It’s not out of the realm of possibility.
To what effect…?
I thought Hillary was the best choice to start. At this point, unless it’s the result of some sort of sudden medical issue for Biden, it implies that their campaign is in shambles. It would be perceived as desperate and unprincipled.
OTOH, it’s not quite two months to the election, which is 3 years in media time. If it were done when 'tis done, then t’were well. It were done quickly- if they did it now they’d have time for it die down over the next couple of weeks (look how “meh” Bristol Palin’s pregnancy has become, for example).
I have mixed views on Hillary. I will say that if I knew absolutely he would win if he chose her, I’d say “tell them Biden’s a sex addict with a blow and crank problem [but he’ll make a great Secretary of State]” and appoint her. She’d definitely send some people packing and bring some back to the fold but McCain would have a field day [and would be a fool not to].
I do think she would absolutely slaughter Palin in a way that Biden won’t (not that Biden doesn’t have the expertise by any means, but I think Hillary’s more deguello when it comes to wrestling while Biden’s more intellectual).
Curious to read thoughts.
Of course a less drastic thing would be to announce that if elected he will appoint Bill Clinton as Secretary of State.
I think Hillary would be the wrong person. To appoint her would be pandering to all Palin’s qualities. Even to deliberately appoint a woman would be seen as a failure. Over here in Britain, Biden has totally failed to register.
I agree with Sampiro’s 'If it were done when ‘tis done, then t’were well.’ Obama can turn this to his advantage: he can show the American people how he deals with things when they go wrong. “I have, with deep regret, accepted Senator Biden’s withdrawal as my VP-candidate. He has acknowledged that he is not up to the challenge of the change that we face…” Obama then says he’ll spend a week vetting new candidates, generating immense media excitement (free publicity!) and appoints someone considerably better. If I had to stoop to age, gender and race, it would be a young white male, but I hope Obama will pick the best person whoever he or she may be.
OTOH Obama has one chance with a replacement, and it may well be that Palin is a bubble and Biden can pop it at the VP debate. Everything I’ve read here indicates that he’s perfectly able to do that. Indeed, given the high expectations of her and absent a total flubb by Biden, that debate is one that Palin cannot win, only not lose.
Short of a sudden health issue, nobody would believe any other reason for ousting Biden. Obama would lose all credibility. It would imply that he makes bad decisions and has to go back and change them. It would appear desperate for Obama, and insulting for Clinton if she accepted.
Properly spun - if Biden goes in the right manner, basically saying that he’s not up to the job - then this can turn out positively for Obama. Everyone makes mistakes: how you deal with a mistake is critical and if Obama deals with it well then he can end up looking improved. But Palin could be a bubble that will burst. She’s done very well so far in part by saying very little. Roll on the VP debate.
I disagree. This one would be perceived as huge, a reflection on his judgment, desperate, etc.
Could be. I think her appeal transcends what the Dems would prefer it be founded on–in fact, I think a shaky debate could play to her advantage. If she makes no major blunders, she wins, I think.
Excellent.
It’s not going to happen.
Been there done that already this week:
The only way Biden can leave without destroying the Obama campaign is if Biden suddenly dies or develops a previously undiagnosed and incredibly serious disease (and we’re talking “months to live” here).
Anything else would reflect so poorly on Obama’s judgment that he’d be crushed.
Hillary Clinton is only the correct choice in retrospect against Palin. Against any other ticket, she’d mobilize the right-wing base (they **hate **her), not really excite any demographics that Obama couldn’t get on his own, and she and Bill would threaten to overshadow Obama. But Palin’s got her base riled up by herself, she appeals to conservative and uninformed centrist women by virtue of her gender, and she overshadows McCain much more than Clinton would ever overshadow Obama.
So, if Obama saw Palin coming (and how could he?) he should have gone with Clinton. But then, if he had gone with Clinton, McCain almost certainly wouldn’t have chosen Palin.
Not only is it not going to happen, it would be a disaster if it did. Her Royal Clintoness would not deign to accept “a bucket of warm piss” as her consolation prize; she could barely choke down her envy enough to make a lukewarm approval speech for Obama. And in the end, she’d end up alienating supporters who were dogmatically opposed to Obama and felt that “Their Girl” got shafted by the DNC (and have cognitive dissonance about how nasty and destructive her campaign was). Hillary would spend eight years fuming in the background, being tasked with doing fundraisers and dinner speeches a la Al Gore. She’s already done her kingmaking (and I’ll admit that it was a phenomenal job of it, regardless of how I feel about Bill Clinton) and she wants to be queen or nothing.
Biden is kind of a mediocre choice as far as being any kind of visionary goes, but he is unquestionably experienced and definitely understands politics in Washington, which is something Obama is weak on.
Stranger
The effect would be disastrous at this stage in the game. The Dems are stuck with Biden, who’s already starting to live up to his reputation for making gaffes. (Asking a wheelchair-bound man to stand up to acknowledge the applause!)
What’s more important and becoming every day more apparent is the enormous blunder the Democrats made in being swept away by the Obama frenzy. They nominated a weak candidate, blinded by the historic possibility he presented. They’re going to pay dearly for that choice.
If by “pay dearly,” you mean “take control of all three branches of government with a fillibuster proof Senate,” I agree with you.
Got to disagree here: Obama’s so far shown himself to be anything but weak. He’s a gifted orator, a man of immense personal charisma, he ran a brilliant campaign, energising the base to levels not seen for a very long time. And he’s shown that he’s not a bubble that can burst: he’s been in the spotlight for over a year, Palin’s been there for all of two weeks or so. Palin could easily go horribly wrong for McCain, and if the Democrats weren’t so busy sliming her she might already have done so. If they give her enough rope, she just might hang herself.
I always thought whichever of them won should’ve picked the other as veep. If Obama had chosen Hillary, McCain would’ve picked Romney or Lieberman and I wouldn’t be so damn stressed over the election. I still would have most likely voted Obama/Clinton but wouldn’t really care if McCain/Romney or McCain/Lieberman won.
But for all we know Obama tried to pick Hillary and she said no.
It they were to do this in any way other than Joe Biden actually dying or being put into a coma, McCain would win in one of the largest landslides of the last century.
They’ve no plans to, so it’s all hypothetical, but if they were actually insane enough to do this, McCain would carry every state except, maybe, Hawaii. It’d be the biggest political blunder of modern times.
Obama would be stupid to make any major shifts based on McCain’s peaking in the polls in early September. He’s better off hammering away at McCain’s weak points and trying to piss him off in the debate, and using his grassroots organization. His best chance is to keep playing his strengths.
I swear it’s like it’s the first election that anyone has followed. We’re still in the echoes of the convention bounces and people are going all wobbly.
And I agree that Biden is staying on the ticket unless he suffers a heart attack in the next couple of weeks.
Obama switching Biden out now would be as disastrous as McCain switching Palin out. There’s no double standard here. Republicans have been trying to claim that the flurry of activity and concerns over Palin means the Democrats are scared, but if Obama changes his mind now it really will mean to voters that he’s worried about his chances, which means there really must be something to worry about in McCain/Palin, which means maybe they’re worth voting for after all.