Will Hillary Give Obama The Vice Pres Nod?

I think this is an interesting question. I seriously doubt that Hillary would offer it to him. I do think that if offered, Obama will accept it. After all, he would still be relatively young in 8 years and would be the logical choice as a candidate then. And even if they lose the election, he would still be a strong force in 4 years assuming he does not go foot-tapping in any restroom stalls. :wink:

My guess is that this is precisely how things will turn out.

Not a chance in the world. Obama woould never accept it... and Hillary would never ask. Obama doesn't offer anything to Hillary for the general campaign... in fact, Obama only offers things she already has. She will pick someone who helps her in areas where she is perceived as weak.

Obama is the real deal. If he doesn't get the nod this time, he will keep his powder dry for next time. The vice presidency would be a step down for him (at least in his current bright future).

This perception that a Hillary/Obama ticket is possible hurts Obama's campaign.

I suspect (and would advise) he will put an end to this possibility in the near future.

ten bucks?

Historically I don't think it works out that way very often. I can't think off hand of a Presidential candidate that chose their main inter-party rival as their VP. (Kerry did chose Edwards but their primary results weren't even close and that was only after Dean's campaign collapsed.)

Could be interesting if it does happen though.

Canadian or US? (I don't want to go broke you know).

Two in one
was/is/will be
like an unfulfilled AMERICAN DREAM.
A lady and a non-white
at the top of the political ladder is impossible
after the past few years misrule.

She won't ask him.

I have a feeling he wouldn't accept too.

Very funny. Let's make it canadian...merely because the bills are so pretty.

Fine... ten loonies if Hillary nominates Obama for vice president.

Let's call it a push if Hillary doesn't win the nomination.

Christ, you've already had Hillary as president for 8 years. Do you really want her again. The US political system must be completely f@cked up if she's the best non-conservative option.

Calm down Wilso... no one here has said they want Hillary to win-- and certainly not me.

I have been against her winning the nomination from the very beginning.

But she is staking out the centrist position (a place that worked very well for Bill). It seems there are a lot of people who want a centrist in the White House. Edwards is appealing to the progressive left, and Obama is somewhere in between.

I still hope she doesn't win.

there's already a bet goin' on this somewhere around here ...




(can you afford loonies, ebrown? a few local places have signs up - "we accept u.s. $ at par" - gotta hope you can find one of those places)

If we can clarify, can I get some of that? No way she'll offer it to him (if she's the nominee), and no way he'll take it.

So, is the bet that she'll offer it, or that she'll offer, and he'll accept?

Will Hillary Give Obama The Vice Pres Nod?
Could she "persuade" him to be her VP? She's not all that ethical. She would probably go for it just to have the black vote or to go for the whole historical factor (Woman pres and black man vp). For Obama's side, it would have to be something big to persuade him to join ranks with the likes of Hillary. I think he wouldn't accept either way though. It could ruin his career in the long term by not accepting, but he might recover.

That was me, and we had terms and everything. (It was just offer, not offer-and-accept, if I remember right.)

I want Hilary to win.

&

I would love an Obama VP nod.

Democrats in the WH for at least 16 years with that ticket.

No way will Hillary ask Obama.

- Hillary is a very disciplined and strong-willed politician. I bet she already has a very clear idea what she wants to do, if she were elected, how and when. As Veep, she will want someone more or less pliable.

- As Ebrown already pointed out, there is little to no strategic advantage in Obama as Veep constituency-wise. Obama does best among young, high-educated voters - voters that are already overwhelmingly likely to go for Hillary over any Republican. And of all the white politicians in the race, Hillary is the one that least needs a Veep to shore up support among blacks - she's already got that plenty.

- On the same theme, Obama and Hillary are both groundbreakers. Either of them as presidential nominee involves a major gamble on how far Americans have come on gender and race; both in one race is just reckless. And if there's one thing Hillary is not, it's reckless.

- Obama and the Clintons represent different schools and cultures within the Democratic Party. Their respective consultants are pulled from different, contrasting social pools. Most of Hillary's team is pulled from the old DLC, New Democrat pool, people who initially supported the Iraq war. Obama's umfeld appears to be almost exclusively pulled from the progressive strand that was critical already of Bill Clinton, and was against the war from the start.

They just have very different frames of reference as well as political networks, which means a degree of mutual distrust is built in from the start. And I think Hillary is someone who wants a Veep she has known for some time and trusts. In general, while with constituencies there's a deliberate mix and matching going on (if the nominee is Northeastern, a Southern Veep is chosen etc), politicians I think do tend to draw on the reserve of people that are part of their trusted network, people theyve worked with before or who are friends of close friends, etc.

- As Fishin already pointed out, it is simply very rare for any nominee to pick a major rival from the primaries as Veep. When was the last time? Reagan in '80 with Bush Sr.? Some bad blood will unavoidably have crept in by the time Hillary would choose a Veep, and the Clintons are known for having relatively long memories - loyal to allies, reluctant about rivals.

- Cheney is the big exception as far as the power that Veeps wield go. In general, the Veep really has a rather symbolic position, with little to actually do. Sure you get the successor position thrown into your lap, but with likely eight years to go before you get the chance, and in the meantime a modest wingspan to be creative with. For someone as energetic and ambitious as Obama that must seem tormentous.

I can imagine him considering the position on the condition that he gets a beefy role in policymaking, more on the Cheney than on the Quayle end of the scale - which is exactly what I think Hillary will not be wanting to offer.

Blah, Blah blah. Blatham, you bettin me, or not?