WP: Obama Signaled Early That He Was Unlikely To Choose Ex-Rival

[kennetha]

MOLINE, Ill., Aug. 25 -- In a private meeting with Sen. Barack Obama after she conceded the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made a request: that he consider her for his vice presidential running mate, but not put her through the charade of being vetted if he was not serious.

Obama told Clinton then it was unlikely he would choose her, people familiar with the conversation said. Obama did not want to lead her on and, after campaigning against her for more than a year, already had a sense that their pairing would not be the right fit.

....snip...
The question of how seriously Obama considered tapping Clinton for the ticket has become a source of unhappiness for both sides of late. Clinton was never asked for the official vetting paperwork when other potential running mates were. Obama never invited her to have a real conversation about potentially joining forces, although the two spent time together at several events.

....snip....
The arguments against Obama choosing Clinton were evident from the start: Her campaign, rife with internal struggles, bore no resemblance to his tightly run operation; the two had little personal chemistry; and hard feelings lingered after what had been a bruising primary.

Read whole story here: Obama Signaled Early That He Was Unlikely To Choose Ex-Rival

Personally, I think he made a serious mistake and it makes me think his ego got in the way of better judgment. Plus if he loses a close election because he passed over Hilary, we will all regret it. But he's made his bed -- as it was his right to do. And we'll all just have to hope for the best. Though it deeply disappoints me, I'm still going to vote for him.

[zanne]

1. I don't think Hillary would be happy as a VP.

I'm a big Obama supporter, but I'd like to see her try for the presidency again, after Obama serves his two terms. I think she should have a place in his cabinet.

[DangerousRhythm]

4. I didn't think she'd want it either.

I always thought she'd be more suited to some other high position, if not President, like Health perhaps, as it was her cause.

[kansasblue]

8. I can't help but think there is something better waiting for her. Like Gore

She'll find a spot or cause to make her own.

Maybe she can be a future 'lion' of the senate.

[phillysuse]

12. More like Teddy Kennedy - he didn't make it to be

President but in his 28 years in the Senate since, he has, in my opinion, done more for America and for the world than he could have in 8 years as President.

I hope that Hillary will realize this and grow into the Lioness of the Senate.

If Teddy doesn't live long enough to get universal health care through, then Hillary can pick up that torch and take it across the finish line.

[zanne]

15. I'm counting on her for that. nt

[tabatha]

2. How can one demand that a person be vetted only is thay are to

be a VP? Is not the vetting process supposed to unearth any potential problems. And how about the fact that Bill would not release the list of donors to his library. That is a show-stopper right there.

[kennetha]

5. From the article

Obama advisers said they did not want to raise expectations for Clinton knowing they would probably be dashed, especially after she asked not to be put through an artificial process.

They also said they had far more information about her than they did the other contenders after doing so much research during the campaign. "We spent an enormous amount of money and time and a full-time unit of people looking under every stone. It wasn't like we did not know anything about her," said one senior Obama adviser involved in the process. "And we thought her position on this was pretty reasonable."

Apparently the Obama people thought her request not to be vetted was reasonable. And apparently they were pretty sure they weren't going to choose her from the beginning.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I think he easily could have dealt with Hillary. The problem was Bill.

[kennetha]

6. Maybe but that's not what the article suggests

It suggests he didn't really like her or the disorganized way her campaign was run. Doesn't mention anything specific about Bill. Doesn't sound like the conversation got that far. Doesn't sound like the idea of HIllary as VP got to first base.

Again, it's his choice. And if he didn't want her, he didn't want her.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

28. And he had EXCELLENT reasons not to want her, of which his "EGO"

was not one of them. Funny, the Clinton Enablers go on and on about how she has been disrespected. But it was SHE who asserted repeatedly that he can't win; that he's not ready; that she and McSame are ready to be "Commander In Chief" and he only brings a speech. And yet, you guys are upset that she's not the VP? HUH?? It doesn't make sense. Why would she or anyone want her as VP when she doesn't support the top ticket? This isn't about Obama's "EGO," this has much more to do with the Clintons sense of entitlement. She is not owed anything!

[kennetha]

33. Nothing to do with entitlement

And how can you say she doesn't support the top of the ticket?

[No Elephants]

11. Riiiight. As though Hillary just washed Bill and can't do a thing with him. It's good cop, bad cop.

[kennetha]

13. I don't get your point

[Renew Deal]

24. I agree

Bill was always the problem.

[smiley_glad_hands]

7. Obama did the right thing. Hill can run in 2016.

He didn't lead her on and drag it out just to say no. Thanks for the concern.

[kennetha]

10. What's with the silly "thanks for the concern" nonesense?

Here's a quite informative story about something that went on behind the scenes between our two leading primary candidates after the whole thing was finally over. And you dismiss it as "concern trolling." How juvenile.

[Renew Deal]

23. I'm sure you find it all concerning.

But no one is suggesting you're a concern troll.

[LowerManhattanite]

30. That's the poster's “concern”...

...NOT YOURS DAMMIT! :)

[No Elephants]

9. Biden is the perfect choice. Obama has more experience than Hillary and he got it all on his own.

[apnu]

14. I respect Obama's camp for being straight up with HRC.

It was the right thing to do, IMO. I haven't liked Hillary's response to losing out to Obama and her, less than full endorsement, so far of Obama. Here's to hoping she puts 200% behind Obama tonight and her hold outs follow their leader.





One can hope.

[kennetha]

38. Well about the being straight-up part

I agree with you there. At least he had the decency not to pretend. He could have pretended. It might have won him short term political points in some quarters.

[moriah]

16. I do not think he made a mistake.

I've said it several times. I supported Hillary in the primaries.

But they WOULDN'T be a good fit.

Hillary can do more either as a Cabinet member or as a Senator than she could as Vice President.

The first woman we have in the White House deserves to be number 1 on the ticket, not number 2, just as Obama deserved to be at the head of the ticket, not just VP.

The kittycult (Thanks, Rimmer, for that great name) wouldn't be happy if she was VP, even if they lie and say they would. They are so full of hatred for Obama that they wouldn't even have wanted Obama as VP if Hillary had won.

I think he made the right choice.

[kennetha]

18. On this one, we agree to disagree

I think she would have been a game-changing selection as VP and I think she would have been a highly effective partner for OBama as VP. I really think his ego got in his way and it makes me think less well of Obama and I've never thought that highly of him to begin with.

But let me be clear it doesn't make me less inclined to vote for him. I'll hold my nose and pull his lever when the time comes and hope he turns out okay.

[seaglass]

36. Because I see her knowledge as superior to his I wouldn't see

Hillary reporting to Obama as a good fit. I think they have complementary strengths and weaknesses but I don't think either of them see that, too much ego involved. I am OK with his decision to go with Biden.

[blm]

17. Clintons took themselves out early by insisting Bill's finances wouldn't be up for vetting.

Obama would have been crazy to even consider HRC under that condition.

Besides, Clintons all knew that the numbers were against a Clinton victory shortly after Super Tuesday and they kept up the charade anyway. That may have made you happy, but it was a selfish BULLSHIT move to honest campaigners.

[kennetha]

19. Are you just making that up?

Or is there something to document this?

[highplainsdem]

43. It seems to be a popular anti-Clinton myth here. Haven't ever seen anything to back it up.

[blm]

50. Making what up? Bill's 20 million from BCCI thugs that wouldn't pass vetting process?

Are you claiming you are unaware of that financial arrangement?

Are you of the belief that Clintons invited vetting of their finances?

Subscription only at this point, but this WSJ article is from June4:

>>>>
A hurdle for an Obama-Clinton ticket, Clinton associates say, might well be Mr. Clinton’s refusal to release records of his financial dealings and details of his presidential library’s major donors — which have included Mideast governments and businessmen — during the traditional vice-presidential vetting process.

But even if Mr. Clinton did open his records — something he refused to do during his wife’s 17-month presidential campaign — the unprecedented complications he would pose for an Obama White House as the vice president’s spouse go deeper and broader than his personal records, Democrats on both sides say.

A former president’s global travels for his humanitarian foundation, speeches here and abroad for which he has received up to a quarter-million dollars, financial deals and everyday utterances could pose “a whole host” of conflicts with the policies of an Obama administration, Democrats say.

>>>>>
For Sen. Clinton to be considered, she would have to undergo an invasive vetting of both Clintons’ private and public affairs, just like other recent vice-presidential aspirants, say veterans of the process. They said it would likely require Mr. Clinton to reveal donors to his library in Little Rock, Ark., which have included the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Middle Eastern businessmen, as well as details of his confidential business dealings.

In April, he did end a relationship with Yucaipa Cos., an investment firm run by billionaire friend Ron Burkle that has had a partnership with the ruler of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The Obama vetters “are going to say, ‘You have to give us the list of library donors, and that’s a deal-breaker if you don’t,’” said one longtime Clinton confidant. “I don’t think the former president will agree to it.”
>>>>

[elocs]

20. So Obama should have selected Clinton even though she did not want to be vetted,

which is certainly an indication that she did not want the VP nod? Was he supposed to make her be his running mate? How could Obama have made a serious mistake and let his ego get in the way if Clinton was not interested in being his VP?

[kennetha]

27. what she did not want was to be vetted "just for show."

Again, read the article. Obama people agreed with the thought of not vetting her just for show:

Obama advisers said they did not want to raise expectations for Clinton knowing they would probably be dashed, especially after she asked not to be put through an artificial process.

They also said they had far more information about her than they did the other contenders after doing so much research during the campaign. "We spent an enormous amount of money and time and a full-time unit of people looking under every stone. It wasn't like we did not know anything about her," said one senior Obama adviser involved in the process. "And we thought her position on this was pretty reasonable."

So it's not like she took herself out of the running or anything. She just didn't want to be used as a prop in a sham pretend game. I think that was wise on her part and his part. If he had used her as a prop and then DIDN'T choose her, all hell would have broken loose in the party and we'd be even more divided than we are.

[elocs]

35. Frankly, I don't believe that she really wanted the job.

Obama treated her honestly and did not lead her on. Either way, it was his choice. I don't buy the McCain ads that he did not choose her even though she got millions of votes just because she was critical of him. The nominee gets to choose, everyone else gets to second guess the choice.

[Renew Deal]

21. Yes, he should have chosen someone who endorsed McCain.

Makes a lot of sense. :crazy:

[highplainsdem]

46. Yes, Biden's never said anything favorable about McCain.

Obviously why he was chosen instead.

:sarcasm:

[dailykoff]

22. Maybe if she and Bill hadn't blown their brains out dog whistling

for six straight months he'd have considered her.. just sayin'.

[washingdem]

25. She lost.

[kennetha]

29. Well so did Biden

and by an even wider margin.

He got what -- like 2,000 votes or something?

[Renew Deal]

31. If she was like Biden, she would have dropped out in February

When it was over.

[washingdem]

39. Yes, but the point is - she lost. Let the obsession with her go. Every year people lose.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

26. So let me get this straight: The woman who attacked him mercilessly,

trashed him, his patriotism, his character and played the race card should have been chosen for his VP? The woman who ran an abysmal campaign, rife with internal discord and in-fighting should have been chosen as his VP? The woman who ran her campaign in the ground, incurring a great amount of debt should have been chosen as his VP?

HE HAS AN EGO?!?!? You must be kidding me! The sense of entitlement from you Clinton Enablers is baffling. No one owes Hillary or Bill a goddamn thing!!

Jack Cafferty nails it:

The Beverly Hillary-billies come to Denver.

"It's not like have been bending over backwards to help Obama get elected," says Jack Cafferty.

If you look closely this week, you might catch a glimpse of Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in between appearances by the Clintons. Hillary Clinton is doing her dead-level best to take title to Obama's moment in the sun.

She lost. He won. She and her family will be everywhere.

She speaks tonight. Chelsea Clinton will introduce her. She will be preceded by a video produced by her own people, the same ones who produced the "Man from Hope" for Bill Clinton. He will speak tomorrow.

The Clintons will also use the convention to raise money to retire her campaign debts. They even came up with a cute little contest. Hillary Clinton awarded one lucky donor a trip to the convention with her.

And as an enticement to cough up some bucks, Bill Clinton sent an e-mail to potential contributors promising a memorable week with his wife. (Insert your own joke here)

He said, "You'll get to see Hillary speak on Tuesday and Barack Obama -- the next president of the United States -- on Thursday. And I hear Hillary and you will have a chat -- I'll make sure I stop by."

Makes you want to borrow money against your house, doesn't it? How gross.

It's not like they have been bending over backwards to help Obama get elected. Bill Clinton has barely been polite. He couldn't even bring himself to say he thought Obama is qualified to be president. Now, Bill Clinton is reportedly not happy about the topic of his speech Wednesday night.

Politico.com reports the former president wanted to talk about the economy under President Bush compared to his accomplishments during his term in office. The theme for Wednesday night is "Securing America for the 21st Century." It seems Bill Clinton is forever more interested in reminding us of what a charming guy he was while in office than in acting like one of the leaders of his party and trying to get his party into the White House.

Kind of sad, really.

Yet, Obama's people have gone out of their way to accommodate the Clintons this week in the hopes of achieving party unity. Obama told reporters on Monday that former President Clinton could speak about anything he likes.

Some of Hillary Clinton's supporters had threatened to disrupt the proceedings if their candidate wasn't shown the proper amount of respect. They're called PUMAs, an acronym for "Party Unity My A**." They appear to be a humorless lot who cannot come to terms with the fact that the country didn't want Hillary Clinton to be president. So they have been throwing a hissy fit ever since the primaries ended.

For these people there will never be unity unless Hillary Clinton is president. For the rest of the Democratic Party, logic suggests that when it comes to a decision between Barack Obama and John McCain, they would be more inclined to stick needles in their eyes than vote to perpetuate the abysmal situation we find ourselves in courtesy of George W. Bush and his merry band of country-wreckers.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton owes some big bucks, as in tens of millions of dollars. So if you're at the convention this week and you see her out in front of the hall selling pencils, buy one. She needs the money.

[kennetha]

32. Calm down

Of course she attacked him. She was his opponent in a competitive process. She was trying to win. He attacked her too. That's politics. They were both trying to win. If a politician takes all that stuff personally, they'll go crazy.

Also this isn't about entitlement at all.

[Jennicut]

49. Ahhh, Jack Cafferty. Gotta love it. Puma IS full of humorless wackos

Get over it already. If Obama had lost and tried to pull this with Hillary he would be laughed out of the convention.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

64. Correction: If Obama had lost Super Tuesday and this primaries were esentially

over at the end of February with him having no chance of winning, the Democratic Establishment--headed by the Clintons--would have forced him to end his campaign. There's no way in hell that the Democratic powers that be would allow Obama to trash the Clintons like they did to him, praise McSame, and engage in all sorts of negative, dirty campaign tricks so that he could win. If Obama had amassed all of this debt, again, a debt incurred because he insisted on continuing a campaign that was all certain to lose, do we really believe that his actions would be tolerated?

And yet, it is *I* who must "calm down"?

The nerve and audacity of these Clinton Enablers. It is her surrogates (e.g. Rendell, Carville, Wolfson, etc.) who continue to create division within the party. Until they are stopped, there will never be unity. She and her husband should tell them to shut up and stop the division. They are not doing so which leaves many of us with the impression that they are encouraging the discord behind the scenes.

This is how I feel and nothing will change my opinion until these Clinton surrogates but an end to the divisiveness.

[LowerManhattanite]

34. It all starts out as “Well, that's his choice and we'll have to live with that.”...

...and devolves as always into a pissy tantrum with sobs of “How could he NOT pick her?”, “Biden lost by MORE, why him?”, and “I'll hold my nose...”

God, if all the griefers just held their noses—after duct-taping their mouths of course. we'd all be just a bit better off.

Jesus!

[kennetha]

37. I don't get your point.

I do think he made a decent choice but not the optimal choice and my gut tells me (and this story lends some credence to my gut feeling) that his ego got in the way of making a better choice. So sue me. I don't totally agree with his choice of VP. I grant it was his choice to make for whatever reasons. But are you saying I have to like his choice -- or what? I'm not a true blue democrat?

Would you rather not KNOW that many democrats think he made a bad choice and may think just a little be less of the man because of it?

What are you suggesting? I'm not really sure? You just don't want to hear this anymore. IS that it? You're just fed up with people who aren't fully ready to stand up and salute everything that Obama does? You want not just our votes for Obama -- which is guaranteed -- but also our hearts?

[smiley_glad_hands]

40. This is O's week, give it a rest.

[kennetha]

41. Well it's sort of O's week.

But he's not a one man show. And if he loses, it's not just his loss. It's our loss. We will be deprived once again of a golden opportunity to advance not just HIS agenda, but our agenda. So look Im going to vote for him. But I really, really wish he had made a stronger VP choice. It's one of the few times in history that the VP choice could have been a game changer all on its own.

[smiley_glad_hands]

45. Really? Who else is getting the nomination? You should know Mclame is next week?

[kennetha]

47. Of course he gets the nomination

But its our party, not just his. And if he loses, we all lose. So he has some sort of obligation do what it takes for us to win.

[smiley_glad_hands]

52. Your concern is noted.

[LowerManhattanite]

42. What I—and many other DUers are fed up with...

...is the pissy sniping from folks whose candidate DID NOT WIN. Nothing was promised to anyone. There were at many of the debates seven, eight, nine people vying for the nomination. Only ONE was going to win. And only ONE was going to be a running mate. The math was clear. Seven people's supporters were going to be a little disappointed. And of those seven-eight people there were going to be numerous combinations that would form comfortable, winning tickets, and less-comfortable winning tickets.

Obama made a choice of someone he felt more comfortable with. Ascribing “ego” and all that other stuff to his NOT picking Sen. Clinton is not even a back-handed slap at him, but rather, a full-frontal grille-pop. It ascribes weakness to someone who came out of nowhere and trumped a name-recognitioned political Godzilla (in terms of sheer political power—no one's calling her a “monster”). That person isn't weak. The issues with former President Clinton's financial vetting were—and still are real ones. As was the NY Senator's over-willingness to savage a fellow Dem with vicious words she has still yet to use against the GOP candidate. That's an issue, too. We can talk Johnson/Kennedy all damn day, but this is a much different time where that kind of in-primary subterfuge is better chronicled and dirtier than ever thanks to the ability to shield surrogates, the prevalence of YouTube, and of course, 527s.

But this talk of being “less of the man” is not just pointing something out. You say that to someone you don't know in the street and they'll punch you out. Say it to someone you know, and they may freeze you out for your calling their heart and “masculinity” into question.

And nobody's asking for your “heart”—but what is being asked for is for people to stop playing namby-pamby games with the rules of this board and stop jail-shanking the nominee in the guise of “sharing and caring”.

With that, moving on.

[kennetha]

56. Sorry but I do think his choice shows some sort of weakness

I do think his ego and resentment or something like resentment got in his way and prevented him from making the game changing choice. (Plus I think she and he would have made an absolutely incredible team once they won.)

I think it's actually getting in the way of lots of people on this board -- the Hillary haters and the Clinton dead-enders, alike. Some OBama people just can't get over the fact that she fought until the end. Some Hillary people can't accept the fact that in the end she lost. There's lots of anger, ego, silliness, etc on both sides. You would like to think the honcho's of the party might be better than we are. But that's certainly not true. They are probably worse than we are -- because it's their butts on the line everyday. And it's hard, really, really hard for them to get over themselves and not to take all this stuff -- the good and the bad of it, the adulation and the attacks both -- deeply personally.


So shoot me. I think Obama has shown that he's less than perfect that he can be blinded by ego and ambition and personal grievance as much as anyone. Not sure why that counts as a "namby-pamby" game or "jail-shanking" the nominee. I still think we will vastly better off by electing him than electing McCain.

[DevonRex]

44. If she had wanted the job she would have dropped out when it was

obvious she could not win. If she had wanted the job she would not have said that McCain has the experience to be Commander in Chief and that Obama doesn't.

She chose those words and in doing so, she chose not to be on the ticket. If she had ended her primary run earlier it might have been possible for them to join forces. Instead, she kept going, kept up the negativity, making it plain to anyone with a bit of common sense that she was unable and unwilling to work with Obama as his vice president.

She asked not to be vetted unless Obama intended to choose her. How on earth could he choose her without vetting her? I expect our president to make his decisions AFTER examining all the facts - something that the current president has never done, and something that McCain certainly will not do.

It's pretty simple. There is no need to analyze further than that.

[Hepburn]

48. Oh, please....

....this is how I read you:

If she had been chosen as the VP candidate ~~ you would be whining that he did not abdicate his win and give her the top spot.

As I see it, NOTHING would satisfy you unless Hillary is at the top of the ticket. Now, please stop it and do what is right for our country: Get behind Obama and work your butt off. Picture 4 years of John McCain as Prez and someone like Romney or Huckabee as the VP. If that is not enough to convince you to stop your whining and do the right thing, I am not sure what else to say.

JMHO

[kennetha]

51. Well you misread me.

If she had been chosen as the VP my confidence in our victory would have soared. As it is, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping to hell that we win. But I am definitely a little less confident than I otherwise would have been.

So shoot me, if you want. I think Hillary would have been an excellent VP choice. And I suspect, but don't know, that Obama's ego and a little touch of anger or something got in his way. SOrry if my thinking that offends you. But that is what I think.

Big deal.

[Hepburn]

53. You missed my point...let me say it again:

Please stop whining, OK?

[kennetha]

55. It's not a whine. It's just my view about Obama and Clinton.

Just don't listen if you don't want to. Of course, if we happen to lose and you start wondering how we could have lost one that was so clearly within our grasp, you might want to revisit the wisdom of this choice.

[Hepburn]

58. If we lose, which I do not see happening....

...the blame lies clearly and squarely at the feet of Clinton and her supporters who preferred to whine instead of doing what the rest of us are doing: Working our butts off to make sure there is NO President McCain.

What work had YOU done for the Obama campaign?

[JTFrog]

54. Hillary Signaled Early That She Refused To Be Vetted. n/t

[Bad Thoughts]

57. He did pick a rival!!!

Biden was also a candidate for the nomination. Why has the race been reduced to Clinton versus Obama, when many of us supported other candidates.

[Spazito]

59. More "disappointment" and "concern" from you....

How.......surprising......NOT!

Your OPs are getting beyond ridiculous and actually do the reverse of what they seem intended to do, imo.

If your intent is to dampen the enthusiasm for the Convention AND Obama, well.......you are failing miserably but....by all means...keep it up because it says WAY MORE about you than it does about Obama or anyone else, imo.

[LowerManhattanite]

61. It's more of the usual “post-primary griefing”

People are “sad”, “concerned”, and “disappointed” in the midst of a celebration of the party because their chosen candidate did not make the final cut.

It's a passive-aggressive dodge for continuing to bellyache.

My ignore list was down to four. It's back at eleven—and soon to be twelve.

Alas.

[northernlights]

60. nothing to do with ego

This is one I can take totally on face value. I *don't* think they were a good fit and I *do* think she didn't bring enough of what he needed to balance the ticket.

It's not only that she came with too much baggage and hit too many wrong notes during her campaign. He needs a *happy* attack dog, not an angry one.

Biden is master of the easy attack. He knows exactly where to hit, and exactly how to hit. That he came out of the park and immediately put them so much on the defensive says he nailed them with his first punch. I expect he'll continue smiling and punching them where it hurts.

He is so personable that he humanizes Obama's more remote persona, in the same way Michelle did last night.

Furthermore, the pick of Biden has really put them in a box for their VP choice. They want Romney, but that opens them up to a slew of ads showing their truly nasty, ugly primary fight, not to mention how many houses they have between the 2 of them. If they pick someone young, it highlights how ancient McCain is while Biden is so much more robust. If they pick someone McCain's age, they double up on that negative. If they pick a woman, they're obviously pandering.

[scheming daemons]

62. Kennetha... you REALLY need to let it go.....

It's over.


Get through your stages of grief already and move on.

[Romulox]

63. Enmity between David Axelrod and Mark Penn is my guess. nt