I remember back in 1980, when Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination..... he lost.
What did he do??
He set out to become a top notch deal broker on Capitol Hill, and regardless of anyone's political affiliations, history has already shown that he became a dammed good one. In time, his reputation for brokering bipartisan agreements became increasingly formidable. One senator with whom Kennedy has worked most effectively is Senator Orin Hatch. (R-Utah) Hatch and Kennedy are very close personal friends, despite their political differences. In point of fact, it was Orin Hatch who helped Kennedy beat his alcohol habit.
Clinton is at a bit of a cross road; Ted Kennedy's time appears to be growing short due to his malignant brain tumor. (BTW, folks, I'd appreciate it if we cold keep the political bashing and personal slams out of this... if this was a member of your family, I'm sure you would want the same respect afforded your loved one.) The Democrats will need someone who can broker deals as effectively as Kennedy has for the past several decades.
Ultimately, Clinton is well positioned to become a very powerful deal broker, providing that she gets out there and campaigns hard for Obama. Should Obama win, she will be rewarded with bright prospects for increasing influence and power in the Senate, or she could play a very instrumental role in Obama's cabinet. Should Obama lose, her political star in the senate could continue to rise; but again, I think that this is contingent upon her campaigning hard and effectively for Obama.
Now, should Clinton decide to effectively sit this Presidential campaign and election out, then I believe that there are many within the Democratoc Party's smoke filled rooms who will blame her for the divisive roll that she played in her determination to keep her campaign alive, even after all of the numbers were pointing to Obama; in that case, the political machinery of the Democratic party could chose to punish her, and limit her prospects and spheres of influence.
I don't know about other parts of the country, or other states, but down here in Texas, Hillary has a considerable amount of fence mending to do with the Democratic political machinery; I suspect that the same may be true in other states as well.
As the VP candidate, I do believe that she could bring some strength to the Democratic ticket, although if Obama is elected, (which I see a being very possible, although it is by no means a foregone conclusion) she would wield very little power as Vice President.
My guess is that Hillary Clinton wants power more than whatever "glory" may come from being the Vice President. Regardless of what anyone may think of Bill's or Hillary's politics, or the "sleaze factor" that we saw rear it's ugly head again during the primary season, the fact is that they have built a history of being excellent political strategists..... although when I look at all of the mis-steps that occurred during Hillary Clinton's campaign, I'm left scratching my head.... it was as if both Hillary and Bill Clinton took leave of their political senses.
In any event, regardless of your political affiliations, PLEASE GET OFF OF YOUR DUFFS AND VOTE when the time comes!! I understand what it feels like to be jaded, but I am also keenly aware that there are people in all too many countries who risk their lives and personal safety to excercise a right that all too many of us take for granted.
Again, regardless of your political affiliations, when you look at many of the contests which took place in the Democratic primaries, some of those races were very close. The past two Presidential Elections resulted in delays in determining the winner.... now, we can argue about how vote counts were recorded, or the accuracy of those vote counts, but the fact is that many people went to the polls, and made their choices known. Our Constitution is strengthened through the discourse.



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Only 134 more days until the election. According to this survey, 9 of us say Obama will win, 9 of us say that McCain will win. If you haven't yet voted in this survey, what are ya waitin' fer?!


