Obama Could Blow It with his Veep Pick
04 August 2008 8:00 am by Taylor Marsh
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If not Hillary, who
would be a better choice?
…Geraldine Ferraro, a Clinton supporter who in 1984 became the first woman
on a major party presidential ticket, said Obama should be “gracious”
enough to offer Clinton the vice presidency, considering how narrow the race
was.Marcia Pappas, who heads the New York state chapter of the National Organization
for Women, believes that Clinton supporters “would be outraged to know
she was not given that right of first refusal.”“She is the only woman in history who has ever garnered this much support,”
Pappas continued. “She is the only woman in history who was able to
raise the kind of money one would need to run a presidential campaign.”Pamela Sumners, who directs the Missouri chapter of the abortion-rights group
NARAL, added that Clinton “is now seen as the reigning dean of the women’s
movement. It’s sort of Moses gets all the way to the mountain and doesn’t
get to the promised land — and I think there would be people really
angry about that.” …
But these are die hards. Ferraro blundered with her comment about Obama, which raised the race issue. Pappas
got into trouble after Kennedy endorsed Obama. Sumners’ organization isn’t
popular with many, including me. So many will ignore their pleas. However, his
problem is larger than that. Larger than women, that is.
“No matter who he picks,” said former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo,
“the question is going to be raised: Are you telling me that
this person would be a better qualified vice president than Hillary Clinton?”
Mario Cuomo is putting it nicely.
The real question is why is any name being considered more seriously than Clinton? Why hasn’t she been the buzz?
She garnered 18 million votes, something no other person in consideration has
done. She can unite the party like no one else. The can also go into states
like Florida, Arkansas and Ohio, even Michigan and Pennsylvania and make the
economic case better than anyone else, including the nominee. So why not Clinton?
The answer to that question is what will hurt Obama. It also could make his
job harder among Hillary supporters, not easier, and we’re not just talking women either, something that is discounted way too often. There are a lot of men out there, like former Gov. Cuomo, who understand how these things work. Nobody is going to be happy if Obama blows it. His vice presidential pick is one way that could happen.
