An Obama-Clinton Presidential Ticket In 2012? Don’t Bet On It!

Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, who has just published OBAMA’S WARS, his new book on the Obama Presidency, is spreading the rumor that the nomination of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Vice President in 2012 is “on the table”!

This rumor has been spreading for awhile, and Woodward makes it seem more legitimate, but it is hard to imagine it occurring!

It is true that Vice President Joe Biden always wanted to be Secretary of State, but it is unlikely that having been Vice President and living in the VP mansion, that Biden would want to step down to the State Department. If asked, Biden would be a team player, but it just seems highly unlikely that it would occur!

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is dismissing such speculation, and she seems to enjoy her job. On the other hand, moving up to the Vice Presidency would put her into a better position to run for President in 2016!

Obama and Clinton get along very well, and the old rivalry of 2008 seems gone, and Bill Clinton has been helpful to Obama. But if Obama decided to switch Biden and Clinton, it would be an admission that he thought he could not win without Clinton!

Hillary Clinton could bring blue collar workers, senior citizens, and women to Obama’s support, three groups he seems to have trouble with electorally, so it could be a productive development, but still, looking at history, it is highly unlikely!

Very few Presidents have ever switched running mates for the second term bid–only Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt (actually switching for third term and then again for fourth term). Only Lincoln really did so for electoral reasons, and unfortunately, it gave us Andrew Johnson in the Presidency, as a result! 🙁

So while the thought is fascinating, don’t bet money on it! It is highly likely that Joe Biden will be leaving the Vice Presidency before 2017, unless Obama loses the election in 2012!

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