Former Dem. contender Hillary Clinton has asked her supporters to vote for the presumptive Dem. nominee Barack Obama in the Presidential elections.
Hillary told a cheering audience in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson on Friday, "Anyone who voted for me or caucused for me has so much more in common with Sen. Obama than Sen. McCain."
Hillary Clinton is out there campaigning hard for Obama, and making a good case. Whew, this'll be a tough crowd, but Obama needs this woman stumping for him all the way to November, and if he's smart he'll ask her to do just that as his VP nominee. Here's why:
(7) Is Hillary supporters on the edge who might be brought in by her.
A vocal faction of Clinton supporters say they can't stomach Obama -- people like Las Vegan Lillian Livoti, 55, who attended Clinton's speech on Friday. Livoti said she will stay home on Nov. 4 if Clinton is not on the ticket as Obama's running mate, something political analysts consider unlikely.
"I really don't think that he's ready to lead," Livoti said of Obama. "I find him very inexperienced. He reminds me of my 35-year-old nephew."
Livoti said the talk of disunity in the Democratic ranks is justified. She said several of her friends, all "Hillary girls," are planning to vote for McCain. "We feel there's been a great injustice," she said.
These people are being dumb and emotional, yes, but they vote. A vote is a vote is a vote. Realistically, Obama needs every single vote he can, especially in a state like Nevada.
There may not be as many of these people as the media claims, but every vote matters. They may be outweighed by Hillary haters who would be turned off by her (but then again, I don't know of a single Obama supporter who would switch to McCain just because of his VP). But those people will in turn be outweighed by other factors, as I will argue below.
(6) Party grunts. Even if you put aside entirely that minority which will only support the ticket with Hillary on it, you still have the fact that there are a lot of party members deeply connected in the "Clinton wing" and even if they do support Obama, the extent of their efforts make a difference. They will work harder, contribute more money, and generally be more enthusiastic if she is-- and that effort,
money and enthusiasm can be extremely valuable in getting out new voters and mobilizing the entire base.
Let me share a quick story with you. I was volunteering for Obama this weekend-- registering voters. One woman walked by and looked at our table for a moment, before saying to me, "I'm still getting the Hillary sticker off my car." I told her I used to be a Hillary supporter too. She joked that thank God Edwards wasn't the nominee and walked away. Based on this comment, I think she'll probably be voting Obama in the fall. But she sounded like someone who could be doing much more-- registering voters, donating, phone banking, etc. With Hillary on the ticket these people will be mobilized and the value to Obama's campaign will be worth many contributions.
(5) Publicity. One of the biggest benefits of a Veep Pick is the publicity you get. No pick would generate as much publicity or excitement as a Clinton pick. McCain would be once again left out in the cold. No one McCain could pick could rival that.
(4) The Clinton bounce. Obama bounced in the polls after Clinton dropped out and endorsed him. If she were really so hated, you would expect her endorsement to have a negative effect-- but it had a positive one. Then he came back down as she faded from the picture. By bringing her back into the team you would have the force of both of them together.
(3) Attack dog and debater. Hillary is the perfect attack dog and an excellent debater. One of the main tasks of a Veep is to win the Vice Presidential debate. Hillary has had plenty of practice at debates over the last 18 months.
(2) Contrast. Some say that Clinton, it is said, does not fit his kind of "new politics." She is old politics. I think this can acturally perversely help Obama. If you are a medium height politician and you want to look taller, having a short Vice President can help you look taller. In other words, having Clinton go against Obama in the primaries
made Obama seem even more like new politics because every day he was being contrasted to her. Having her on the ticket with him might perversely reinforce his own new politics credentials by contrast.
(1) Magnanimity and Unity.
For every Obama-leaning independent who would be turned off by a Clinton pick, there is at least another low information swing voter who has no strong opinions about Clinton one way or another. First and foremost in the mind of this average, low information independent is that Hillary put in a very good fighting effort in the primaries and came in a very close second.
But what is Obama's new brand of politics? He has run on a message not only of change but of bringing Americans together. He wants to transcend the bitterness and divisions of the past, and reach across the aisle to those he disagrees with on the basis of shared American values. What better way would there be to start uniting America than first uniting his own party?
He will be able to say with authority on Convention Night "We have united the Democratic Party. Now let's unite the country."
It is not a matter of 'respect'.
It is not about Hillary at all.
It is about Obama, and how the voters see Obama.
To the average low information voter who has no strong opinion of Clinton,
Obama's choosing Hillary would show that he is someone who is serious about reaching out to those he has defeated-- it would send a strong signal that, if he defeated McCain in the fall, he would reach out to Republicans as well (which in turn makes him look moderate-- without having to compromise on a single issue). It reinforces his unifying image more than a thousand statements of willingness to drill, or other centrist positions he might take, without looking political. It cannot be called a crass or political move because Hillary is not from a swing state nor is she particularly Blue dog.
On the other hand, it weakens, fatally, McCain's message about him. If he is really arrogant as the Republicans claim, then why did he choose someone who was so bitterly opposed to him in the primaries? Arrogant people don't choose to team up with previous bitter opponents, especially ones they have defeated. The very definition of arrogance is the false notion that you don't need others, because your opinion of your own abilities is so high.
But instead, the media will talk about the pick as "Obama felt like he needed to unite the party", "He realizes he can't do this alone. He needs Hillary's supporters too." whether true or not, those are not the actions of an arrogant, overconfident man or one who has been submerged in celebrity. A Hillary pick undermines the very essence of McCain's main attack line in a way no other VP pick can.
Forgiveness, unity, humility, magnaminity. Exactly what Obama needs to project. Exactly what the best of Obama's message has always been about. Exactly what a Hillary pick-- and ONLY a Hillary pick-- delivers. Once those are established, he can project the confidence he needs to project
in the General Election without fear of being (convincingly) labelled arrogant.
TO the average low information swing voter, no other pick would scream NO to McCain's emerging line of attack than that one.