What Will She Do?

By Kleinheider Posted on May 18, 2008 at 3:25 pm

Brendan Loy points to a column by Bob Beckel that argues very persuasively that if Hillary Clinton wants the Vice Presidential nomination for President that she can have it by forcing a floor vote at the convention. While recent tradition has usually allowed the man at the top of the ticket to pick his runningmate, it is the delegates who ultimately vote to affirm — or not to affirm — that choice.

The question is: Will Hillary force the issue? It all comes down to whether, deep in her gut, she believes Obama can beat McCain.

If Obama wins without Hillary on the ticket, not only does it mean waiting eight years to run again, it means that the Clintons lose the machinery of the party. The Clintons would be on the outside. However, if Obama loses without her then she retains her political power and the gains the “I told you so card” with which to make her case against a very old John McCain in 2012.

If she takes the Veep nod and they lose, then Clinton risks becoming the scapegoat, especially if it is revealed that she forced herself in. If Obama had been allowed to pick a white male, the talk will go, he would have been President.

It will be interesting to see how the Clinton’s political calculus comes out on this. The Presidential nomination may be Obama’s to lose but the Veep spot is Hillary to take or leave. What will she do?

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Tags: 2012, Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention, dream ticket, Hillary Clinton  

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