Writing for the Times of London, Andrew Sullivan seems to think it’s time to breath some life into the corpse. He lists a number of factors which, in theory, make it a sensible choice. Among these are the historical parallels, such as the unlikely alliance of J.F.K and Johnson or Lincoln’s policy of forming a cabinet composed of his enemies. There are also a number of national demographic and party infighting headaches which such an alliance could ameliorate. However he also notes that the dream ticket plan (where the two candidates agree to run together, presumably with Obama on the top of the ticket) if fraught with peril.
The downside? They hate each other. Over this campaign, Obama’s supporters, along with many others, have been taken aback by the raw, unprincipled bare-knuckle politics that the Clintons have unleashed against the greatest talent to emerge in national politics since Bill Clinton himself. Moreover, the core appeal of Obama has been that he isn’t a Clinton; he hasn’t capitulated to the zero-sum politics of Karl Rove, George W Bush’s mastermind. His outreach to new and young and non-Democratic voters has been premised on an end to the kind of politics the Clintons represent. When I raised the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket on my blog last week, Obama-supporting readers were outraged and offended.
There, as they say, is the rub. And it comes on two fronts. The first question is whether or not either of these candidates could swallow that large a dose of pride and take the second spot. Obama clearly feels that he’s already won the day in the majority of categories which matter and that the nomination is now his for the taking. His repeated references to pledged delegate counts, number of states won, popular vote, etc. indicate he is ready for the blue ribbon. Clinton has likewise floated numerous indicators that she’s willing to go all the way to the nuclear option – a primary cage match to the death. Can the two of them make nice after all the blood that’s gone into the water?
The second – and likely larger – issue concerns their respective supporters. Will the voters in each of their camps see a vice presidential slot as an acceptable consolation prize? In the flurry of recent polls showing that roughly one in five Democrats will take their ball and go home if their candidate is not chosen, the question seems not to have been asked if the veep slot would be “good enough” for them.
Obama is clearly in prime shape to spend eight years as second fiddle and then emerge as a formidable presidential candidate. Indeed, many pundits have been suggesting this since his name was first bandied about in this race. But his massive following may well see that as a case of “the black man being sent to sit in the back of the bus again” and revolt. Plus, in our society of instant gratification, eight years is an eternity and they may well want their candidate delivered to the Oval Office right now.
For Clinton’s voters the choice may be even more difficult. Telling a female to grab a more rearward seat on the aforementioned public transportation will likely not be any more palatable than saying it to an African-American. The issue of age is also a bigger factor. Clinton is already older than Obama, and in eight years she will be 69. The Democrats have already been casting stones at John McCain for running at the age of 70. And (prepare to send the flood of hate mail to [email protected] for this, but I’m going to say it anyway) there is an undeniable element of the “beauty contest” in presidential elections, and women face different challenges in public perception than men in the aging factor. (The old canard of “men grow more dignified, women just grow old” comes into play here.) Hillary’s shelf life as a media product may have been reached by then. Her supporters may simply feel that an offer of a home in Dick Cheney’s current digs simply may not be an offer at all.
Party elders may still squirm with glee at the idea of the dream ticket, seeing it as an easy way of avoiding a huge headache looming on the horizon. The voters, however, may not be willing to give them the easy out and opt for Death Match 2008.