Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 207 Editor's Choice: 4
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O.K. but not great
[Read the article: Clinton says she's open to veep slot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The choice of Vice Presidential candidate is Sen. Obama's to make. He has proven remarkably adept at surrounding himself with talented, smart, far-sighted staffers and I have confidence in his ability to exercise similar sound judgment when he names his VP pick.
An Obama/Clinton ticket would be moderately successful at best. She carries significant baggage and her presence on the ticket would enflame all of the GOP nutcases who are currently planning to sit out this election. The idea of yet another Clinton in (or near) the White House would become a rallying point for otherwise disheartened Republicans which could make the margin of difference in several swing states. GOP fundraising against her would skyrocket.
Sen. Clinton does not offer any significant military or international expertise or knowledge over that which Sen. Obama brings to the ticket. She is exceptionally strong in health care issues, but her notorious pandering on the gas tax is a sign that her grasp of domestic economic issues is shaky.
Sen. Clinton represents New York a solidly Democratic state and cannot guarantee the ticket success in any other state on the margin.
She is white and she is a woman and will have appeal to some but not all in those categories. She, like Obama, is an Ivy-League trained lawyer and will nicely reinforce the "elitist" charges that the Republicans are already starting to level.
The divisive and negative comments that Sen. Clinton made against Sen. Obama during the primary will be used by the GOP attack machine to target him in the general election campaign if she is the VP nominee. She declared that only McCain and herself had passed the (fictitious) commander-in-chief threshhold, which will surely be quoted frequently by the McCain forces. Likewise, her inability to say definitively that Obama is not a Muslim will be used to continue that scurrilous whispering campaign.
Obama and Clinton are identical in policy matters (gas tax excepted) so she will not bring any policy breadth or variety to the ticket.
Obama needs some one who offers complementary (not identical) skills, accomplishments, geographical and autobiographical claims. An older somewhat more conservative white man with a military background from a Southern, Western, or rust belt state would help the ticket immensely.
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Re-write the history books
[Read the article: Barack Obama's epic win]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As the new leader of the Democratic party, Barack Obama should receive the respectful allegiance of the vanquished Hillary Clinton, not the other way around. He should select the vice presidential candidate he prefers after careful deliberation on all the merits of the resumes of many contenders.
The speeches given last night by Obama and Clinton were perfect capsule summaries of their differing qualities as candidates and people. Obama's address was magisterial, graceful, powerful and deliberate. He was open and generous in his lengthy praise of Sen. Clinton's historic campaign. He was clear and razor-sharp in delineating his policy differences with John McCain. Consistency has been the hallmark of the Obama campaign and character since it began 16 months ago and this was reinforced in his call for principled change last night. This is why he won the nomination.
In telling contrast, Sen. Clinton's speech last night wandered through the vales of self-pity and reality-bashing that have characterized her campaign for over one year. She cited fantasy math to give herself the ego-boosting claim to having won more votes. She gave only passing notice to Obama's milestone achievement while playing up her own campaign at length.
All of this brought to mind the breathtaking moment when baseball legend Henry Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth as the leading home run hitter in the major leagues. So many fans were disturbed by the idea of unseating the Bambino from his throne that there were countless attempts to tarnish Aaron's achievement. Some said that the season was longer, the modern balls were juiced, the pitchers were weaker. These detractors said absolutely anything in their effort to put an asterisk next to Aaron's name and diminish his landmark effort. Of course, Hammerin' Hank received numerous death threats too from those who could not abide his vanquishing Ruth.
Clinton is trying now to place an asterisk next to Obama's stunning achievement. History will not look kindly on her sour and dangerous behavior at this pivotal moment.
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Sound idea
[Read the article: McCain wants joint town halls, Obama receptive to idea]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One or two town hall meetings of this kind would be beneficial to Obama's campaign, I believe. Obama has become adept at the informal give-and-take of this kind of forum and his interactions with questioners come across as authentic, easy, and fresh. The crowds would literally be eating out of his hand.
On the other hand McCain's angry, shoot-from-the lip tendancies could get him into real trouble in the right situation. After all, McCain's famous quip that he didn't mind if we stayed in Iraq for 100 more years was made during one of these town hall meetings.
The Obama camp is right to push for only a handful of such meetings, lasting two hours minimum, and featuring a set-piece summation at the beginning and/or end of each session to give the candidates a chance to show off a more formal presentation.
This could be gold for Obama.
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Ummm...
[Read the article: Rezko rains on Obama's parade]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In the immortal words of Dick Chaney: "So?"