The Dream Ticket Could Be a Conservative Nightmare

Bill Keller, who used to run the New York Times and now is one of the paper’s many liberal columnists, has come up with an idea:  He wants President Obama to gently push Joe Biden aside and put Hillary Clinton on the ticket this November to run as his vice presidential candidate.

If you’re a Democrat, this is a pretty good idea.  If you’re a Republican, you have every right to be worried.  An Obama-Clinton ticket would be formidable, more formidable than a ticket with ole’ reliable Joe Biden on it.

A few years ago I wrote a book called A Slobbering Love Affair about the last presidential campaign, about how the so-called mainstream media fell madly in love with Barack Obama.  Keller, in his New York Times column, demonstrates that slobbering is alive and well in liberal media circles.  Here’s an excerpt from Keller’s column:

“Hillary Clinton is 64 years old, with a Calvinist work ethic, the stamina of an Olympian, the E.Q. [emotional intelligence] to match her I.Q., and the political instincts of a Clinton.  She has an impressive empathic ability – invaluable in politics or statecraft – to imagine how the world looks to an ally or adversary.  She listens, and she learns from her mistakes.  She was a perfectly plausible president four years ago, and that was before she demonstrated her gifts as a diplomatic snake-charmer. … She is, says Gallup, the most admired woman in America for the 10th year in a row, laps ahead of, in order, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin and Condolzeezza Rice; her approval rating of 64 percent is the highest of any political figure in the country.

“So it’s too early to hang up the big ambition.  And a lot of us would be deeply disappointed in her if she did.”

Teenage girls don’t gush that much over Justin Bieber.

But Keller is on to something.  Mrs. Clinton could win over lots of independent and moderate women voters in crucial swing states.  That could be enough to beat whoever the Republicans put up. She’s a bigger draw than Biden, and probably a bigger draw than the president himself.  In other words, she can make a big difference, especially in a tight election.

But wouldn’t a decision to put her on the ticket make Mr. Obama look desperate?  Maybe, but so what if Hillary would help him win?  Wouldn’t it be tough for Mr. Obama to drop someone as loyal as Joe Biden? Tell me when you stop laughing!

Keller ends his piece by saying he fears that his dream ticket is just a fantasy.  I fear that it’s not.  If Mr. Obama makes the offer and if she accepts, Bill Keller’s dream may turn out to be every conservative’s nightmare.