Hillary Aiming for Vice President
Greg Sargent reports for TPM Election Central that an ally of Hillary Clinton told him (Greg) that Clinton had authorized him (the ally) to launch a Hillary for VP campaign. The ally in question: Robert Johnson, the founder of BET and a key Hillary supporter.
In this interview Johnson said the following:
Johnson said he began discussing the vice presidency with Clinton last month and that they talked about it at a dinner in Puerto Rico last Saturday and again by phone and e-mail on Tuesday. “Let me be clear,” Johnson said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. “She said if asked to do this, she must accept because she believes that it is in the best interest of the party that the party come together and win in November.”
To recap: Clinton told Johnson one month ago already that, if asked, she would accept a VP slot. This is well before Obama could claim the Democratic nomination. Quite some supporters of Hillary Clinton still thought she had a chance of winning the nomination back then.
In other words; Clinton is more pragmatical and down-to-earth than many of her most passionate supporters (in the blogosphere).
It’s also interesting to see that, according to Johnson, one of her reasons for saying ‘yes’ if she was offered the position, was that she believed - and presumably still believes - that the Democratic Party has to unite if it wants to win in November.
And then:
Johnson said he talked specifically with Clinton on Tuesday about his intentions. “She said, ‘Go ahead,’” he recalled, although asked that he wait until Wednesday to do so.
That’s fascinating stuff. If this is correct, Hillary herself is now aiming at becoming Obama’s running mate. This admission is significant.
As I see it, choosing Hillary would make a lot of sense for Obama. She has more experience than he has, she has a gigantic donor list as well, she has very active and passionate supporters, and she has a tremendous infrastructure which he can use for the general elections. On top of that, he needs her if he wants to unite the Democratic Party; the party isn’t just divided, it’s also clearly divided among certain lines. Working class whites favor Clinton and harbor a great dislike for Obama. Older voters prefer Clinton as well. Younger voters prefer Obama. Highly educated voters as well. Same goes for blacks. But Hispanics, on the other hand, are strong supporters of Clinton. This is a voting bloc the Democrats need now and in the future. Obama has a “Hispanic problem,” Clinton doesn’t.
Choosing Hillary would make a lot of sense… which is probably why Jimmy Carter tells Obama to choose someone else for VP.
This does NOT mean that Hillary wants to be Vice President. As I explain over at Stubborn Facts, Hillary is floating all this as a threat, essentially. She wants power at the convention, and accepting the Vice President nomination wouldn’t give her much. But because Carter is right (boy, never thought I would say THAT), and it would be a really stupid idea for Obama to have her as his V-P candidate, the threat of seeking the Vice Presidency will give her substantial leverage at the convention; prime speaking roles, control over the platform, selection of the next DNC chair, and, I have predicted for 2 weeks, Senate Majority Leader.
This is politics, folks. Things are often not as they seem.
Regarding Clinton as VP, the following should send up a red flag.Diebold is the biggest maker of voting machines in America, and those machines have been shown to be unreliable.United Technologies is a huge military contractor that has benefited greatly from war. United Technologies offered to buy Diebold for about 66% over current stock value, as long as the deal was done quickly.When Diebold turned down the offer, UT said it would go directly to shareholders and go after Diebold anyway. Now for the tie-ins..Hillary Clinton’s chief advisor, Mark Penn, is the CEO of Burson-Martseller, a DC public relations firm. Mark Penn is probably responsible for much of the negative tone and outright faleshoods being put out by the Clinton campaign.Burson-Martseller owns BKSH, run by another lobbyist, Charlie Black. Black is a top player in the McCain campaign.United Technologies is a client of Burson-Martseller and BKSH.So a top player in Clinton’s campaign is the boss of a top player in McCains campaign and both of them are representing a defense contractor that wants to buy the company that makes the machines that will count the vote in many states. Machines that will count the vote without a paper trail or back-ups, in most cases.
And so it begins…. if the lefty candidate doesn’t win, it can only be because of fraud.
Gee, RWP, who screwed up and let Obama actually win the primary? Did Diebold get the marching orders wrong?
it’s simple
She offers nothing to his campaign.
Choosing Clinton as VP would be insane.
It’s not impossible that Obama is insane, but I think not.
What criteria to do they use to pick the VP? Some considerations include geographic balance, ideological balance, as with Reagan choosing George H.W. Bush, or ideological reinforcement, as with Clinton/Gore or Bush/Cheney. So if it’s balance, that would mean Obama selecting someone white, and McCain selecting someone that’s not a crazy old hothead. Balance doesn’t have to mean skin color, but for McCain, yes, you’re right.
More here: http://www.236.com/news/2008/06/05/faq_the_vice_presidency_6712.php
I WANT TO FIX HILLARY CLINTON FOR STAYING WITH BILL WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED HIM OVER:
1. HIS ANTIMASTURBATION
2. HIS CHEATING ADULTERY
ALSO IM AGAINST HER NOT LISTENING TO ME ABOUT VOTING AGAINST THE ANTI POKER BILL (PHONE CALLS, LETTERS) AND RECEIVING FUNDING FROM HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY OVERCHARGING AND AGE DISCRIMINATING. I ALSO BELIEVE LIKE JOE LIEBERMAN THAT BILL CLINTON SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED AFTER ILLEGALLY CHEATING ON HIS WIFE.