Hillary

By
Bill Press                                                                             Read Spanish Version

Nearing
the end of a week’s vacation, Barack Obama now faces the toughest
decision of his life. He has to come back from Hawaii ready to
announce his running mate. And for me it’s a no-brainer.

Forget
Tim Kaine. He’s an impressive young governor of a key swing state,
but he has even less foreign policy or national security experience
than Obama. Forget Evan Bayh. Again, a popular former governor, now
senator, of a key Rust Belt state, but a big, early supporter of the
war in Iraq and not exactly a firecracker on the stump. By the same
measure, and for similar reasons, forget Bill Richardson, Joe Biden
and Chris Dodd.

They
are all good people. Each of them would make an outstanding member of
Obama’s Cabinet. But there’s only one person with the firepower
needed in a vice-presidential candidate. If Barack Obama really wants
to blow John McCain out of the water, the best candidate by far is …
Sen. Hillary Clinton.

It’s
all about winning in November. So think about the math. She got 18
million votes in the primaries; he got 18 million votes. She won the
women and working-class vote; he won the African-American and
white-collar vote. Put the two of them together and you have an
unbeatable ticket: experience and promise, inspiration and
perspiration, change squared. It’s the one sure way to unite and
excite the party.

Nobody
else would bring what Hillary Clinton does to the ticket. So why is
there so much opposition, even among Democrats, to her nomination?
There are three reasons I hear, from my radio listeners and others:
Hillary was mean to Obama during the primaries; Hillary still hasn’t
fully embraced Obama; and Hillary brings too much negative baggage,
especially husband Bill. Come on, let’s get real.

Sure,
Hillary said some tough things during the primary. She insisted she’d
be a stronger candidate against John McCain, for example, and she
once famously stated that, while she and McCain offered extensive
foreign policy experience, all Obama could offer was one speech. But
that’s what primaries are all about. She was running to win, she gave
it her best shot, she made her best arguments — and she lost.

It’s
extremely short-sighted of Obama supporters to reject Clinton as a
potential running mate, simply because of something she might have
said during the primary. Don’t they realize? She lost. Their man won.
It’s foolish to cling to the differences of the past. The focus now
must be on how to win in November and who would help Obama the most.

Nor,
in all objectivity, could anyone seriously question Clinton’s support
for Obama today. She endorsed him, graciously and enthusiastically,
on the stage in Unity, N.H. She has asked her followers to support
him and write checks. She campaigned for him twice this month. She’ll
make the case for Obama on the second night of the Democratic
convention, and has agreed to campaign for him and with him this
fall, whether she’s on the ticket or not. There’s no doubt she’s on
Obama’s team.

But
what about all that negative baggage? What negative baggage? Those
who make that argument are the same voices who said Hillary Clinton
could never be elected, or re-elected, senator from New York. And
it’s nonsense, as well as sexist, to suggest that her effectiveness
as vice president would be compromised by husband Bill, looking over
her shoulder, and telling her what to do. Hillary’s much too strong a
woman for that. And I’ve asked several of her Democratic colleagues
in the Senate how often, in the least eight years, they’ve seen Bill
Clinton stick his nose into Senate matters. Answer: Never.

Isn’t
it obvious? Among Obama supporters, there’s more than a touch of sour
grapes in all three of those arguments against Hillary. Even worse,
they’re all focused on yesterday, not tomorrow. To allow past
differences or personal pique to dictate the strategy of the general
election campaign would be a colossal mistake.

Again,
the only questions now are: How is Obama going to win in November?
And who will best help Obama win? Looking at it coldly in terms of
winning — based on her experience in the White House and Senate, her
popularity, her skills as a campaigner, her proven vote-getting
ability — Hillary Clinton’s the one.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Train
Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too
Soon)."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.
(c)
2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.