Earlier today, Al Giordano reported an amazing story from unnamed sources: that Hillary Clinton "went nuclear" with the Democratic Primary nominating process because Obama had privately rebuffed her as his Vice Presidential pick.
That argument from "secret sources" appears to have been brought into question by none other than Barack Obama himself.
According to Andrew Romano at Newsweek, Obama was asked if he'd consider a VP nom "even if his or her spouse is an occasional pain in the butt." Obama laughed and, echoing a London Times piece by Andrew Sullivan, responded:
I can tell you this. My goal is to have the best possible government. And that means me winning. So, I'm very practical in my thinking. I'm a practical guy. One of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln. Awhile back, there was a wonderful book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin called 'Team of Rivals,' in which she talked about how Lincoln basically pulled all the people he'd been running against into his Cabinet. Because whatever personal feelings there were, the issue was, 'How can we get the country through this time of crisis?' I think that has to be the approach one takes to the vice president and the Cabinet.
Well, at least I know I'm not the only Democrat who reads Andrew Sullivan regularly. :)
Honestly, I don't know how I feel about an Obama/Clinton '08 ticket. I vacillate between rejecting the idea outright based on the Clintons' actions during this campaign, and embracing the idea wholeheartedly for the headlines it'd generate. In the end, I think I fall on the side of judging this a non-starter. Obama is basing his bid for the Presidency on a refreshing approach to politics, which the "Team of Rivals" concept nicely encapsulates. He has the strength and character needed ot strike a tricky balancing act: working in a broad realm of ideas, and bringing people to agreement, without allowing the political process to fall hostage to sideshow and idiocy. He's demonstrated that ably enough this week in his eloquent thumpings of John McCain.
Clinton, by contrast, is still operating from the "nuclear option" school of politics. (That's the "nukular option" for you Republicans out there.) And until she does an about-face, I wouldn't be heartened by her presence on Obama's "Team of Rivals".
But, hey - I'm open for negotiation. If Hillary could muzzle Bill and toss him in the WH basement for eight years, I might be more warm to the idea. At least Obama/Clinton '08 makes a universe more sense than suggesting that Chelsea Clinton could be President in 2016. So much for experience, no? (At least her father still has enough sense to admit that she needs a bit more, um, political seasoning.)