Letters to the Editor
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@amity
I generally agree with you. However, IMO i think the fear is that we, as the electorate, are splitting up. People are digging in their heels for their candidate more and more with each passing day and i think the fear is that psychologically people will be SO opposed to the 'other guy' by the time it gets to convention that we will be unable to unify. A cursory glance at this board where so-called reasonable people meet should be evidence enough of that.
Like it or lump it. Hillary OR Obama will have a tough race against McCain in the fall. Hillary because the Republicans simply hate her (you should see the glee they take when she stumbles - its astounding) and will mobilize their base like McCain has, so far, been unable to do, and Obama because of his MUCH lighter resume compared to McCain. Like it or lump it we will need the entire Democratic electorate to turn out in order to achieve victory in November. Right now we have literally a 50/50 split of the will of the democratic electorate. Winning in November will require us to be reasonable and vote for whomever the nominee is, even if its not 'our guy' because McCain is planning aggressive campaigns in 'our states' (he said so last night) where he may, depending on world conditions, be able to squeeze the moderate and independent vote from us. (He is really a moderate running as a republican. Now that he has the nomination, he'll veer slightly center).
We cannot take a chance on a McCain presidency.
Because of this, in recent days I have called for a combined Clinton-Obama ticket (nd BTW I am an Obama supporter).
Benefits (let's be honest for a moment):
-Solidifies and electrifies the party immediately
-Gets us geared up to beat McCain
-Hillary's shortcomings are Obama's strengths
-Obama's shortcomings are Hillary's strengths
-Their policies are 97% similar and 100% opposed to McCain's policies
-Virtually guarantees a win November AND 16 years 'rule'
- The republicans would panic wildly (trust me, I watch Fox news for perspective - right now, they salivate)
A protracted race IMO is not good for the party right now. But I'm not hopeful that this will happen because at this point I think ego in both camps and an unwillingness to examine things objectively for the good of the party is preventing it.
And we'll probably lose in November unless whomever the nominee is selects the OTHER as VP.