With reporting by Suzanne Smalley
Let the games begin.
As Hillary Clinton signals this evening in New York that she will start to wind down her presidential campaign, behind the scenes, her next political push--a bid for the vice presidency--is already up and running.
Earlier this afternoon, several news outlets reported that after months of sidestepping the issue Clinton has finally told her supporters--either in response to a question or, according Buffalo News, by "bringing it up herself"--that she is "open to" joining an Obama ticket as veep. Each of these reports focused on a conference call with New York's congressional delegation, suggesting that it was an isolated incident. But now a top Clinton strategist has exclusively confirmed to NEWSWEEK's Suzanne Smalley that the VP "discussion" also arose on other calls today with various Congressional supporters--and, in each instance, Clinton "left the door open."
"Many of her supporters believe if she's not nominated she must be on the ticket," the strategist says."They've been overt and aggressive about that." In response to the tenor of the conference calls, Suzanne's source adds, Clinton may retool tonight's speech to include a reference to the vice presidency. "If you're asking me to speculate, I would guess there was [an addition]," says the strategist.
What's important here is not that Clinton is interested in the Number Two slot; that shouldn't surprise anyone. It's that the Clinton camp clearly wants the world to know, right now, that she is. The point: to put public pressure on Obama to pick her as VP at the precise moment that she has the most possible leverage--i.e., when many of her 17 million voters don't want to see her go. Note that when the AP reported Clinton would concede tonight, the campaign smacked the story down; meanwhile, staffers are actually confirming the veep speculation. That speaks volumes.
Going forward, here's what I suspect Team Clinton will do:
1) Continue to claim that it was Clinton's supporters, not the candidate herself, who brought up the veep idea. This makes it look like a grassroots movement--and not a naked power grab. "The discussion on these conference calls today about the vice presidency was unexpected," says our source. "I think it came as a surprise to virtually everyone here [at campaign HQ]... Her supporters raised it first....This was the first time many have had a chance to press it on her and several pressed this idea on her." Whether or not that's true--recall the conflicting Buffalo News report--it's certainly the campaign's story, and they're sticking to it.
2) Stress that Clinton is merely "open" to whatever is best for the party--i.e., that she's not committing a faux pas by demanding the veepship but rather respectfully recognizing her supporters' demands. Says our strategist: "She didn't make an open bid for the vice presidency...People pressed it on her. She didn't say yes. She didn't say no. She said she'll do her best to elect a Democrat president...She left the door open." Graciousness is good; pushiness is bad.
3) Let the media do the dirty work, jumping to the conclusion that Clinton has, in effect, demanded the VP slot--and therefore transforming Obama's choice, as Chris Matthews just put it on MSNBC, from "passing her over" to actively "snubbing her." Meanwhile, watch as the punditocracy speculates that an Obama-Clinton "dream ticket" is the only way to mollify Clinton's millions of devastated fans and unify the party--thereby raising the hopes of Clinton's passionate supporters and creating something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
4) Pray that Obama feels as if he has run out of options. Either he rebuffs Clinton, rejects his beloved "unity," opposes "what's best" for the Democrats, further alienates her half of the party and risks his electoral future--that's Team Clinton's implicit argument, not mine--or he asks Hillary to be his second fiddle.
Clinton is clearly crossing her fingers for the latter. We'll see soon enough how Obama reacts.
