On one level, Hillary is now making the right "party unity" noises that are pleasing to our ears, but on another level, is Hillary waging a nasty disruptive backroom war for the VP slot?
These are two new stories that I saw today at Huff Post:
Hillary Clinton Running For The Vice Presidency
Hillary Clinton has, in effect, converted her presidential campaign into a bid for the vice presidency, an unprecedented move and a high-risk gamble for a candidate in her position.
Both personally and through intermediaries, in an exceptionally direct appeal for a losing candidate, Clinton has openly signaled her interest in the number two spot - a post once said to be worth less than "a bucket of warm piss."
In an interview with The Washington Post, Clinton supporter and Black Entertainment Television network founder Robert Johnson said Clinton has authorized him and others to persuade Barack Obama to pick her.
"She said if asked to do this, she must accept because she believes that it is in the best interest of the party that the party come together and win in November," Johnson told the Post.
Hillary's approach violates the protocol of avoiding overt appeals normally associated with the vice presidential selection process.
Clinton-Backing House Members To "Demand" Hillary As VP
Politico notes:
In one corner of the House, female lawmakers such as Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) were planning to write a letter demanding that Clinton be on the presidential ticket.
"There are a lot of members of Congress who feel this way," Wasserman Schultz said. "That way, we can maximize party unity and the odds of winning the election. They balance each other out in every way. They're the dynamic duo. They really are."
So, is Hillary waging a nasty war for the VP slot, and is all her nice talk about party unity just a nice PR con job?
Remember, these are fresh stories out today.
I ask you, do you trust Hillary to do the right thing?
I don't.
* * * UPDATE * * *
Hillary's Congressional Supporters Back Off Plan To Push Hillary As Veep
Yesterday the news broke that Hillary's Congressional supporters, led by Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, were planning to write a joint letter asking Obama to make Hillary his Veep, a story first reported by The Politico.
Now, however, the plan's been called off. Schultz's office sends me this statement from her:
"Several Members of Congress considered a letter written to both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton, underscoring the need for their partnership and the unity it would bring to the party. It was felt that the letter was being misconstrued as a demand on Senator Obama and we've decided to communicate our views informally."
We will just have to see what "we've decided to communicate our views informally" means. I read this that the push for Hillary to be Obama's VP is still on, and is still authorized by Hillary herself.
And remember, the Obama camp has already rejected this idea privately, many times, so this is all being done quite in opposition to what Obama wants.