Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Honorable Gentleman from New York

This is a fun idea. Well, at least part of it is. Senator William Jefferson Clinton would obviously be a powerful force for the Democratic side, though one wonders if he would be more of a headache than an ally for President Obama. And Clinton, being the political animal that everyone says he is, might not view the constant fundraising and gladhanding as beneath the dignity of an ex-president. Then again, the only precedent author Jack Bass can come up with is Representative John Quincy Adams, though he also might add Chief Justice William Howard Taft. That's not too encouraging.

Unfortunately, Bass pegs his scheme to Hillary leaving her senate seat in order to stand as Obama's veep. Honestly, I don't understand how anyone who's not either Republican or a part of Hillary's campaign can think this is a good idea. The advantages of Hillary as a running mate--the disappearance of the spurious danger of a divided Democratic side--are far outweighed by the disadvantages: namely, that half the country's voters and a majority of independents avidly dislike her. Presumably, almost assuredly, Hillary for veep would be enough to drive such voters to McCain. The solution to Democratic division is for Hillary to act like a grown-up, admit defeat graciously, make a few campaign stops for Obama, point out how much her agenda resembles his, and then return to New York to work with the new president in January 2009. This doesn't need to be too complicated.

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