Posted on 06/05/2008 1:31:21 PM PDT by blam
Barack Obama resists Hillary Clinton as running mate
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 8:08PM BST 05/06/2008
Resisting a defiant push by Hillary Clinton to force him to name her as his running mate, Barack Obama has appeared publicly with three other prominent vice-presidential contenders.
Mr Obama held events in Virginia alongside Senator Jim Webb, a Vietnam hero and former Republican, the loyal Governor Tim Kaine, one of the earliest top politicians to declare for the Illinois senator, and Mark Warner, a former Virginia governor with potent electoral appeal in conservative rural areas.
In an interview with NBC News, Mr Obama was distinctly cool about the notion of Mrs Clinton being his vice-presidential pick. “We’re not going to be rushed into it,” he said. “I don’t think Senator Clinton expects a quick decision and I don’t even know that she’s necessarily interested in it.”
Aides to Mr Obama have been dismayed by Mrs Clinton’s recent behaviour, delaying pulling out of the Democratic nomination race until Saturday while simultaneously authorising allies to lobby for her to be his running mate. The appearances with Mr Webb, Mr Kaine and Mr Warner seemed to be an attempt to dampen speculation about Mrs Clinton.
In another indication of the grudging nature of her withdrawal, the Clinton campaign has signalled that the former First Lady would reserve the option of directing her delegates to put her name forward as Democratic nominee at the party’s August convention.
"That affirmative desire [to be the vice-presidential candidate] is with Hillary,” said Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television and a key Clinton ally, told The Washington Post. “That's clear. The question is, is there affirmative desire on the part of Senator Obama?"
But other prominent supporters criticised Mrs Clinton for overplaying her hand. “There's no bargaining," said Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania governor. “You don't bargain with the presidential nominee.
“Even if you're Hillary Clinton and you have 18 million votes, you don't bargain...The rule for the vice president is make sure you never upstage the president."
Mr Johnson, moreover, who is black, was forced to apologise earlier in the campaign for alluding to Mr Obama’s youthful drug use and later said that Mr Obama would not have been leading Mrs Clinton if he’d been white.
The Obama campaign was disappointed that Mrs Clinton remained defiant on Tuesday night, when Mr Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, and sought to steal his thunder by stating she would be “open” to being his running mate.
When she did decide to withdraw, the Obama campaign learned of her decision from the media. On Tuesday night, Mr Obama had to leave two voicemails for Mrs Clinton before she called him back.
Privately, Mr Obama, 46, has never been enthusiastic about Mrs Clinton, 60, being his running mate, believing she has sought to diminish his candidacy at times and that she represents the past rather than his message of change.
But the young senator has to perform a delicate dance because he needs many of Mrs Clinton’s supporters, particularly older women and white working class men, if he is to defeat John McCain, the Republican nominee, in November’s general election.
He sought to dampen down the flurry of speculation about Mrs Clinton being his vice-presidential candidate by appointing a three-person vetting committee and stating it would take weeks before a decision was reached.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, was named as one of the three – an indication that Mrs Clinton would be a highly unlikely pick.
Her uncle Senator Ted Kennedy said last month that Mrs Clinton should be ruled out because the vice-presidential job required “real leadership" and the candidate should be "in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people”.
Obama advisers have intimated that an Obama-Clinton ticket is extremely unlikely, partly because her husband Bill was a consistently unwelcome distraction on the campaign trail and has refused to release financial records of his controversial foreign business deals and lists of big donors to his presidential library.
But Mr Obama could well choose a figure close to Mrs Clinton as a way of unifying the rival Democratic camps. Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio and Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana are understood to be under consideration.
Mrs Clinton is likely to suspend rather than end her presidential campaign. A principal reason for this is so she can continue to raise money to help pay off her massive campaign debts, thought to be as much as $40 million and including $11.5 million of her own money.
The Obama campaign confirmed a report by The Telegraph on Tuesday that it was likely to help Mrs Clinton pay off her debts. “Certainly that is something that would be on the table,'' Tom Daschle, a senior Obama editor, told Bloomberg News. “Obviously we want to help each other.''
He’s savvy to the Arkancide trick.
Obama dude was smart enough to defeat The Beast, what makes anybody think he is going to commit ARCANCIDE by picking the witch?
Clinton Body Count concerns President Obama, hmmm? Not rocket science...
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http://www.lizmichael.com/clintond.htm
Yes, that part of Clinton politics and the Clinton crime machine he gets....Hitlery as VP would be a death sentence IMHO. The ghosts of those on the above list would most likely agree -—
...AS IF."
This is a tad over the top even for Hillary. Her grasp on reality is slipping.
Without political power to sell, the Arkansas grifters may have to go home and get real jobs.
I believe Hillary will just bide her time. She will let Obama have all the debates with McCain and then about a week before the DEM convention, the bombshell to REALLY finish Obama will drop. Then Hillary steps in and becomes the DEM nominee.
And, now he's appearing publicly with some of the chosen people.
Wow!
He apologized for "alluding" to Obama's drug use?
I must have really been asleep at the computer when the MSM and their source(s) apologized for using a 30 year old DUI incident in 2000 to slander Dubya.
Jim Webb. Didn’t he write smut books containing descriptions of man-boy sex?
Hillary has started her campaign for 2012. Hillary is attempting to further inflame her irrational feminist supporters to stay at home in November or to vote for McCain to defeat Obama and to open the field in 2012.
probably going to pick oprah...
That's the only chance McCain has...pick Oprah for his VP.
A black crackhead gets a pass.. duh
nope...she’s hussein’s girl...
He doesn't want someone putting a moon roof in the back of his skull any time soon.
Or...one of the American Idol winners.
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