Friday, May 23. 2008The View from the Couch: DoldrumsWhy should Hillary Clinton be the veep choice? It isn't just because when the two top primary contenders in both parties, however nasty to each other during the race (indeed, it may be a requirement), they usually win if paired on the ticket--see JFK LBJ, Reagan/GHWB--it is because putting Hillary second would actually disarm the Republican attack machine, remove from its arsenal all the anti-Obama things Clinton herself and her people may have uttered over the long primary season. It defuses criticism by means of the audacity (a word Obama loves) of the choice; hold your enemies closer, etc. The Republicans would have to attack the entire ticket, which they plan to do in any case. They just won't be able to effectively use Clinton clips. The downside criticism one hears is that it would marshal the Hillary haters out there, but even haters find it hard to muster the energy to go after the second name on the ticket with much ferocity. Dan Quayle, who helped George H.W. Bush lose his second term, stands as a counter example; he brought most of his unflattering media attention on himself, by acting like such a boob. The veep candidate has to go out of his/her way to drag down a ticket. And the do-no-harm kind of pick often does harm by omission. John Edwards brought the Kerry campaign nothing; if Hillary became the nominee and not picked Obama, she would have been making the same mistake Obama would make by not selecting her. Some in the past have offered up our Evan Bayh as a possible Clinton running mate; he would have been Edwards squared, though raising the chances, but not to the level of a sure thing, of winning the state . We're approaching the-eye-of-the-storm part of the election cycle. For the next couple of months we will only see the denouement of the primary season, and a glum set of experiences that will be, and more speculation on the veep world, which will be largely rumor and denial. McCain will sit on his selection till Obama chooses; that alone would make it productive for Obama to pick one soon, well before the convention, especially if it is Hillary. Then they could force McCain's hand, get the main attraction going. Otherwise, it is summer doldrums ahead; expensive gas, candidates banishing the Rev. Hagees of the world, the press even being forced to turn a small part of its attention to our current president. That will be a joy. The problem with veeps is that the choice shows the mettle of the candidate. It's a major act of judgment and character. Both JFK and Reagan selected those who gave them the most grief, showing their stout sense of selves, choices who also helped pave their way to the White House. Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
I'm not convinced Hillary would benefit Obama's campaign. Why would the GOP be afraid to use Hillary's criticisms of Obama if she's his VP? Wouldn't that make them more damning? They'd be able to accuse both Obama and Hillary of cynicism: Obama for going after Hillary's votes and Hillary for still being desperate for the presidency.
Plus, Republican party hacks are not afraid to hypocritically accuse their opponents of things they're actually worse at: Kerry and his war records (vs. Bush's), Obama as a terrible public speaker (seriously...), and Rove saying the GOP needs to focus on things like health care to win the election (has gay marriage lost its fervor?). In addition, whereas Bill turned out to be a liability to the Hillary campaign, Hillary might fire off a few untimely or ill-advised remarks this fall, too. Edwards not only brought nothing to the Kerry ticket, but had his own campaign slogan and worked against or ignored the wishes of the Kerry campaign--because Edwards still wanted to be president and really didn't like Kerry. That being said, I'm thinking Edwards might not be bad for the Obama ticket. I know, but hear me out. I don't think there's the rivalry with Obama that was present with Kerry, and this time I think Edwards would bring some voters on board (these overworked middle class uneducated whites Hillary is always talking about). And I'm sure Edwards learned a lesson or two from 2004, and probably realizes this would be his last shot at the presidency in eight years. One last point--even if the GOP were sheepish about using Hillary's attack points were she VP, do you think the media would be so afraid? Every criticism she made of Obama would come right back as a "Do-ye-thinky-now?" question. There'd probably be made-up stories of in-fighting, grudges, etc. Hillary's just too much of a media obsession. Comment (1)
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||
 |
||
