Who’s No. 2?
Hillary and Bill Clinton are pushing the idea that Barack Obama would make a fine running mate, said Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News, but that takes "chutzpah" given that it's Obama who leads in the delegate count and the popular vote
What happened
Hillary and Bill Clinton said several times over the weekend that Barack Obama would make a fine running mate -- even though they say he’s not experienced enough to be commander-in-chief. (The Boston Globe, free registration) Obama’s camp says he’s not averse to a “dream ticket” -- if Hillary Clinton takes the No. 2 spot. (New York Daily News) Obama extended his lead in the delegate count with a win in Wyoming’s Democratic presidential caucuses on Saturday. (The New York Times, free registration)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Talk about chutzpah!” said Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News. Obama leads in both the delegate count and the popular vote, but “forget those pesky voters -- Hillary has declared herself the winner!” This “scam” is supposed to look like “an olive branch,” but it’s really a “knife aimed at cutting Obama down to size” by suggesting he’s “not ready to be President and would lose the general election as nominee to John McCain.”
The Clintons have to resort to some “unusual” arguments to explain the logic behind their “dream” team, said Mike Dorning in Tribune’s The Swamp blog via the Baltimore Sun. They insist Obama is a “second-rate choice for commander-in-chief,” so how do they justify putting him a “heartbeat away from the presidency”? For the Clinton team, that’s easy -- he’s “ready” to be commander-in-chief, just not as ready as Hillary.
The idea of a Clinton-Obama ticket is nothing new, said Clarence Page in the Chicago Tribune. “There's been talk in political circles of Obama as a possible vice president for Clinton since before the Illinois senator announced his candidacy.” What’s changed is that now there’s disagreement over who should get top billing. But with the nomination battle still raging, it’s too early to have this conversation. And with all the bad blood between these two campaigns and the inevitable difficulties either would have playing second fiddle to the other, “it is also nearly impossible” to imagine that such a ticket would fly.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published