, it will be interesting to see how many of her feminist supporters go through with their vow to vote for McCain if she isn’t Obama’s VP. Unfortunately, many of them will fall in line and vote (D) no matter what; but, if say 3 million of them (the same number as went for Ralph Nader in 2000) were to switch their votes . . . ?
Some friends of Hillary are not going down without a fight…or whimper. Yesterday Lanny Davis pled his case for Hillary in a WSJ article entitled, Why Obama Should Pick Hillary,
“Let’s start with one undisputable fact: Sen. Clinton is the only Democrat who gives Sen. Obama a statistically significant boost in any national poll results.”
“This is not a criticism of other candidates. This is simply a fact — a product of Sen. Clinton’s nearly 18-month national campaign in all 50 states and the 18 million votes she won. “
“Can Sen. Obama win without Sen. Clinton on the ticket? Yes he can. Majorities favor his views on most of the economic issues. And his European trip was virtually flawless, demonstrating that he can walk, talk and act like a president in foreign affairs and with foreign leaders.”
“However, with Sen. Clinton on the ticket, I do not believe Sen. Obama can lose. She adds important strength to Sen. Obama’s in the key constituencies of women, blue-collar workers and senior citizens. And, thus, she could tip the balance in such key border states as West Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas (not apparently in play for Sen. Obama as of now), as well as in the key battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida.”
I’ve continually believed that Hillary was never really an option for VP – not as long as Michelle Obama had anything to say about it. How qualified she may or may not be, nor how many voters she could possibly bring in mattered. It was the opinion of the person who influences Barack the most that mattered.
Dana (1cc5ab) — 8/1/2008 @ 7:30 amToday Obama is shifting to his soak the oil companies for the next “economic stimulus” meme.
Given Exxon/Mobil made $11 billion on the quarter while paying $34 billion in taxes .. this looks like Obama is trying to use that the old phony IRS form that states ..
Bring a new reality to an old joke isn’t exactly the kind of change anybody was expecting.
Neo (cba5df) — 8/1/2008 @ 7:41 am#9
love2008 (c7c069) — 8/1/2008 @ 7:44 ambut, if say 3 million of them (the same number as went for Ralph Nader in 2000) were to switch their votes . . . ?
No problem with that Icy. That will be made up by the 3 million or more Reps who will not vote for John McCain. Oh come on, you don’t honestly think every Republican will vote for John Mccain do you?
There is a large difference between not voting for McCain (I won’t be voting for him, for example, unless some serious changes are made) and voting for Obama (which won’t happen without serious brain injuries).
Those Hillary supporters aren’t just going to be leaving that line blank – they will be actively voting for Obama, and the non-votes for McCain won’t be helping him one bit, primarily because Obama’s support is highest among those who don’t make a large showing at the polls in the first place.
Your feelings don’t matter, polls don’t matter. What matters is the result of the election this November.
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 8/1/2008 @ 8:07 amthey will be actively voting for McCain.
(ducks)
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 8/1/2008 @ 8:08 am#14
love2008 (c7c069) — 8/1/2008 @ 8:56 am(ducks)
Yeah you better Drumwater, you better. You know…
#7
Haven’t read of a mass exodus from HRC’s camp to BHO. got stats?
Hillary’s people are watching him very closely and with good reason. Also, with the right VP choice, McCain can siphon some Hillary voters as well as undecideds. And her big donors are not sending anything over to Obama. That’s been in the news..
Also it’s risky to get too cocky like Obama. Time is his enemy in this contest, imo.
Vermont Neighbor (31ccb6) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:23 amTime is his enemy in this contest, imo.
Not sure if you’re referring to O or McCain…but I think time is Obama’s enemy as it allows him more opportunity to get publicly stuck in his self-made spin cycle, which in turn if smartly handled could be a great advantage to McCain…so far, unfortunately, haven’t seen much of that smartly handled though…
Dana (b4a26c) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:31 amThere’s a whole group of them, but I don’t know the numbers (yet). The most famous such group call themselves “PUMA” (Link)
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:36 amOh, wait, I thought you were talking about the Dem voters who would rather vote for McCain than Obama.
Mea culpa.
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:38 am#11 Neo- read headline somewhere today that Obama wants the evil US oil companies to give each of us $1000. That’s fine by me. I’m sure the far left and illegal aliens are down with that. What would that be…300 billion george washingtons who don’t look like obama. Maybe someone recalls and can put up a link?
I did just see Hot Air video that dem congress won’t act on drilling even if gas were $10 a gallon. They should be hammered for their idiocy.
madmax333 (0c6cfc) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:44 amEff the greens, obamaturds and agw fanatics, although they are likely inclusive.
I read this morning (somewhere) that the “record” profits by Exxon-Mobil totaled $11+ billion.
What the story also mentioned is that XOM paid more than $30 billion in taxes.
The implication when speaking of this “profit” is that the oil companies are sticking that money away in a bank somewhere, ignoring the fact that those profits are being used to pay stockholders (such as all those thousands of pensions and other investors – the little guy, IOW), and so that would end.
Just another income redistribution scheme, out of our right pocket into our left (after Uncle Sam takes his half, of course). All so we can elect a man with no other accomplishments.
I believe it was de Tocqueville that said that we can keep our Republic only until Washington figures out that it can bribe the citizens with their own money. Sound familiar? 🙁
I need to go gun shopping…
Drumwaster (5ccf59) — 8/1/2008 @ 9:54 amLooks like the Obamathon’s getting grief from an unexpected source, the black community:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/barack_obama_interrupted_by_pr.html
His progressive supporters immediately tried to take the protester’s signs down, all in the name of openness and freedom. Then they all joined together in signing his Holiness’s Happy B – Day (this is not a joke).
Dmac (416471) — 8/1/2008 @ 10:10 am#12 – love2008
That will be made up by the 3 million or more Reps who will not vote for John McCain. Oh come on, you don’t honestly think every Republican will vote for John Mccain do you?
— I never said that every registered Republican that votes will choose John McCain. Will the number that don’t be as high as 3 million? Doubtful. The outcome of the election, as it always does, hinges on what the independent voters decide.
Icy Truth (31efee) — 8/2/2008 @ 4:58 am