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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.
