AP - Hillary Rodham Clinton, fresh off a campaign saving comeback, hinted Wednesday at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama with her at the top. Obama played down his losses, stressing that he still holds the lead in number of delegates. On a night ...
03-05-2008, 09:21 AM
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| Stay classy!  Independent  
| Clinton hints at shared ticket AP - Hillary Rodham Clinton, fresh off a campaign saving comeback, hinted Wednesday at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama with her at the top. Obama played down his losses, stressing that he still holds the lead in number of delegates. On a night that failed to clarify the Democratic race, John McCain Tuesday clinched the Republican nomination. Clinton won primaries in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, halting Obama's winning streak. Obama won in Vermont. Both Democrats insisted on Wednesday they had the best credentials to go head to head or as Clinton put it "toe to toe" against McCain. Asked on CBS's "The Early Show" whether she and Obama should be on the same ticket, Clinton said: "That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me." Obama, who had hoped to knock Clinton out on Tuesday, said he would prevail against a tenacious candidate who "just keeps on ticking." Clinton acknowledged the race was close and said it would come down to her credentials on national security and the economy. The two presidential contenders made the rounds of the morning network television news shows Wednesday, declaring only one thing certain that the campaign would go on and that the next big showdown would occur April 22 in Pennsylvania. McCain, whose grasp on the nomination once seemed a distant reach, was headed for the White House Wednesday to have lunch with President Bush and get his endorsement. Bitter rivals in the 2000 presidential primaries, the two have forged an uneasy relationship during Bush's administration and have clashed on issues such as campaign finance, tax cuts, global warming and defining torture. But the president planned a five-star ceremony, with a formal welcome at the White House's North Portico, lunch in Bush's private dining room and a formal endorsement in the Rose Garden. Clinton's victories Tuesday night denied Obama a ripe opportunity to drive her from the Democratic presidential race. But Obama came away with a large share of delegates, too, in counting that continued Wednesday, meaning he's has a lead that's tough to overcome. "We still have an insurmountable lead," Obama said. "We're very confident about where we're going to be and that we can win the nomination and the general election." Clinton and Obama spent most of the past two weeks in Ohio and Texas in a bruising campaign, with the former first lady questioning his sincerity in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement and darkly hinting he's not ready to be commander in chief in a crisis. Obama also confronted questions about one of his longtime political benefactors, businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who went on trial Monday in Chicago on several felony fraud charges. Clinton said Wednesday that so-called "superdelegates" nearly 800 party officials and top elected officials who also help decide the nomination should exercise "independent judgment" in selecting the party's nominee. "New questions are being raised, new challenges are being put to my opponent," she said. "Superdelegates are supposed to take all that information on board and they are supposed to be exercising the judgment that people would have exercised if this information and challenges had been available several months ago." She said voters are being drawn to her argument that she would be the better commander in chief, the best steward of the economy and that she can better confront McCain in the general election. Obama countered Wednesday that on a key national security issue the war in Iraq "she got it wrong" by supporting Bush's call for authority to use of force. "I ultimately think the American people are going to want a clear break from the Bush-Cheney foreign policies of the past because they haven't made us more safe and more secure," he said. "If she thinks that longevity in Washington is the primary criteria for winning the White House, then John McCain is going to beat her." Clinton won about 54 percent of the Ohio vote in nearly complete returns. She was winning just over half in the Texas primary. She still faced a daunting task trying to overtake Obama in the remaining contests. It was questionable whether she would make up much ground once the final results were in and the complexities of allotting the 370 delegates at stake in the four states were ironed out. In the four-state competition for delegates, Clinton picked up at least 115, to at least 88 for Obama. Nearly 170 more remained to be allocated for the night, 154 of them in the Texas primary and the caucuses that immediately followed. Obama had a lead in Texas caucuses before counting closed for the night Tuesday, to be resumed Wednesday. Obama had a total of 1,477 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates, according to the Associated Press count. He picked up three superdelegate endorsements Tuesday. Clinton had 1,391 delegates. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination. Wyoming offers 12 delegates in caucuses Saturday; Mississippi has 33 at stake next week. The biggest remaining prize is Pennsylvania, with 158 delegates, April 22. Polling place interviews with voters in both states suggested the criticism hit home, finding Clinton was winning the votes of late deciders in Ohio and Texas, as well as Vermont. Opinion polls had shown Obama overcoming significant and long-standing Clinton leads in Texas and Ohio, but his gains slowing in the final stretch. Hispanics, a group that has favored Clinton in earlier primaries, cast nearly one-third of the Election Day votes in Texas, up from about one-quarter of the ballots four years ago, according to interviews with voters as they left their polling places. Blacks, who have voted heavily for Obama this year, accounted for roughly 20 percent of the votes cast, roughly the same as four years ago. Both Democrats called McCain a Senate colleague to congratulate him on his triumph in the Republican race. The 71-year-old Arizona senator surpassed the 1,191 delegates needed to win his party's nomination. He sealed a nomination race against odds that seemed steep only a few months ago, and all but impossible last summer. Facing a couple of well-financed marquee candidates in a crowded field, he opened his comeback in New Hampshire's leadoff primary, rolled over Rudy Giuliani in Florida and finished off Mitt Romney after Super Tuesday on Feb. 5. Mike Huckabee hung in until Tuesday night, gamely keeping up the fight weeks after dropping from long shot to afterthought. He went out as he came in never missing a chance for a wisecrack. "It's time for us to hit the reset button," he said. "We started this effort with very little recognition and virtually no resources. We ended with slightly more recognition and very few resources." On Tuesday night, McCain delivered a speech on the state of the union as he wants to make it: secure from Islamic extremism, victorious in Iraq, confident in trade, sound in its economy. "Americans aren't interested in an election where they are just talked to and not listened to; an election that offers platitudes instead of principles and insults instead of ideas," he said. "Their patience is at an end for politicians who value ambition over principle, and for partisanship that is less a contest of ideas than an uncivil brawl over the spoils of power." source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080305/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_rdp [link] | ||||
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03-05-2008, 09:41 AM
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| Dirty Liberal  Democrat South Jersey
| I think a Clinton/Obama ticket might be an unstoppable jugernaut. That might actually set up 16 years of Democratic leadership  . If Clinton won the nomination and Obama took the VP spot, that would give him real experience in the whitehouse. If you add to that his amazing Charisma and ability to get people involved and excited, how would you beat that?I think I actually kinda like this idea. Clinton as the policy maker, Obama as sort of an international deal maker, Plus you get Bill back in the white house with all of his pre-existing connections and relationships in the international sphere. Whether you liked him or not, you have to recognize that he was and still is highly regarded around the world. Ok I am going to get back to work before I get ahead of myself with my lofty plans for 2 decades of democratic domination.  | ||||
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03-05-2008, 09:56 AM
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| Lurker  Democrat Atlanta
| That could be a viable solution to bring the party back together by convention time. I think that all sides would feel like their candidate won. Interesting!! | ||||
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03-05-2008, 10:43 AM
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| ..... your a worthless poster  Realist
| Originally Posted by WickedLou9 Shoot me in teh fucking head. 
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03-05-2008, 10:46 AM
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| Braccae tuae aperiuntur.  Reform Party NJ
| Obama was asked about a shared ticket after this. He said he wouldn't entertain the question just yet. I don't think he should get himself involved in a Clinton White House. He's presented as a change, a new kind of politician with integrity. If he shares the White House with Hillary Clinton, he is going to be tainted by her obscene disfavorable rating and possibly hurt his chances in the future. Then again I believe now is the time for Obama. A lot of his appeal is that he is new and hasn't been tainted by Washington Politics. | ||||
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03-05-2008, 10:53 AM
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| Anti-War, Anti-State, Pro-Free Market  Capitalist
| Why are people acting like this is news? I've heard people saying they would be on the same ticket since last summer. | ||||
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03-05-2008, 11:00 AM
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| Hamiltonian > Jeffersonian  Libertarian Party DFW
| Originally Posted by lew As far as I'm aware this is the first time either candidate has actually said it though.
__________________ The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased. --Alexander Hamilton--  | ||||
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03-05-2008, 11:25 AM
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| no es mi culpa  Independent Beantown
| Originally Posted by six6ftr :fixed:
__________________ There is small disproportion betwixt a fool who useth not wit because he hath it not and him that useth it not when it should avail him. | ||||
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03-05-2008, 11:29 AM
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| Mission Accomplished NOT!  Independent MN
| I wish it was Obama and Al Gore shared ticket. Then you would get the experience and an unstoppable pair. Gore said he will never run for political office again. McCain would be the oldest president we have ever elected at 72 if he wins he might not make it the four years. | ||||
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03-05-2008, 11:41 AM
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| Hamiltonian > Jeffersonian Libertarian Party DFW
| Originally Posted by Roonie That's because Gore is busying making millions peddling global warming.
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03-05-2008, 11:51 AM
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| ..... your a worthless poster Realist
| Originally Posted by Roonie And clinton might choke on her dental dam while going down on her "partner"........elect the person you think is best. I'm not worrying about age or gender or color. I'm worrying about accomplishments and plans. None of them plans to die before the end of their term so that's not an issue for me.
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03-05-2008, 12:30 PM
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| Master Debator Election Moderator  Democrat Omaha, NE
| Originally Posted by Publius He also has that manbearpig incident/baggage that nearly cost the lives of those kids in colorado.
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03-05-2008, 12:39 PM
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| George W Bush, God's Tool  Independent ny
| Originally Posted by Linzyhop Unnecessary...
If Clinton wins the nomination I am voting for McCain. As I have long said, we need someone that has the ability to reach across the aisle and a person who the opposition party wont shut out just because of the political affiliation. I feel Obama can do that and so can McCain, however Hillary can't. She has made it clear the republicans are enemies and the republicans made it clear they wont work with her, it will be 4 years of nothing getting done.
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03-05-2008, 01:03 PM
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| Hamiltonian > Jeffersonian Libertarian Party DFW
| Originally Posted by David Octavius maybe i should vote for Hillary, deadlock ftw
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03-05-2008, 01:05 PM
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| Dirty Liberal Democrat South Jersey
| Originally Posted by David Octavius I agree with everything but that last part. If Clinton takes the white house, there won't be any veto threats, the GOp will be the opposition party. They will probably be able to put through more than they can now.
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03-05-2008, 01:09 PM
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| Braccae tuae aperiuntur. Reform Party NJ
| Originally Posted by WickedLou9 The only real way Hillary can become president at this point is through getting delegates through unethical means. If she cheats Obama out of the nomination there won't be a united Democratic party.
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03-05-2008, 01:10 PM
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| Dirty Liberal Democrat South Jersey
| Originally Posted by JaJae Oh I agree with that no doubt about it. I thought we were just speaking theoreticaly
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03-05-2008, 01:18 PM
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| Braccae tuae aperiuntur. Reform Party NJ
| Originally Posted by WickedLou9 Well yea, theoretically I think the party would be able to do more than they're able to do now. For a lot of reasons...
First, the Dems will likely pick up more Senate/House seats. That'll be huge for the Democratic party in pushing through an agenda. Also, the disarray of the party would eventually settle and they'll focus on passing bills. However, Hillary will be a hindrance to anything she attempts to get involved in. She would essentially become a lame duck president. She would sign the bills that came to her, but she wouldn't be able to do much else. Obama, on the other hand, would be able to get America as well as Congress to reach across the aisle and accept legislation that is more moderate and centrist to serve everybody. This is the quality McCain has that David was speaking of earlier. Hillary is too divisive... especially if she robs this nomination. And she would actually be a setback to any legislation she decided to publicly support. | ||||
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03-05-2008, 01:22 PM
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| Dirty Liberal Democrat South Jersey
| Originally Posted by JaJae They are saying that Obama is going to re-gain some ground after the TX caucuses are over. Hillary's big wins don't seem to amount to much after all.
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