Hillary's Political Obituary

Remove all ads!

Ah, I see. I thought this thread was started post-Saturday concession. All better now.

 

Sure. Of course, I never quite got it why it was so important that her concession speech came in the same day as Obama's victory speech - a concession is a pretty big decision, so it's only normal that she takes a day or two to evaluate her options and come to terms with the situation. If there's one thing Hillary has proven in this campaign, it is that she hates losing. That's not necessarily a bad thing, by the way - politicians can't be successful if they are not particularly driven and ambitious.

Anyway, I don't think she'd be the right VP for Obama; I'd rather see him with someone like Edwards. Right now, Hillary's greatest contribution would be if she can convince all her supporters to back Obama.

By the way, I think someone owes me a cookie from the bet that Hillary would not support Obama if she loses... Was it you, LKD ?

 

Yeah, it was me -- log onto my website and I'll put a whack of cookies on your computer for you

No way Obama will let her anywhere near the VP slot, and to be honest I wouldn't let her near the cabinet if I were him either. She's a liability to huim and to the party IMHO.

 

I think you're being a bit too negative about her, but it's your call. At any rate, I think Obama can find a Veep with less political and personal baggage - though from what I've heard, George Bush Sr had one heck of a fight with Reagan in the primaries before becoming his VP, so it would not be unheard of.

 

This is definitely true, but HW didn't carry anything near Hillary Clinton's political and personal baggage.

 

The Hill would help Obama in the states where he is weak. And all those white women who supported her could just as easliy vote for Mac instead. If Obama is pragmatic he will have her on his ticket. But, if I was Obama it would be very difficult to have her after her conduct during the primary. I think he should pass on her if he can come up with a better woman for the slot. If he chooses any male besides Edwards, he can write off half of the women who supported Hillary. So he should choose carefully in that regard.

 

Perhaps, but there are two sides of the "baggage" coin (just what do you mean by personal baggage, anyway). Hillary may be a fiigure villified by millions, but she is also a hero for many. She has a solid base of supporters that might not be very friendly to Obama over his campaign's (real or imagined) insults to her.

I guess there are two questions that need to be answered - can they work together and will she bring a higher net gain of votes for the Obama campaign than any other candidate. I personally doubt the second one, myself.

 

Hmmm... The first post-primary poll has Obama leading among the groups that Hillary dominated - like white women, Hispanics and blue collar workers. So, what's up with that?

The other interesting thing that I saw in the poll, is one area where Barack isn't doing so well is among white men - and that's a group that did support Obama during the primaries. While I think there is more upside than downside to adding Hillary to the ticket, I'm not sure it will make a big difference overall. In the end, you're voting for a president, and the VP usually only helps you win the state that the VP is from. So in this case, Obama has a better chance of carrying Arkansas if he picks Hillary. (He's winning New York no matter who he picks as VP.)

There are very few people who are currently opposed to voting for Barack that will vote for him just because he picks Hillary as VP. Similarly, if you support Barack, you're likely going to vote for him regardless of whom he selects for the VP job - and that's why I think there's more upside (and this also answers The Shaman's second question) with Clinton. If you like Obama, you're going to vote him whether he picks Hillary or someone else. If you supported Hillary though, you're MORE likely to vote for Obama if he picks Hillary, despite the fact that it appears he doesn't need her for the blue collar, Hispanic, or female vote. Maybe she can bring in some more seniors? The point being, I don't see any loss of voters in picking Clinton, and a potential gain of quite a few...

 

Well, that's good to see, because, as was noted in the article you posted, those white woman voters, elected GWB in 2000 and 2004. That's a pretty good indication that there is deep disatifaction with the Republican Party among those voters, and that Obama is picking up Hill's supporters, despite all the talk during the primary of crossing-over if xxxx candidate lost.

 

BTW, can anyone point me of a list of the biggest missteps and/or attacks of the three major campaigns, and Clinton's in particular? I may need it for another forum.