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1.She wants to be president a little too much. A good VP has to be happy in the role of spokesmodel and ceremonial ribbon-cutter, someone who can be counted on to take one for the team whenever necessary. Sure, you say, Hillary can be counted on: to wage ruthless turf wars, compete for the spotlight, hijack the agenda and otherwise insert herself into the power equation whenever possible. True, Obama wouldn't be the clueless, spineless weakling that Bush is regarding the VP's office, but why would he put himself in the position of having to look over his shoulder all the time, trying to keep an eye on Hillary's machinations behind-the-scenes? He wouldn't, I'm pretty sure.
2.Her negatives still stink. Hillary and only Hillary will inflame the passions of legions of wingnuts who would otherwise stay home in stunned, Bud Light-muted apathy on election day, watching Dukes of Hazzard reruns. McCain offers evangelicals and anti-immigration racists nothing to vote for—but Hillary, of all the potential VP picks, will offer them someone to vote emphatically against. They hate her, and they'll turn out in droves if she's on the ticket.
3.She brings no extraordinary credibility, experience or expertise to the ticket. Unlike a Jim Webb (former Secretary of the Navy) or a Bill Richardson (former governor of NM, former Secretary of Energy, extraordinary experience in foreign policy and diplomacy), or even a Joe Biden (gives good TV, has considerable foreign policy expertise), the most notable moments in Hillary's political career have consisted of playing first lady to Wild Bill, bungling a golden opportunity for health care reform in the early 90s, and voting (cravenly) the wrong way on the IWR.
4.She's nobody's favorite son (or daughter). That means she won't deliver a single state or constituency for Obama that he wouldn't win without her. Unlike Webb, who could be counted on to impress moderate "national security" Dems and indies with his military credentials and tough demeanor, or Richardson, who would deliver huge blocks of Latino voters in the southwest, Florida and urban east, Hillary has no built-in constituency except maybe older white women, most of whom, I'm guessing, can be persuaded to vote for Obama over McCain (if not, then there's something going on there besides misplaced hyper-loyalty or post-election-loss bitterness).
5.Wild Bill, the loose cannon. In just a few short months, Bill Clinton has managed to reduce himself from revered party elder to race-baiting jackass. At this point I don't think anyone who's paying attention to American politics wants to see Bill Clinton anywhere near the White House. Frankly, we don't need the drama (or the potential for scandal that seems to follow Mr. Clinton like a leg-humping dog), or the diversion from the important work that needs to be done to repair the economy, get us out of Iraq, slow global warming, fix our collapsing fiscal house and restore the constitution. Please, Senator Obama, do us all a favor and send Bill Clinton back out to pasture where he belongs.
+1.She tried to make a preemptive move by asking for it. Essentially, she's daring Obama to refuse, threatening to stir up a little media shitstorm about how it's all personal and how he's throwing her supporters under the bus. Basically, it's a form of blackmail—which kind of proves several of my points above. Obama shouldn't give it to her just because she asked (in fact, the fact that she asked before conceding should disqualify her): he should pick the person who brings the most to the ticket and who would ultimately serve his presidency most effectively. And that ain't Hillary.
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