There have only been a small handful of dynasties in American history - Adams, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush - and the Clintons were aiming to add their names to that list. It is a dream that has consumed their entire life's work. And last night, that dream died.
We beat the Clinton machine. Unbelievable.
IN RETROSPECT, the decision of Clinton to contest North Carolina and give Obama an expectations victory was costly, although many analysts, including this one, believed -- still believe -- that in order for her to really give superdelegates that moment of terror, she had to upset Obama in a state where the demographics favored him. Bill Clinton parked himself in the research triangle, Clinton herself hinted about game-changing expectations, the campaign sent their best state director, Ace Smith, as a sign of their confidence in being able to reduce the margins.
And yet Obama beat her by 14 points. Despite Bill's best effort, Obama won rural NC 52/45.
Forget the talk of a unity ticket. That's not gonna happen. No way, no how. It makes no sense.
Obama isn't going to pick her as a VP, no matter what the heads endlessly talking on my TV might say. He'll let things settle down, wait until late June or July, and then make the announcement, picking someone who will either help him turn a red-state blue (Jim Webb (VA), Brian Schweitzer (MT), Ted Strickland (OH), Ken Salazar (CO)) or who can reinforce his narrative of changing a broken system from the inside out (Bloomberg, Napolitano, Webb, Schweitzer, etc). Clinton doesn't help on the first point, and on the second she's a direct contradiction. How can you turn the page on the politics of the past if one of its prime movers is your running mate? Obama's not stupid. He didn't defeat the Clintons only to resurrect them. It's not gonna happen.
And from Clinton's side, why on earth would she accept this bargain? After everything she has worked for, to spend another 8 years in the shadow of a more powerful man... Do you really think she would accept that? That Bill would accept that? That after serving as President of the United States, he would be content to serve as the nation's Second Man?
Bill Clinton will never allow himself to be second to anyone. And why should he? There are only 42 men in history who have had the honor and privilege to serve at this nation's president, and only 3 who are still alive. Bill Clinton is one of them. Do you really think he's going to trade that for 8 years as second fiddle to someone else's second fiddle? No way, no how.
It's not gonna happen. 0% chance, as they say on PTI.
0% chance.
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