Russians may be great chess players, but they don’t seem to get the hang of American politics. Commenting on press reports that Hillary Clinton is open to the idea of being Barack Obama’s running mate, a reporter for Moskovskii Komsomolets writes:
Experts predict … if Obama invites Clinton to join his team as vice president, supporters of both candidates will simply be added together. If these two former competitors join forces, Republican candidate John McCain will have practically no chance at victory.
In US politics, 2 + 2 rarely equals 4.
Former president Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, sees things a bit more clearly: picking Clinton would be a disaster.
“I think it would be the worst mistake that could be made,” said Carter. “That would just accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates.”
Carter, who formally endorsed the Illinois senator last night, cited opinion polls showing 50% of US voters with a negative view of Clinton.
In terms that might discomfort the Obama camp, he said: “If you take that 50% who just don’t want to vote for Clinton and add it to whatever element there might be who don’t think Obama is white enough or old enough or experienced enough or because he’s got a middle name that sounds Arab, you could have the worst of both worlds.”
A few weeks ago, a Slate article argued that an Obama–Clinton ticket just might work, and offered historical precedents. But I agree with Carter: Clinton’s negatives are just too high. Obama can find a VP who will bring virtually unalloyed positives to his campaign. Although some I know have pushed for Bill Richardson, it’s surprising that I haven’t heard Wesley Clark mentioned. At any rate, the Democratic Party is full of good choices for vice president. I’m content to sit back and see what Obama comes up with.
