Air America Proves Once Again They Know Nothing Of How Politics Works

One of the e-mail newsletters I subscribe to is the one from Air America. Why? Well, The Office is off the air for the season, but I still love a good laugh. I got a big one out of the following article by Air America's Thom Hartmann titled "Obama - Ask Hillary First!" Now Thom Hartmann is one of the few people on Air America that I can listen to for more than a few minutes. Sure, I rarely agree with the man, but he does occasionally try to at lease try to understand how the other side (aka "The Real World") works. At least I used to think that about him.

But then Thom wrote this:

The issue at hand for the Democratic Party for winning in ‘08 is not losing to McCain but losing to a divided Democratic party. The first thing Obama should do if nominated is put Hillary on the ticket. Will the Republicans have a field day with her on the ticket? Yes! Is their some bad blood in the water due to some negative campaign strategies on the part of the Clintons? Probably. Can Hillary be a tough fighter able to play tough allowing Obama to stay higher above the fray? Yes!

Howard Dean said a few months ago that the loser will be the most important person in the Democratic presidential run this year. Hillary's legacy in this 08 election could place her as the healer and bring together a united Democratic party. As a winning ticket they also move this country closer to healing the racial and misogynist undertones that still have roots.

Can you picture Denver with Hillary's delegates close to half of all delegates demanding that she be included on the ticket? To some it's a crusade. If Hillary was the one out ahead - by just a little over half - wouldn't Obama supporters want the same?

Obama's offer and Hillary's acceptance of an Obama/Clinton ticket hold the healing and the power to move this country in the direction of the real change in Washington that Obama talks about. First he must bring the Democrats back together again.

Obama - Ask Hillary first! And if she should say no, the offer would still have a unifying affect.
- Thom Hartmann

When did it become a requirement that the nominee offer the VP slot to whomever came in second? Joe Libermann didn't come in second to Gore, Bill Bradley did. Al Gore did not come in second to Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown did (Really? Jerry Brown?). As a matter of fact, Jerry Brown garnered 596 Delegates to Al Gore's 1. That's right, in 1992 Al Gore picked up 1 delegate.

Now it's not that there has never been an instance where the nominee picked the person who finished in the number two spot to be his running mate. As a matter of fact, John Kerry picked John Edwards.

But why should Obama be FORCED to ask Hillary? After all, He and Hillary really don't like each other. Some of the most hateful things said about Obama during this campaign have been said not by the Republicans, but by Bill and Hillary. And do you really think Hillary, as V.P., would sit back and let Obama run the show?

Then why? I'll tell you why, because the democrats are afraid that if Obama and Hillary don't unite, they will split the party apart and hand the presidency to McCain. And that could, in effect, mark the beginning of the end for the Democratic party. I mean lets face it, after eight years of George W. Bush, AND going up against what I would consider to be a pretty weak opponent in McCain, if they were to lose what does that say about their party. I love it when I run across a liberal that says "Oh, George W. Bush is the worst president ever" or "Oh, George W. Bush is a total moron". My reply? "Okay, George W. Bush is a moron, and yet your guy couldn't beat him. Twice."

The simple answer is that this is all about the "win at any cost" mentality of politics today. Notice I didn't say the "Democratic win at any cost" mentality, because this is an issue on both sides of the aisle. But if Obama does ask Hillary to be his running mate, he will be doing it out of fear: fear of not winning, and fear of losing power. The Democrats have already shown in 2006 that they are willing to throw away principle for power, so why should 2008 be any different?