Barack Obama to yield spotlight to Hillary Clinton ... one last time

After tending to one last bit of pressing business -- an unpublicized visit Thursday night with Hillary Clinton in Washington for a chat the entire political universe would have killed to overhear -- Barack Obama headed to his Chicago home for what his schedule listed as three days of downtime.

Cant' say the fellow didn't earn a long weekend. It was roughly 17 months ago that he began the quest that ended successfully this week for the Democratic presidential nomination; his schedule has been mostly nonstop over that period. And he routinely notes that the biggest negative about aspiring to become the leader of the Free World has been the long stretches he's away from his two young daughters.

Still, his timing also happens to be politically perfect.

Clinton, after doing her best to pretend not to have noticed that Obama beat her to the delegate majority finish-line Tuesday night, carved out Saturday for a farewell bow as a presidential candidate (at least in '08). It's unorthodox -- most vanquished candidates don't linger in their also-ran status quite so long, or finally pull the plug with quite so much grandeur.

But Clinton was no ordinary candidate and she ran no ordinary campaign (as she will no doubt point out -- frequently -- on Saturday).

So if you're Barack Obama -- and you need a break anyway -- why not stand down.

We don't imagine, though, that he'll stray too far from a television set as Clinton prepares to take the stage.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Bob]

Obama will be challenged to unify the Democratic Party. His biggest obstacle will be die-hard, Hillary or nothing, fanatics. Perhaps their numbers are less than their noise would imply?

Hillary as VP may appease some of her ardent followers; however, it would hurt him in the long run. The Clintons have had ample time at the podium, time to move-on.

Hillary, the Queen of Spin and a Legend in Her Own Mind!

http://klintons.com

[Randall Probeert]

Congratulations so far with your campaign...but if Clinton becomes your running mate...you lose my vote

[Wm Tate]

Since Big Media selected the Big O to be the Dem candidate, why don't they save everyone's time and just instruct Barry on whom to pick for Veep?
-Wm Tate,
http://www.atimelikethis.us/

[kat]

If Hillary lowered herself to taking the VP spot she would lose MY support. Hillary Clinton is ten times the candidate Barrack Obama will ever be. She's smarter, more savvy, more politcally sophisticated and has enough cajones that she could give Obama the set he needs and still have some to spare.

For Clinton to take the VP spot from a younger, less qualified male would be to tell the women in this country that we haven't moved on one inch in this country since the days when women with law degrees had to take jobs as legal secretaries.

Call me bitter. I suppose I am. I saw this country fall in lock step behind George Bush and as a result the lives of millions have been destroyed, our dollar is toilet paper, we've lost world standing and oil is $140 a barrell. Then I see the people of this country turn around and do the same thing again. Obama is nothing more than a political rock star who has been nominated running on the strenght of his "eloquence" and record in the Illinois state legislature. He appeals to the trendies, the self important, the non-to-bright, those who would vote for any black candidate and the self congratulatory. No white man or woman could have gotten this far with the lack of qualifications Obama has. He's Affirmative Action gone haywere and now we're going to find out what he's made of by giving him the presidency of the United States.

We didn't learn a thing from George Bush. I

[Bryan]

Seriously!!! Hillary Lowering herself to VP are you kidding me?

1. She would be the First WomenVP in our countries history
2. She would have more power and influence then she ever would as a Senator
3. Would put her in a Prime Position for 2016 for President.
4. Obama is a very very smart man. I am a White Male, 34, and make around 80k a year, and a huge Obama supporter. Experience doesnt mean anything, its about leadership. Obama has all the qualities of a Leader, thats why soo many in the Senate, including Ted Kennedy were so behind them,, who knows his work better then the ones he works with.
5. Obama won the election fair and square. He won more states, delegates, and won the popular vote with out michigan included. You cant count any vote to the pop vote total cause MI was a flawed election.
6. I understand Hillary supporters dissapointment, but come on, if you liked Hillary for her policies, then Obama is the simple choice since thier polices are 90% identical. Why any democrat woudl even think about voting for McCain is beyond me. He stands for everything oppisite of a Democrat. Remember this President will prob be appointing 2 Supreme Court Justices. Do you want Roe v Wade Over turned? do you want a majority of the Justices too be soo right winged, seriously? Do you want no changes to how our government is run? Do you want Lobbiest running Washington? Do you want our country to continue in a war that should never have been waged? Do you want the same healthcare problem and educational problems we have today? Do you want Social Security Privatized? Do you want 4 to 8 more years of the same bush economic policies that have brought our country to the brink of recession? Do you want our country to be alienated from the rest of the world for the next 4-8 years as Bush as done?

Think about it, if your a democrat, why would u want McCain even to have a chance in office. Its everything Hillary is against. If you were truely her supporter, you would want our governent in a position that it coudl try to get her some of her policies implemented which wont happen under McCain.

[Andrew Austin]

What a disaster Democrats have made of this election. The generic Democrat beats McCain, so Democrats nominate a man named Barack Hussein Obama who hails from south-side Chicago radical community. Now all McCain has to do to win is keep breathing. I like the Republicans less than I like Democrats, but the Republicans are more in touch with the American public. No wonder they've occupied the White House since 1980 with the exception of... Clinton's eight years.

[Seni]

I'm a longtime democrat, but Hillary if the VP is offered to you PLEASE don't accept it. You are too great and smarter than Obama to take a back seat behind him. Barack Obama shows that he knows little about the history and true values of this country. He speaks well sounds humble and make many promises. But, that's all there is. He's a slick phony trying to get power for himself and his many radical friends. If McCain had this kind of baggage he would be out of the race. I can't stand the though of me voting for Barack Obama.

[kat]

I share 90% of the same political views as Clinton but that doesn't entitled me to be president.

Barrack Obama is a rock star whose entire career before he started running for president was the state legislature and one year in the U.S. Senate. Hell, George Bush had more hands experience running a government that Obama and look what he did to this country.

A lot of educated and well off people like Obama but they like Quisinarts too and in my mind, that's what Obama is - the latest thing to come down the pike. He's right there with Pinot and the Times and Leisure section of the New York Times. He should be on that website: stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

I want competence along with shared political views. I'm not going to vote for John McCain under any circumstance but whether I will be able to join in this Obama hysteria and vote for him I don't know. When George Bush's approval rating was 90% after 9/11 I felt the same way that I do now - agog. I could see that Bush was riding a wave of unconditional support and rampant psuedo nationalism. Even the Washington Post and New York Times were in on it. But I didn't fall for it then and I'm not falling for it now.

Barrack is just a feel good version of post 9/11 George Bush. It's the same phenomena.

[Alma Ludivina]

Mrs clinton deliberatelly and without scruples hurted the democratic party, she was well warned with statistics well hammered into her head, her inabiliy to discern reality and to accept critisism, her negativity, her mutiple attempts to denigrated senator Obama without compassions, dissapointed the american people.

Even at the last minute fail to acnowledge her reality that looks very incongruent with her age.

She wanted the spotlight at the last minute, she left leaving the american people nauseated with her behavior.

[S.A.]

Dear Hillary Clinton,

Please do not seek nor take the vice president job. You are much much more qualified to be president than Barack Obama. Let him fail ( I hope he does ) on his own. I will not vote for him.
Signed,

A democrat voting for qualified leadership.

[kat]

Alma, whose social security number are you using? When you can vote legally come back and see us.

[Alok]

Someone wrote:

"Obama is a very very smart man. I am a White Male, 34, and make around 80k a year, and a huge Obama supporter. Experience doesnt mean anything, its about leadership. "

If you make 80K I assume you are in some corporate position. If not I assume that you are well read enough to know a thing or two about Business or Education etc. My question to you is simple. If leadership is such an important quality and trounces experience then why do companies, schools find a young bright manager/teacher and promote them directly to become the CEO of GM or NY School district etc.? Why is that not the norm. Or is everyone except Obama unaware of this gem of wisdom?

My theory about Obama is this. I could be wrong and probably I am. Obama is eloquent, young, smart. White, educated Americans have not come across such eloqent and bright Blacks and backing Obama gives them the great satisfaction of proving to themselves and others that are not racists. It could also be a counter reaction to the guilt of the injustice/inequality done to Blacks.

I agree that Obama won the election fair and square but he is still not the best candidate to beat McCain. Obama was leading Hillary and was getting the white working class vote till the Reverened Wright episode. Thereafter his candidacy was permanently damaged. Obviously there was no system to reevaluate the past contests. Superdelegates are supposed to do that but they failed the party.

My vote will got to McCain. I will make all effort to defeat Obama whether or not Hillary is the VP since If I along with many other Hillary supporters can do this, we will get Hillary back in 2013.

[Chris]

It's interesting that some of the reasons why people feel so strongly about Hillary being President is due to her sex. People shouldn't become President of this country, or any country, because of something to prove. She clearly fought so long and nasty because she had something to prove.

[Hillary Supporter]

This country has way too many talkers (like Obama) and way too little doers (like Hillary). This country needs a real change, and Hillary is the one that can bring the real change needed. I will vote for Hillary if she makes to this fall, otherwise, I will vote for MaCain. A vote for Obama this fall is a vote for real four more year of Bush.