There have been may people on this site who have doubted Hillary would want the Vice Presidency. I think they're wrong, as too many Hillary surrogates have been floating the idea of her being VP over the past week for it to be merely a coincidence.
And despite what people think, Hillary needs a reconciliation as much, if not moreso, than Obama...
Hillary has burned a lot of bridges in this campaign, both among superdelegates as well as certain groups of voters, like African Americans. Without finding some way to bury the hatchet, her chances are dire. But if she can reconcile herself, they increase dramatically. Let's look at three scenarios.
- Obama as a two-term President. In this case, barring something extraordinary, Hillary will be the Democratic nominee in 2016. Given past history, she'll quite possibly lose, but it's a shot. She'd have a far slimmer shot of becoming president at 68 if she was challenging whoever Obama's VP was during the primary process.
- Obama as a one-term President. The VPs of presidents have later gone on to become the GE candidates after a period out of the public spotlight. Mondale did this, as did Richard Nixon. In this case, she'd also be 68.
- Obama loses. If Clinton thinks this will happen, then reconciliation is essential. She will be blamed, at least by some democratic voters and superdelegates, for Obama's loss. Being on the ticket with him, and fighting like hell to get him elected, will raise the opinion that Obama supporters have of her. She may end the race with substantial goodwill, and should Obama not run again, will be have a strong rationale for running again. Bob Dole won the nomination for the Republicans in part based upon his status on a VP ticket 20 years before, and Edwards ran a campaign nearly as strong this past year as in 2004. She certainly wouldn't be without challenges, but she'd have a stronger chance being on a losing ticket with Obama than being off the ticket.
Thoughts?