Obama resists pressure from Clinton for vice president role

As I said yesterday, I think the idea of a Clinton Vice Presidency is a dreadful one, for two main reasons.

Firstly, I don't think Obama can campaign on change and then run a White House that has both Hillary and Bill roaming it's corridors, issuing their own statements of policy. And, secondly, Obama cannot be seen to endorse a woman who has said he is not fit for the office that he is now running for. That would just be too odd.

Hillary burnt her own boats with her attacks on Obama's readiness to become Commander in Chief and she must live with the consequences of what she did. She has no-one to blame but herself.

I am pleased to say that reports coming out this morning indicate that Obama will resist Hillary's attempts to become his VP and that she will, at last, stand down for the sake of party unity.

Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, is gearing up for a tough face-to-face confrontation with his defeated rival Hillary Clinton over her demand to become the vice-presidential candidate.

The Obama camp, though anxious to pull the party together after a bitterly fought contest with Clinton, is hostile to the idea of having her on a joint ticket. They fear that having her and Bill Clinton in the heart of the campaign and in the White House would be disruptive.

Clinton is expected to end her campaign for the White House tomorrow, bowing to pressure from Democratic leaders to help the party unite around Obama as the nominee. Her exit arrived after signs of rising frustration from Democratic members of Congress at Clinton's refusal to concede the race or congratulate Obama for clinching the nomination.

Her decision not to concede but to take time to "consider" what to do next was simply gobsmacking. What in God's name made her think that she had anything to consider? The decision was never hers, it was the decision of the Democratic party and they had made their decision and decided that they wanted Barack Obama to be their next presidential nominee.

And it appears that it was only during shouting matches with Democratic leaders who had supported Hillary that she was finally brought to her senses.

Clinton aides said she made the decision following a late afternoon conference call with 22 Democratic leaders who had been supporting her campaign. One of those supporters, the New York member of Congress, Charlie Rangel, was visibly angry, chiding Clinton in TV interviews for failing to acknowledge Obama's victory.

Since March 5th I became confused at Clinton's campaign and what she hoped to achieve. It was obvious that she could not win and yet she went on. Her supporters became ever more shrill, believing in what could only be achieved with a miracle. Even yesterday, as Obama's victory was announced, a Hillary supporter was posting this on Taylor Marsh's site::

I am surprisingly happy for some reason tonight, it just feels weird, I cannot explain it. I was sad before regarding the nomination but after her speech tonight I feel electrified and energetic and have a certain hope in my heart that she will pull it off somehow. I feel that people will wake up soon, it has already started. This election never was about the DNC members and should never be about them, it should be about us, we the people and our candidate Senator Clinton.

It was the perfect example of how deluded Hillary's entire campaign had become, with supporters believing victory would somehow come simply because Hillary had lacked the grace to concede defeat.

What Hillary needs to do now is to concede and to urge her supporters to back Barack Obama. Some of them will never do so having been so whipped up into a frenzy by Clinton and others, but it is Hillary's duty - for the sake of the party - to make an impassioned plea for her supporters to fight for the candidate who will do the most to care for the causes which Hillary fought for.

Clinton is expected to make her official announcement at an event in Washington, according to her communications director Howard Wolfson. She told staff at her campaign headquarters to stop coming to work from tomorrow.

This was Obama's first big test. How to get Hillary off the ticket. He responded to her press hints that she would accept the Vice Presidency by announcing that he is commissioning three prominent Democrats to vet potential vice-presidential candidates.

It was a perfect way to signal that Hillary was not welcome without actually stating it.

The former Democratic president Jimmy Carter highlighted the dilemma when, in a Guardian interview, he said it would be a mistake for Obama to have her as his vice-presidential nominee.

"I think it would be the worst mistake that could be made," said Carter, who endorsed Obama on Tuesday night. "That would accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates." Lanny Davis, a close Clinton adviser and friend, was among those who yesterday launched petition drives and websites, and writing directly to Obama. Another supporter, Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, said he wrote to the Congressional Black Caucus urging members to push Obama to choose Clinton. He said he had spoken with her on Tuesday and she was "absolutely ready" to become vice-president.

There was terrible pressure for Obama to make Hillary his VP, but I feel this would have been, as Carter says, "the worst mistake that could be made", and I am very pleased that Obama appears to have dodged that particular bullet.

Click title for full article.

UPDATE:



Am I being too suspicious when I note that she is only "suspending" her campaign rather than ending it?

Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, US election 2008, Democratic presidential nominee