The Vice Presidential Quest It has not even been one week since Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Nominee title, that we now must listen to blather about Hillary Clinton being his VP nod.
I wrote earlier on Wednesday, that it is Obama's choice and his choice only. In fact, it was Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, who stated with his eloquent charm that, "You can't leverage the President of the United States to make you Vice President. It's like an arranged marriage it doesn't work," said Rendell Thursday afternoon. "I don't think you're entitled. I think the presidential nominee has the right to pick someone he or she is comfortable with, compatible with." I hope the Clinton surrogates get and UNDERSTAND what Rendell said.
Obama has indicated strongly that the next time he talks of VP it will be when he announces the VP candidate. This had to be stated since the Clinton surrogates were hot and heavy handed in trying to force Obama's hand for VP selection by going to the media and hocking Clinton's name. This backfired as Obama announced his three team VP selection committee of Jim Johnson, Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy. Thus, we saw a Clinton press release stating she is not interested or seeking the VP slot.
So, we all need to take Obama's lead and chill. If Clinton can pass the vetting process, along with her husband and if Barack feels she would be an asset to the ticket, then fine. What we don't want is a pressured candidate to accept a nominee as John Kerry was pressured to do with John Edwards. They were two different individuals who were not playing the same game during that campaign and it showed.
Barack Obama will pick the best and most qualified person to be his running mate, not the other way around. This will also include being in synch, the same vision, and no drama added going forward; an Obama MANDATE for what has made his campaign a success within, as well as outward.
Barack Obama was campaigning last October in South Carolina when he got an urgent call from Penny Pritzker, the hotel heiress who leads his campaign's finance committee. About 200 of his biggest fund raisers were meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, and among them, near panic was setting in. Pritzker's team had raised money faster than any other campaign ever had. Its candidate was drawing mega-crowds wherever he went. Yet he was still running at least 20 points behind Hillary Clinton in polls. His above-the-fray brand of politics just wasn't getting the job done, and some of his top moneymen were urging him to rethink his strategy, shake up his staff, go negative. You'd better get here, Pritzker told Obama. And fast.
Obama made an unscheduled appearance that Sunday night and called for a show of hands from his finance committee. "Can I see how many people in this room I told that this was going to be easy?" he asked. "If anybody signed up thinking it was going to be easy, then I didn't make myself clear." A win in Iowa, Obama promised, would give him the momentum he needed to win across the map - but his backers wouldn't see much evidence of progress before then. "We're up against the most formidable team in 25 years," he said. "But we've got a plan, and we've got to have faith in it."
More than seven months later, that faith has been rewarded. The 2008 presidential campaign has produced its share of surprises, but one of the most important is that a newcomer from Chicago put together by far the best political operation of either party. Obama's campaign has been that rare, frictionless machine that runs with the energy of an insurgency and the efficiency of a corporation. His team has lacked what his rivals' have specialized in: there have been no staff shake-ups, no financial crises, no change in game plan and no visible strife. Even its campaign slogan - "Change we can believe in" - has remained the same. Time Magazine, continue
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WHEN Barack Obama achieved his historic victory on Tuesday night, the battle was joined between two Americas. Not John Edwards's two Americas, divided between rich and poor. Not the Americas split by race, gender, party or ideology. What looms instead is an epic showdown between two wildly different visions of the country, from the ground up.
On one side stands Mr. Obama's resolutely cheerful embrace of the future. His vision is inseparable from his identity, both as a rookie with a slim Washington résumé and as a black American whose triumph was regarded as improbable by voters of all races only months ago. On the other is John McCain's promise of a wise warrior's vigilant conservation of the past. His vision, too, is inseparable from his identity - as a government lifer who has spent his entire career in service, whether in the Navy or Washington.
Given the dividing line separating the two Americas of 2008, a ticket uniting Mr. McCain and Hillary Clinton might actually be a better fit than the Obama-Clinton "dream ticket," despite their differences on the issues. Never was this more evident than Tuesday night, when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain both completely misread a one-of-a-kind historical moment as they tried to cling to the prerogatives of the 20th century's old guard. Frank Rich, NYT
It is over. Though not as it should have been, but it is over. Hillary Clinton conceded, Saturday, June 7, 2008.
Many have not liked the way that the Clintons have conducted themselves during this primary season. Point noted.
Many did not like how the dog whistle tactics were used against Barack Obama. Point noted.
Many did not like how the Clinton surrogates had behaved, and there were many. Point noted.
Many are very angered at Hillary Clinton for not recognizing the historical moment of Barack Obama's win. Point noted.
Many are still livid that she did not concede until four days later and was still plotting to hang around. Point noted.
But in the end, she did the right thing, even though she was pressured to do so. The only thing that matters is unity, Democrats with our Independent and Republican friends, standing side-by-side to defeat the Republicans in the fall. Our leader is Barack Obama, we are his army, his coalition, along with the Clintons.
So, let's move on. It is time to write about defeating John McCain and the Republicans. The issues are too grave to let this squabbling continue. It is over. Barack Obama is the Democratic Presumptive Nominee and we need to get it together to win in November.
Why Hillary Lost? By some of the best political front pagers in the blogosphere......
Why Clinton Lost (And Why Obama Just May Win Big In November) by georgia10
Why Clinton Lost: She Fought the Last War, With the Wrong Generals, and Not Enough of an Army by DHinMI
ok, i am not gonna lie. i have become the al rodgers, jr. of the slides. can't help it. with so many pictures to pick, it is only right. hail to the master al, though. it has been a HELL OF A WEEK. barack securing the nomination, hillary don't want to leave yet, hillary being pushed off the stage, hillary meeting with barack and hillary finally endorsing obama fully. man, is it that hard to lose? this is a primary race that many books will be written about, and it will all focus on the skinny, 2 year u.s. senator from illinois beating the clinton brand. that is the story for years to come. ok, we are onto mcsame, and it is time to go after him in earnest. we know by november it will not be all sugar and spice. whatever you are doing, remember to continue to stay engaged and focus on obama and not the drama....
