Democrats are using the argument that Sarah Palin is not the most qualified candidate for Vice President. Going down this line of reasoning leads us to examine all the candidates. Namely, is Barack Obama the “best candidate”. Yes, that was a voters choice and not a candidate’s choice, however, the question still comes up. Democrats, deep down, know that Obama-Biden is not the “best” ticket they could have put forward.
Late last year, I made predictions for the election (predicting: making unsubstantiated pronouncements and hoping one of them works out so you can claim you’re a genius). My analysis was this:
- Hillary/X vs. Republican/X - Republican wins by less than 1%. If I had been smart enough to guess the nominee was going to be McCain (who at the time was broke and flying commercial by himself), I would have thought McCain by 2%+. Hillary is destroyed by the Bush->Clinton->Bush->Clinton argument. This is a year for change and Dynasty is off the air.
- Obama/X vs. Republican/X - Obama wins by 1%. Romney, Giuliani, or McCain get edged by Obama. Huckabee gets smoked.
Now 1% isn’t a lot and either race could have flip flopped on the strength of one strange occurrence. But the Democrat uber ticket all along was Hillary/Obama.
- Hillary has the baggage of dynasty. Obama inoculates against this.
- What a historical ticket!
- Obama gains much needed on the job training.
- Democrats can look forward to 16 years in the White House.
There’s no way around the fact that Hillary/Obama was the best ticket for Democrats. Obama’s ego simply would not allow him to wait. He wasn’t running for VP. Obama wants all the marbles.
Obama/Hillary could never work even though Hillary is a “better” choice than Biden.
Saying Sarah Palin is not the best choice for Republicans brings up the issue of whether or not Barack Obama is the best choice for Democrats. We all know that’s not true, no matter how much we hope it would be.
Technorati Tags: Election, hillary, Obama, palin, Politics
HIllary’s best hope of being President at this point is to win in 2012. A President Obama would be a severe roadblock to this goal. How can Hillary help to defeat Obama, while simultaneously be seen as 100% supportive of the first African-American presidential nominee?
Dick Morris’ answer is familiar: she’ll use Bill. Bill Clinton can charm, and guffaw, and oops I didn’t mean that, and aw shucks like no one else on the planet. Bill can drop bombs and slip away clean better than any stealth bomber. He got caught a bit in the primary. He will try again.
Fortunately, for Hillary, she’s already planted the seeds. In the primary, Hillary said that McCain was more fit to be President than Obama. She can say nothing now and chalk everything up to tough primary campaigning and exalt Barack as the superior candidate. The doubts are out there. The Republicans are already using these quotes and Hillary can sit back and pretend this bothers her.
Hillary (and Biden) on video telling an audience that McCain is a better choice than Obama is campaign commercial gold. Expect to see them in late October.
The Clintons really make a beautiful political spectacle.
Technorati Tags: bill clinton, election 2012, hillary, Obama, president
Hillary Clinton has a serious dilemma on her hands. This was her best year to get elected. If Obama wins, tow things can happen. Obama is a miserable failure; this would allow her to run 2012, but puts the whoever the Democrat candidate is at a definite disadvantage. Obama is average to a roaring success; she can’t seriously contend until 2016. She’ll be in her 70’s. If McCain is too old now, age would be a definite handicap for Hillary, fairly or not.
Hillary’s best chance at the Presidency now is a McCain win and she runs in 2012. McCain may not run for a second term, may die, or may be very vulnerable if his first term goes poorly. Hillary would be the clear front runner. If Obama loses now, Democrats would be loathe to give him a second chance. 2008 would be an emotionally painful memory for Democrats if Obama loses.
All she can do now is hope a very secret hope. Or can she. The Clinton’s are not know for being passive witnesses to history. It will be interesting to watch their moves as this campaign unfolds.
Technorati Tags: hillary, president 2012
Obama snubbed Hillary. Many people are confused as to why.
Dick Morris, former Bill Clinton adviser, nailed the way the VP selection process would play out. If you’re not on his email list, go to his site and sign up today. Morris’analysis was perfect.
Obama could not pick Hillary. While Obama-Hillary would seem the perfect Demoratic ticket, it’s a nightmare for President Obama.
You spend way too much time answering questions about Bill and his scandals and speaking fees, etc. Obama still needs to define himself and as a change candidate, talking about the good old days of the roaring ’90s is more than a little awkward.
Bill Clinton stumping for you is a double edge sword. Bill Clinton is a fantastic orator. His speech on Wednesday night, was better delivered than Obama’s acceptance speech despite Obama’s speech being more important historically. Clinton has a level of comfort and ease with a crowd that is masterful. This is all fine with Clinton speaking as “a democrat”. Add the possibility of “Bill back in the White House” and you’ve got a huge problem. Bill Clinton can steal the limelight without trying. He would be trying.
If you managed to get elected, it’s going to be extraordinarily annoying watching the spouse of your VP getting more press time than you. And when your VP and her spouse move together, forget about it. This is unacceptable to any President.
So drop Hillary. You can still make history by picking another woman. Wrong.
Picking another woman would be a huge slap in the face to Hillary. Is it ego? Yes. Is it misguided? Maybe. Does any of that matter. No. Obama could not pick a female running mate.
Since Obama could not pick a female running mate, McCain should. And lo, as told by Morris, he did.
So the Obama supporters are attacking McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin saying “he only picked this woman because Hillary isn’t on the ticket”.
Ok, you may be “right”, but that is a horrible, horrible argument to proffer to women who have just had their candidate denied the opportunity of a historic campaign. It’s demeaning to Palin as a woman. She’s not some pretty secretary grabbed from some city planners office. She is governor of Alaska. She has been in executive government positions for over a decade.
Remember, McCain doesn’t have to beat Obama with women. Obama should be destroying McCain amongst women. Obama was running below historical averages for the traditional Democrat lead amongst women in polls before the Palin announcement. If McCain just holds ground, Obama has real problems.
Technorati Tags: bill clinton, Feminism, hillary, Obama, vice president
