Now for Obama the Problem of Hillary

St. Paul, MN – Barack Obama’s problem is still Hillary Clinton. After having defeated her and having won the Democratic nomination, the black Senator must now rebuild trust, relationships and connections within his party and must undoubtedly regain the commitment of the former First Lady and her supporters. With this in mind, the two will meet in the coming hours, perhaps even tonight in New York, in order to discuss the idea of running together.

Yesterday Obama won the first stage of the race for the White House but in order also to win the second stage – which will last for exactly the same amount of time: five months – and beat John McCain he will need to unite behind himself the entire Democratic Party. And the majority of Democratic voters, according to the polls, would like Hillary to be Obama’s Vice Presidential candidate.

The Senator from Chicago made a great speech in St. Paul, Minnesota, where in September the Republican Convention will be held, attacking John McCain by accusing him of desiring to continue the failed policies of Bush, but the words that everyone was waiting on were those concerning Senator Clinton. Obama offered her great praise but no promise of collaboration. “Senator Clinton has made history in this campaign, not only because she has achieved that which no other woman has achieved before, but because she is a leader who inspires millions with her strength, with her courage, and with her commitment to the causes that brought us here today. Our party and our country are better off thanks to her.”

Then, however, he emphasized that this “is the time for change” and added: “We cannot let ourselves continue to do that which has been done up until now. It is our time to bring new energy and new ideas in order to confront the challenges that we face. It is our moment to offer a new direction to the country that we love.” In this appeal to the future, the Clintons are described as heroes of past battles and Obama has emphasized that their fight began “many years ago,” finishing the idea in such a way as to relegate them to the roles of party elders.

On her end, Hillary didn’t do anything that would have made a rapprochement any easier, and in her speech in New York she did not recognize Obama’s victory and did not speak of a withdrawal: “I will not make any decision tonight, and in the next few days I will consult the party to decide what to do, placing the interests of the party as my first priority and with the goal of winning back the White House for the Democrats.” She then claimed to have won 18 million votes and restated that she was the strongest candidate. A way to raise the price of her exit from the scene, perhaps. There are those who say that the Vice Presidency, or a Supreme Court appointment, or the issue of her campaign’s 20 million dollars worth of accumulated debt –the former First Lady might want to be reimbursed by Obama and the party – are being discussed.

But among political analysts skepticism prevails with regard to the possibility of a joint ticket, as it is stressed that bad feelings remain too strong and that it is not a given that she would want to become the number two to the young Senator; and there are also many doubts over whether Obama, after having promised new and fresh faces in Washington, would be able to sell to the voters the idea of returning Bill and Hillary to the White House.

The New York Times points out that the choosing of a running mate is one of the trickiest steps of a campaign and that if Obama were to give the impression that he was affected by pressures from the Clintons and bend to their requests he would end up looking like a weak and less than authoritative candidate.

Moreover it must not be forgotten that from the time of the American Revolution up to today a white man has always been elected to lead the United States. An Obama-Clinton pairing would exclude from the ticket this traditional profile of the President and would risk a pairing of two prejudices: that expressed by those who don’t want a woman in the White House and that expressed by those who don’t want an African-American.