Friday, May 23, 2008
helium or hot air?
The Hillary VP balloon - is it helium or hot air?- smacks of the Ford/Reagan dance in '76 when Ford looked like a sure loser & Reagan's people wanted a negotiated co-presidency. But Obama is in good shape in the polls & Hillary Clinton doesn't represent an opposing ideological faction of the Democratic Party. In '80, Reagan used Bush to settle down the Ford wing & it turned out he didn't need to do it. But VPs don't have to be powerless. They can be wonky advisors like Gore, or the real brains of the outfit, like Cheney. One problem with Hillary is Obama gets Billary, which means he risks all the trouble he's had from them in the primary, but inside his own campaign.
I think a large number of Clinton voters had no intention of voting for her in November anyway. All those voters in PA & Ohio & West Virginia & Kentucky know the difference between President & Vice President. If economically-stressed white Democratic voters prefer McCain - who has never in his entire life had to deal with their concerns - to Obama, then the problem is racism, & putting Clinton on the ticket won't help. They still get a choice between a black president & white president, if that's what really matters to them. The older feminists who see Hillary Clinton & hear Helen Reddy singing "I am woman, hear me roar" need to take another look at Nancy Pelosi, who already has real power, & consider the advantages of a Democratic President & Democratic Congress.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I think a large number of Clinton voters had no intention of voting for her in November anyway. All those voters in PA & Ohio & West Virginia & Kentucky know the difference between President & Vice President. If economically-stressed white Democratic voters prefer McCain - who has never in his entire life had to deal with their concerns - to Obama, then the problem is racism, & putting Clinton on the ticket won't help. They still get a choice between a black president & white president, if that's what really matters to them. The older feminists who see Hillary Clinton & hear Helen Reddy singing "I am woman, hear me roar" need to take another look at Nancy Pelosi, who already has real power, & consider the advantages of a Democratic President & Democratic Congress.
Labels: THE election
