I Have a Dream about the "Dream Ticket"

A humorously serious look at life’s trials & tribulations,
American politics, religion, and other social madnesses by Beth Isbell.

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roxybeast
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I Have a Dream about the "Dream Ticket"

Post by roxybeast » March 5th, 2008, 8:33 pm

I'm not one of the myriad members of the press that believes that continuing the race between Clinton and Obama until the last vote is counted is a bad thing for either the candidates or the party. Frankly, it keeps the Democratic candidates on the front page, which will become harder and harder for John McCain to do now that he has no Republican opponent with whom to joust. Yes, some resources that could be used in the fall will be exhausted, but I think the overwhelming Democratic turnout in the primaries signals that the Republicans' are in trouble in the fall and that this support will continue politically and financially once the nominee, whether Hillary or Barack, has been chosen.

I think that frankly it's a huge mistake if the party does not hold new elections in Michigan and Florida between now and the convention - the Democratic party does not and can never stand for disenfranchising voters. Including those delegates might put one candidate over the top, but given the way the party assigns delegates in close elections, probably not.

Maybe it will come down to Super-Delegates, and if that's true maybe Ted Kennedy will have to switch back to supporting Hillary since that's the way his constituents voted. If Obama's camp wants to seriously argue that the Super-Delegates should follow the popular vote, then they should reject support from Super-Delegates whose constituents voted for his opponent. The reality is that the Super-Delegates should vote for whoever will do the best job in office. Maybe they should consider who has the best chance of winning in the fall, and maybe they should consider who will do the best job of turning the party's platform into legislative and political reality. Maybe that's a push.

I do think that whatever direction this goes, the party's leaders and both candidates need to meet behind the scenes now and jointly plan their attack against McCain and the Republicans, and begin to implement it. It shouldn't be hard to figure out some unified points that should be leveled at McCain during the upcoming campaign.

Democrats have been calling for a "dream ticket." The idea has even been raised in the debates with both candidates essentially saying that the real question would be who would be on the top of the ticket. The national polls show that both of them would beat McCain in the fall, although they currently show that Obama might do so more handily. Hillary has a strong argument that she has won the swing states and the states that Democrats' must win in the fall. Obama is currently slightly ahead in the delegate count, but has not carried big states.

One argument I hear frequently is that Obama has energized and brought independent and young new voters into the party. He appears to have a better chance of taking more independent voters from McCain than Ms. Clinton. I'm concerned that some of these new voters will not turn out to support Clinton in the fall, and will see her nomination as more "politics as usual."

Even though I think she would be able to better deliver on her promises sooner because they already have an experienced team in place and ready to go on day one, I love the fact that the electorate is truly invigorated by Obama's vision. Having these new party members on-board is not only significant in this election, but also in future elections, and it may be that party leaders should consider that such new party members might keep the Democrats in power for 8 years, or 12 years, or even 16 years, if not longer. It might be the beginning of a death knell for the Republicans' divisive ideology. It might begin a new era that focuses on making the future a better place for our children and our society as a whole.

So I had this thought this afternoon, which even as a Hillary supporter, I think may be acceptable to both candidates, and grants the party and it's members with their wish:

Hillary Clinton has the unique opportunity, a truly historical opportunity, to be the one and only, the sole, person, who can practically guarantee that a black man will be elected President by offering to end her campaign if Obama will select her as his Vice-Presidential running mate. The Clintons' have always been seen as champions of civil rights and strong advocates for the black and hispanic communities. This would make them civil rights icons perhaps approaching the status of Martin Luther King, Jr., when in the future history books are written describing this period of American politics.

Obama would be a fool not to accept her historical offer. It also would virtually eliminate attacks on his experience as the Clintons' would be able to provide him with all the education, staff, experience, and insight that he would need to do an effective job, actually deliver change, to avoid foreign policy blunders and restore America's credibility in the world.

She would instantly become a hero, forever. It would instantly unify and invigorate the party. It would virtually assure a huge win for the Democrats in the fall and likely for many years. It might also give her a very real opportunity to become President after 8 years in office and eliminate much of the criticism among independents that currently hamper her hopes. As a woman, I am crying as I write this, because I do want to see a real end to the ultimate glass ceiling, but as a civil rights attorney and advocate, it would make me extremely proud of Ms. Clinton and our country to forever signal to the world that, as our Constitution proudly proclaims, ... "all persons are created equal."

Hillary has the unique historical opportunity to end discrimination.

I have a dream.

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Post by mnaz » March 7th, 2008, 3:02 am

Yes. I like this idea, this dream, quite a bit... seems like a natural. I think an Obama/Clinton ticket would be more potent and energizing (both now and into the future) than a Clinton/Obama ticket. Well said, R.B...

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Post by mnaz » March 10th, 2008, 1:12 pm

But Hillary, it seems, has other ideas. I think she assumed she'd have this thing wrapped up by early February, and now she only has the "nasty politics" card to play... cozying up to McCain like that? You gotta be kidding! She openly touted McCain over Obama (right after I posted my first response here). Angling for McCain's VP, perhaps? Screw that.

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Post by Doreen Peri » March 10th, 2008, 1:45 pm

yeah she really screwed the whole thing up...

first she started slamming Obama turning it into a mud-slinging campaign... now she's praising McCain...

What the fuck is up with her?

If I were Obama and I won, I wouldn't want her as a running mate after all this.

She screwed it up. Bigtime.

How can she be talking about the possibility of a joint ticket with him and at the same time slamming him like that? *shaking my head*... the woman talks from two sides of her mouth.

....

But really fine writing here, roxybeast... Astute essay.

Too bad it's all changed within the past few days.

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It will happen ...

Post by roxybeast » March 10th, 2008, 2:36 pm

The only thing I've heard her say lately is that she's qualified to be Commander in Chief, and so is McCain, but there's some question as to Obama's experience to be ... I'd hardly call that "cozying up." No one could deny based upon his military and Senate experience that McCain has credentials to lead our military, perhaps in the wrong direction, but still he has the qualifications to do so. I think Hillary's may have more practical experience than Obama in such matters and foreign relations, and certainly access to far better advisors, but maybe not. I actually don't think experience to lead the military is a great issue for either of them in the fall, and expect that they will focus on the direction of change. Maybe, however, y'all are aware of something else ... if so, let me know.

There will be a lot of pressure put on both of them to make this happen. At this point, I actually think it will. I also think that despite all the tough rhetoric at this stage that Hillary will ultimately be the one to cave. She actually has more power in the negotiations by doing so sooner rather than later, since at this point she can force Obama to take her in order to guarantee that he is the nominee. I don't expect either to secure enough delegates prior to the convention to garner the nomination outright ... which will mandate that a deal will be brokered between them by party leaders ... who are drooling over a dream ticket in the fall (and polls of Democrats show about 85-90% want this) and all the new party members/voters that Obama is drawing to the table, which might be lost if he's not on the top of the ticket.

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Post by roxybeast » April 9th, 2009, 8:27 pm

The fact that you read this article means my life is mattering a little, don't you think Lily?

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