"A Clinton-Obama Presidental Bid?"

[Wycoff]

As a side note, I think that Wesley Clark would make an excellent running mate for any Democrat.

[Japher]

I concur

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


That didn't work in 2004.

Bush was a lackluster candidate, no question; but he was also an incumbent with an approval rating over 50%, running during a war that still had popular support. On paper, he should have been unbeatable. Still, given the fact that he squeaked out the narrowest re-election of any US president, maybe a more competent, more poltically-savvy Dem could have beaten him. Hillary is one such Dem.

And, yes, people hate her. But I read an interview with her recently which gave this an interesting spin. Her argument was that she's been pilloried in public for years now by the Right, resulting in her 40+% disapproval rating -- but what that means is, her ratings have nowhere to go but up. Presidential campaigns often turn on digging up surprising negative dirt on the other guy -- but there are no surprises left where she's concerned. Her position is much more like Nixon's in '68 -- and she seems to have his ruthlessness, too.

But I wouldn't look for Hillary-Obama. With her negatives and with the novelty of being the first woman to win a major-party nomination, she's going to need a nice, safe white boy on that ticket -- someone with executive experience and no die-hard national following, preferably from outside the Northeast. Richardsaon, Evan Bayh, and Gen. Wesley Clark are all plausible choices. (Sadly, because of the diciness of putting another Northeasterner in the ticket, Gov. Ed Rendell of PA is not.)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Ah... forgot about the General. Clinton-Clark would work pretty good

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
'Cause the President has no pull with Congress... maybe you've just been lulled by the last two years, Slow .

No. I said what I meant. You eveidently weren't paying attention.
If you think the president's main concern and voice is on domestic issues, you must have skipped that history class.
Especially in this day and age, you want foreign policy.

I'll tell you who I would love to see run, and I've said it before. Colin Powell and Connie Rice. I think that would be the best thing we could do. Without question.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by SlowwHand

I'll tell you who I would love to see run, and I've said it before. Colin Powell and Connie Rice. I think that would be the best thing we could do. Without question.

At first I thought you were serious.

I understand now.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly But I wouldn't look for Hillary-Obama. With her negatives and with the novelty of being the first woman to win a major-party nomination, she's going to need a nice, safe white boy on that ticket

I don't see that as being the case. Maybe it's because I'm from a younger generation, but I think that having Obama as a Veep would help more than some relative whitebread unknown like Bayh. The people who would be turned away by race alone probably would never vote Dem anyway. Obama would seem to add optimism and excitement (that's all he really seems to have, after all). Bayh would just be a lump, like Kemp in '96.

Besides, and I can't emphasize this enough, the Republican ticket will be horribly unattractive. All of their major candidates are weak on illegal immigration, an issue that is very dear to a large proportion of rank and file Reupbs. Rudy is basically seen as Hillary-light. McCain is held to be a traitor over the judges, Romney is a no-good cultist Mormon (which scares off more Evangelicals than you'd think), Huckabee is a government loving pro-taxer, and the rest (bar one) are non-entities. The only one who doesn't seem to patently offend some major portion of the base is Fred Thompson (best known as the dickhead boss on the sitcom "Roseanne"), but he's still seen as a bit soft on the social side.

As I see it, the Dems have a strong advantage coming in '08. It's going to take something huge to screw them up. A woman-black man ticket wouldn't do it (unless that black man was Jackson, Sharpton, or Rangel)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Clinton and Obama are snowing people with domestic issues.
The president doesn't have that much sway on domestic issues. That's congress.
You need to be thinking about foreign policy and at least choose someone that knows and acknowledes that's where there concern needs to be focused.
A president can propose domestic issues, but foreign is the strength of the office.

First, domestic policy frequently has little to do with Congress, being set by executive agencies that Congress does little more than fund. Second, the president has tons of sway with Congress, particularly when her party controls Comgress (as the Dems will). Third, presidential elections almost never focus on, or are determined by, foreign policy issues. 2004 was a rare exception.

And even so, polls are now consistently showing that the public trusts the Dems more on national security and foreign policy as well as the economy.

[Lancer]

Could Bill Clinton be her VP choice? If he was and something happened that she was unable to continue in office, could BC become pres again? I don't expect it, just curious.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Wycoff


I don't see that as being the case. Maybe it's because I'm from a younger generation, but I think that having Obama as a Veep would help more than some relative whitebread unknown like Bayh.

You just put your finger on it. That ticket might animate voters under 40, but voting skews old, not young.

[Slaughtermeyer]

Originally posted by Lancer
Could Bill Clinton be her VP choice? If he was and something happened that she was unable to continue in office, could BC become pres again? I don't expect it, just curious.

I'm pretty sure there's a law against someone who served two terms becoming VP.

[Lancer]

Because he can never be pres again i guess.

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by Lancer
Could Bill Clinton be her VP choice? If he was and something happened that she was unable to continue in office, could BC become pres again? I don't expect it, just curious.

He cannot be VP. 12th Amendment

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the
office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States.

[Lancer]

Thx Wiglaf

[Wiglaf]

Apparently some law experts argue otherwise.

Basically, some say Clinton is technically "eligible" [right age, is a US citizen, etc] and is only "disqualified" by Amendment 22. Since amendment 12 only disqualifies those who are "ineligible" from being president, this law professor argues Clinton can be VP and then president. Odds of this passing most people's bull**** detectors are extremely low.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/08/columns/fl.dorf.goreclinton.08.01/