WASHINGTON — Memo to Barack Obama:
Now that you’ve named three people to help you pick a running mate, they surely will list the pros and cons of Hillary Rodham Clinton. And no doubt some kibitzers will do the same without your encouragement.
We happily fall into the second category, so we asked an array of political insiders, from all persuasions and parties, to offer their thoughts. Herewith, free of charge, is a summary of their responses.
Pro: She helps with white, working-class voters. They abandoned you in droves in key states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. Although they lean Democratic, many are threatening to stay home or vote for John McCain in November. Clinton appeals strongly to them, and she might help you keep Michigan and Pennsylvania in the Democratic column (from 2004) while boosting your chances to grab Ohio, Missouri and Florida.
Con: She undermines your core message. Your campaign theme from Day One was “Change.” You made it clear you weren’t referring only to the Bush administration but to a longer legacy of partisan warfare and endless score-settling in Washington. That reads “Clinton administration.” Choosing Hillary Clinton may be a smart conventional move, but it smacks of predictable, old-school politics and it summons the ghosts of the divisive 1990s.
Pro: She has enough experience and political heft to convince voters she could be president at a moment’s notice, the “threshold question” for a vice president.
Con: You two don’t seem to like each other very much. When you were closing in on the nomination, she kept exposing your weaknesses and portraying you as second-best. On your night of triumph, she stole your thunder by refusing to concede and by dropping hints of a vice presidential slot. Where is the chemistry, the trust, the compatibility?
Pro: She puts a battler on your team. The vice presidential nominee typically is the hatchet man (or woman) who leads the attack against the other ticket. Spiro Agnew worked it beautifully; John Edwards eschewed the role, with unhappy results. You’re the basketball player, but Hillary Clinton throws elbows with the best.
Con: Battlers can overdo it. Fair or not, Clinton is a divisive figure who causes millions of Americans to seethe. No one stirs up the conservative base like she does, and that might offset the good she does in key Rust Belt regions and elsewhere.
