Why Hillary will not be VP

I hope many of you heard Ed Shultz's interview with Jim Clyburn (D-SC)about his endorsement of Barack Obama today.  It was a fascinating look at the Obama-Clinton dynamic, and without even mentioning Hillary directly, he gave one of the best illustrations I've yet heard of why the so-called Dream Ticket will not happen.

He started out answering Ed's question about Hillary in the VP slot by saying, it is NOT a decision you want to make out of emotion.  You want to think about what is politically the right decision, and what sort of ticket is going to appeal to the American People.  He said you have to start thinking about the General Election and not just a particular group.

And he said, you have to think hard about chemistry--how the pair get along, do they act like a team, do they respect one another, will they be working together to solve our problems and not against each other.  The VP has to work in the Senate to enact the President's agenda, not their own.  Basically everything he said on this topic made it clear that in his mind Hillary would not be a good fit.  And his points were excellent.

Ed brought up the loyalty issue and Clyburn reiterated that that is an aspect of the chemistry he is talking about.  And it occurred to me that after this primary, there is just no way that Hillary is going to be able to convince ANYONE that she is capable of being a loyal member of Obama's team.  And this appearance of division on the ticket is NOT politically advantageous.

Hillary has in essence made it impossible for Obama to choose her even if he thought it would be a good idea.  She chose to run an antagonistic, underhanded campaign that to this day claims that the race was unfairly anad undemocratically decided.  Putting her on the ticket would not make Obama look like the strong head of a unified party, it would make him look like a weak leader succumbing to the dirty tactics of his opponent. And if I've learned anything about Barack Obama it's that he is a political genius.  He will choose a VP who strengthens his campaign, doesn't weaken it; who reinforces his themes of change and leadership, doesn't compromise them, and who will help us appeal not only to disgruntled members of the Democratic Party but to EVERYONE in November.