Why are you guys so opposed to Hillary as Vice President? I don't think it's such a bad idea. The fact is, our party is split right down the middle and Hillary in essence represents half of the Democratic electorate that have voted so far. It's going to take a concerted effort by both sides to unite the Democratic coalition. Many a thesis have been put forward as to the best method to go about doing this but when all is said and done it all comes back to one central point: Hillary Clinton and her supporters must be facilitated in some way or another. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the the best way to do this is to draft Hillary as VP on the ticket. Certainly there are pros and cons to doing this but I think the positives in this case far outweigh any possible negatives.
why I think Hillary should be VP below the fold:
The strongest argument that Hillary has going for her right now is her electoral strength in key swing states, particularly Florida and Ohio. The latest polls show her giving the old man a run for his money in these two states that have wrenched our hearts in past elections. In addition to her apparent strength in the swing states, Mrs. Clinton have also amassed a fiercely loyal following of white women and blue-collar Democrats. These are real strengths that cannot be overlooked and they are part of the reason why Super Delegates on a whole have not moved to end this fight right a way. I now consider myself an Obama supporter but I'm a Democrat first and foremost. At the end of the day, I want what's best for my party. I want us to go into the fall with the strongest ticket possible and I think an Obama/Cliton is the most powerful of all the choices I've heard so far.
I know many of you are very fervent Obama supporters and you think that choosing Hillary as VP is probably the worst thing that Obama can do. Your argument is that she has nothing to bring to the table and would only drag down his prospects in the fall. You honestly believe that he can do without her and that many of her supporters are people who probably wont vote for Obama anyway. Your thesis is that he doesn't have to do as well in states like Ohio and Florida as he can win with a new electoral map that include blue trending, red states like Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico. That is in fact a plausible argument but I think it recklessly discounts Senator Clinton's strengths and relies too much on a strategy that is a gamble in many estimations. Why can't we incorporate the strength of both candidates on one ticket. The fact is half of the Democratic electorate have have made it clear in no uncertain terms that they would like to see Hillary Clinton in the White House again. In fact some of them are so passionate about this they have threatened to stay home or vote for grandpa McCain if their lady is not on the ticket in some way or another.
You know I supported Hillary earlier on in this campaign but I subsequently switched to Obama because I thought her campaign was becoming too negative and it started to look just plain desperate. Also it was becoming increasingly apparent to me that there is no way that she can legitimately win this nomination. I understand that's exactly why many of you have develop such antipathy towards her campaign (some of you were adversarial towards her from the start particularly because of her vote to authorize Bush's illegal war in Iraq and her refusal to apologize for it). Therefore I understand why many of you might find it hard to accept her as Vice President but I'm imploring you to look beyond your emotions and consider the greater good of the party. Personally, I think Hillary would make a great Vice President. I also think the positives of having her on the ticket far outweighs any negatives. You know, sometimes you've got to put your head before your heart and this situation calls for that.
Imagine what a campaign we'll have with the forces of Hillary and Obama on one ticket. I don't agree with the prevailing opinion that it will undermine Obama's message of change. Many of us seem to forget that Hillary Clinton represents change in itself (at least to an extent). She's a woman for Christ's sake! Imagine for one second what an exciting campaign this would be: Hillary doing her thing revving up the redneck vote in Appalachia and the Ohio river valley; Obama inspiring young and upscale voters in divers places with the assurance of the African American vote behind him; Bill Clinton whipping up the crowd in the South and key swing states while wagging the finger at McCain. The GOP could not outdo this team even if they got the corpse of Ronald Reagan back to life in time for November. However with all that said, I acknowledge that an Obama/Hillary ticket might be just too much for the average American voter but it has too much potential for us not to least consider it seriously. If that is not possible, I think putting a strong surrogate of Hillary like Edd Rendell on the ticket would do the trick. Whatever the Obama camp does, it must make serious effort to conciliate with the Hillary camp in one way or another. We have a very strong and diverse coalition going into this fall, the important thing is keeping it together. Putting Hillary on the ticket is probably the best way to ensure that.