Geraldine Ferraro Demands Barack Choose Hillary

It is one thing for people supporting Barack to push for Hillary Clinton as the Vice-Presidential nominee, dubious as the suggestion might be, they can at least suggest it would be good for party unity. It is quite another for people who don’t support Barack to push for Hillary. Geraldine Ferraro, who earlier suggested Barack’s success was because of his race and then later suggested she might not vote for Barack in November now feels free to tell him he needs to select Hillary for Vice-President saying “Obama should be “gracious” enough to offer Clinton the vice presidency, considering how narrow the race was.” This is rich to say the least, but then again, how much credence should Barack lend to a person whose own Vice-Presidential candidacy was on a ticket that won a total of one state.

It must have been a slow news day at CNN, since they have nothing better to do than push Hillary as VP. Jack Cafferty, who was critical of Hillary during the primary campaign, asks “Should Obama consider Clinton for V.P.?” It isn’t necessarily a bad question except it included only the talking points from the “PICK HILLARY OR ELSE” crowd and nothing else. Former Clinton Administration strategists David Gergen also cites the Faux Snews poll showing Hillary would boost the ticket, as if that is proof by itself. What is more he evokes the Kennedy-Johnson analogy to show that previous differences between the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees don’t mean they can’t be on a successful ticket. What people who push Hillary by citing Kennedy and Johnson miss is what made that match successful wouldn’t be an option with Hillary. Political rivals don’t sit easily in the same Administration unless one is clearly subordinate. LBJ was a powerless Vice-President, he was not part of the Kennedy inner circle and much of his time as Vice-President was spent on goodwill visits overseas. Hillary wouldn’t be content with such a minimal role and anyone who thinks she would is deluding themselves, her supporters have already demanded she be given significant power and responsibility.

Finally, in a recent interview, Bill Clinton continued to illustrate why the Clintons' loyalty to Barack is questionable at best. He was very tepid in his praise for Barack. Also, he declared he wasn’t a racist, even though the questioner never even raised the issue. What is more, to my knowledge, no one in Barack’s campaign ever claimed he was.

To be blunt, a possible short-term bounce from picking Hillary would not be worth the long term grief.