Hillary gets? Word is that Hillary is “open” to being Obama’s veep and is “withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket,” according to the AP. Bloggers are yet again buzzing about the possibility of a Democratic “dream” ticket. Is Obama game for the dream ticket? As Jules Crittenden put it, “At last check, I thought he wasn’t much interested, but maybe she and her peeps will bully him into it, now that they’ve got him softened up. Limping, battered, confused, more like it, wondering where the next hit comes from, who’s this she-devil he just can’t stick a stake in.” Is this a smart move for Hillary? At The Corner, Lisa Schiffren says, “Since Hillary has probably had enough martyrdom for a lifetime, she has every incentive to play hardball now, and to be just plain disruptive if she doesn’t get what she wants.” But Patrick Ruffini at The Next Right says the veep slot would be a “dead end” for her political career whether Obama wins or loses. And Hot Air’s Allahpundit wonders, “If she was interested in that, why didn’t she press for it last month? Her leverage now is near zero, with some fundraisers already ready to abandon ship and others doubtless soon to follow after he’s declared the presumptive nominee.” And would Veep Hillary be good for Obama? At Contentions, Jennifer Rubin says, “I think the answer is ‘yes,’ only if he lacks confidence in his ability to broaden his coalition and win in the easiest election year for Democrats in a generation.” Townhall’s Amanda Carpenter counters, “Does she really have the power to make her supporters stay home and not vote for Obama or against McCain? What does Obama get out of the deal? Seems like all he’d get is her baggage and campaign debts.” At The Corner, Jonah Goldberg adds, “The black guy with the funny name, plus the ‘woman candidate’ who also happens to be Bill Clinton’s wife. It would take Obama’s ‘change’ brand and cause it to capsize under the weight of its PCness.” Either way, the situation is no good for Obama. As Townhall’s Carol Platt Liebau says, “If Barack puts Hillary on the ticket, it’s a serious admission of weakness–if he can’t stand up to the Clintons, what’s he going to do with Kim Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? But if he keeps her off the ticket, what’s it going to do to her supporters?” And as Marc Ambinder reported this morning, Obama might have trouble ahead.
