A Dream Ticket After All?

What a relief! Barack Obama can finally claim the nomination and everyone can focus on the general election. But what about Hillary? She still hasn’t conceded, and speculations abound in the media today about Hillary as VP. Does she want it? Does Obama want her? Do the voters want her? I don’t know about the first two questions, but it looks like the answer to the third question would be yes. She continues to have a very strong following. It is amazing how she and Obama have split the victories between them. Even last night, when it was clear that she had no chance of becoming the nominee, she and Obama took one state each. Obama has long been the likely nominee, but he has run almost parallel with Hillary in terms of delegates and he is winning by a slim margin.

It seems clear that Obama has a problem with a part of the constituency – the low-income, uneducated, white voters – and that Hillary has a strong appeal among those groups. It may be that once Hillary is out of the picture, those voters will rally behind Obama. But maybe not. Maybe they’ll flock to McCain. Together, Obama and Hillary would be unbeatable, because of their appeal to different demographics.

I’ve argued against the “dream team,” but that was when Hillary suggested Obama as her VP – a preposterous suggestion when she was already losing the nomination. Of course there are many problems with Hillary and Obama as running mates. After six months of ripping each other apart, will they be able to stand each other? Will she hurt his message of change? Will Obama supporters be able to overcome their distaste for her? She may not be the ideal choice for VP, but it seems next to impossible to get around her. Not just because she refuses to back down (which at this point seems fairly pathetic), but because her supporters keep going, too. With the strong, passionate support both Obama and Hillary have garnered, a joint ticket may be the best way – perhaps the only way – to unite the Democratic Party.