Saturday, April 26, 2008

Hillary for Veep?

Kevin Drum provides a little solace for those of us worried that this interminable Democratic primary is harming the party's chances in the fall (see also: Chait Cohn and Douthat). Apparently the Clinton - Obama bickering isn't really helping McCain at all in the polls.

Elections are non-reproducible experiments, and all the myriad commentators are simply generals re-fighting the last war, so really ... who knows what the fall will bring. Still, I keep wondering if a "party unity" Obama-Clinton ticket will emerge out of the fray? As a strong Obama supporter, I know this isn't a likely or popular position to take. I still think the winds are blowing in a Democratic direction this year and either Obama or Clinton can realistically beat McCain, but it seems to me a unity ticket might still be the best option for doing so.

Barring any shenanigans it looks like Obama has the nomination within his grasp and it's possible that the party elders will pressure him to offer the veep job to Hillary to stave off a total convention meltdown. And actually she might be a good fit. A good VP brings balance to the ticket and serves as an attack dog, allowing the candidate to stay above the fray. Hillary could easily fill both roles. She might also quiet criticism about Obama's lack of experience -- playing Johnson to his Kennedy, Bush to his Reagan.

Plus, in a weird way, taking the VP job might be Hillary's best path to the Oval Office. But, like I said, who really knows?

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