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Clinton and Obama A Dream Ticket? Why?
By Bill | February 4, 2008 | Email This Post
During a recent Democratic debate, Wolf Blitzer gave public voice to an idea that’s been kicked around by politicos for a while now: What about the possibility of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama teaming up? Polls show the Democratic vote split between them, and they have largely different natural constituencies: young vs. old, black vs. white, men vs. women, and so on. Why not dispense with all the fuss and give the country what it has, presumably, been clamoring for, the best of both worlds?
An approving murmur ran through the audience. Even my first thought was, yes, that would “be cool.” But on further reflection - and not that much further, the cool factor wore off within a second or two - the question arose: Why would this be a dream ticket?
I came up with one answer: because of how it looks: black and female. You might like Obama (and you don’t like Clinton, let’s be clear on that. Nobody does. People might feel she’s the best choice, think she’s the most likely to win, agree with some policy she endorses, and so on… but basically nobody votes for Hillary because they like her) but you don’t want to miss the opportunity to vote for the first serious female candidate for President, or at least show you’re forward-thinking enough not to vote against her (two very different reasons.) Obama has a slightly different problem, of course. He’s got the likeablility thing covered, but the question of his experience and electability is still up in the air.
My advice? Forget all that. Forget how they look, or that you would like to be part of a society that’s free enough from sexism or bigotry to elect a woman or black man. Instead, ask yourself:
- Do I agree with their goal of mandated universal health care (which Clinton says will come at no added bureaucracy… believe that if you can.)
- Do I agree with their goal of getting American troops out of Iraq - at all costs?
- Do I agree with their stand on gay rights (both are against gay marriage… that may surprise a number of readers.)
- Do I agree with their energy policies (cutting carbon emissions 80% by 2050, invest $150 billion over ten years in developing alternative energy sources.)
- Do I agree with their educational goals (Clinton: universal pre-K for four year olds; Obama: ” key emphasis at early care and education for infants.”)
- Am I of in favor of direct diplomacy with foreign governments/regimes/dictators whose actions are distasteful to us (as opposed to our theoretical current policy, not to talk to them until they agree to straighten up. Unless they’re really big and powerful, or otherwise useful of course.)
If your answer is yes to all of the above, the Clinton/Obama duo may very well be your dream ticket. If so, by all means, vote for them. If not… perhaps your sentiments are elsewhere, regardless of how good voting for such a duo would make you feel.
Pragmatically, of course, there are obstacles to forming such a team. Not the least of which is they may simply not need each other, and after the heat of the campaign why would you want someone who almost beat you second guessing you at every turn?
My opinion is that Clinton picking Obama as her VP is much more likely than the reverse. Polls show Hillary in trouble against any eventual Republican nominee; she’s in very real danger of losing what ought to be a cakewalk for the Democratic party. She may need the instant popularity boost Obama could provide, and Ms. Clinton wants this job badly - I believe she’ll stop at nothing to get elected, even if she has to swallow a couple of Tums and pick a VP that she wants nothing to do with (perhaps that’s explainable as simple good politics rather than covetousness.) Obama, on the other hand, doesn’t need Clinton nearly so much to balance out the ticket.
As for Obama accepting the job of second in command, why on earth would he? He’s got at least one, possibly two more Presidential runs left in him should he fail to win this time around. Far better to continue to spend the next four or eight years being the popular outsider everyone wishes had won the White House than to toil ignominiously in the Vice President’s office under a boss you don’t really like.
Just ask Al Gore.
Topics: Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton |