Team of Rivals

Yesterday Obama offered this rationale for putting Hillary on the ticket:

I can tell you this. My goal is to have the best possible government. And that means me winning. So, I’m very practical in my thinking. I’m a practical guy. One of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln. Awhile back, there was a wonderful book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin called ‘Team of Rivals,’ in which she talked about how Lincoln basically pulled all the people he’d been running against into his Cabinet. Because whatever personal feelings there were, the issue was, ‘How can we get the country through this time of crisis?’ I think that has to be the approach one takes to the vice president and the Cabinet.

Lincoln needed a cabinet that could help him preserve the Union and overcome the crisis of secession. To what crisis does Obama refer? If he means the war in Iraq (and not his struggle with white voters), how much help will he need to coordinate a unilateral withdrawal? Defeat does not require unity, it requires political cover. Perhaps Hillary Clinton can provide that, and perhaps Obama will find it political expedient to enlist her in doing so. But that wouldn’t make Obama some kind of modern day Lincoln. Lincoln will be remembered as the greatest president in this nation’s history because he delivered victory. Everything Obama promises hinges on a graceful defeat.

Team of Rivals

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