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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 5, 2008
/ 2 Sivan 5768
Would the dream ticket be a nightmare?
By
Roger Simon
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Should Barack Obama choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate? Does he have to? Would she be better off without it? The answer to these and other questions below:
1. Will Obama follow the First Rule of Running Mates? A candidate’s chief concern in picking a running mate is: First, do no harm. Obama needs someone who is not going to damage the ticket. Very few people cast a vote for president based on who the running mate is. So even a good choice doesn’t help you all that much, but a bad choice can hurt you. Lee Atwater, who was George H.W. Bush’s campaign manager in 1988, once told me that Dan Quayle cost the ticket 2 to 3 percentage points. Fortunately for Bush, he won the election by 7.8 percentage points.
But Obama must choose carefully. Clinton supporters say she is the strongest choice because only she has been “fully vetted.” But being fully vetted doesn’t mean old stuff doesn’t come back to haunt you. Mike Dukakis had been fully vetted on Willie Horton, and John Kerry had been fully vetted on his Swift Boat service. In reality, all Clinton’s old baggage — including Whitewater, cattle futures trading and Travelgate — is likely to come up again. Presidential elections have a way of breathing new life into old controversies.
2. What about Bill? If Hillary has baggage, Bill is a Samsonite factory. Forget about the old stuff. Look at his diminished status with voters, especially black voters, in this election. Look at his drama. “I have never seen anything like it,” he said recently, referring to his wife’s treatment in the primaries. “I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running!” And is the White House really big enough for one president in the West Wing and another in the East Wing?
3. What does Hillary Clinton really bring to the ticket? The question is not whether Hillary Clinton has the support of women. The question is whether those women won’t vote for Barack Obama anyway. The question is not whether Hillary Clinton gets the support of working-class whites from Appalachia. The question is whether they would vote for Obama in a million years.
On the other hand, Clinton is very smart and very tough and does help with one of the few jobs a running mate actually has: debating. John Edwards did not do that well in his vice presidential debate against Dick Cheney in 2004, and Edwards caught some heat for it when the ticket lost. But Hillary has shown herself to be a formidable debater. And she certainly has gotten a lot of practice this year.
4. Why would Clinton even want the job? Wouldn’t she rather stay off the ticket and watch it go down in flames in November so she could run again 2012? I talked to both Obama and Clinton advisers, and they said the same thing: If the ticket loses and Clinton has been less than supportive, she will get blamed and this will do her great damage in 2012.
“It is not in her interest to appear in any way to be less than 100 percent behind Obama’s election,” a senior Obama adviser told me. “If there is the slightest scintilla of evidence that she doesn’t want him to win or is not working full-throttle, Democratic voters will blame her.”
So as long as she has to work for the ticket anyway, why not be on it? Being the vice president is not that bad a job. In very different ways, Al Gore and Dick Cheney made the job meaningful by carving out their own niches. (Gore’s niche: the environment. Cheney’s niche: running the country.) Also, 14 vice presidents have become president. And then there is the need for her to fill the slot.
5. What is the slot problem? Virtually anyone whom Obama chooses as his running mate this year gets a chance to run in 2012 if the ticket loses. Joe Lieberman lost for vice president in 2000 and ran for president in 2004 (even before Al Gore decided not to run again himself). Edwards lost for vice president in 2004 and ran again in 2008. So does Hillary want to cede that slot to somebody else this year or fill it herself and possibly cut down the field in 2012?
6. Doesn’t Obama have to prove he is not sexist by putting Clinton on the ticket? Has Obama run a sexist campaign? When? When he pulled back Clinton’s chair for her at one debate? When he said, sardonically, that she was “likable enough”? The fact that he won and she lost is not proof of sexism. A number of Clinton supporters think the media has been sexist this year, but the media (thank goodness) will not be on the ballot.
7. Is Clinton behaving as if she deserves the job? Her strongest case for getting on the ticket has never been party unity, but respect. She and her supporters deserve respect, and some think putting her on the ticket would be Obama’s way of showing it. But Clinton is close to blowing that. She didn’t show much respect to Obama on Tuesday night, when he wrapped up the nomination. She doesn’t have to bow and scrape to get the job, but it is unlikely she can muscle her way onto the ticket. That would just make Obama look weak at exactly the moment he needs to look strong.
8. Could she get something else instead? Well, how about the Supreme Court? She might face a tough confirmation fight in the Senate, but she is a senator, and senators like members of the club. Obama and Clinton have no real philosophical differences. She is only 60 and could be a liberal voice on the court for decades. That would please her supporters, please her husband and please her. Besides, being a Supreme Court justice is a sweet job. It can last a lifetime — and, hey, no press conferences!
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© 2008, Creators Syndicate
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