An Obama Spitzer Ticket

An Obama Spitzer ticket is something Spitzer himself might not have thought of. He is a New Yorker loyal to the Hillary cause, resigned to at least two terms as Governor. But do the math.

Say it is Obama-Hillary in the White House for eight years. Unlike Cheney, Hillary has a fine heart, in more ways than one. It will be highly unlikely she will step aside. And if she runs for the top job in 2016, she will be younger than McCain is now. If she wins, she will run again in 2020. And it will be awkward for Spitzer to run against her in 2016 or 2020.

If she runs and loses in 2016, some Republican will be seeking reelection in 2020. Unless it is some mediocre, lousy type totally flumoxxed by the office, it will be hard to beat a sitting president. Not impossible, but hard. So you are looking at 2024 for Spitzer. Spitzer will be older than McCain is today.

Since he has no term limits as Governor of New York, I guess Spitzer could get elected Governor again and again. But that is politically high risk behavior. The crowd's love can prove fickle, or you can run out of steam. You can run out of ideas. You can start seeing political setbacks. Some worthy opponent might show up out of the woodworks.

Or imagine this, Obama in for eight years, then Hillary, then Spitzer. 24 years of one party in the White House. When was the last time that happened? That is highly unlikely.

In the trio that are Obama, Hillary and Spitzer, one person is going to lose. Who will be that one person? Only two of the three can hope to be president.

Who was Obama in 2003? Today he is on the top of the haystack. When you mix the political process with near universal broadband, you make it more and more possible for new, grand faces to show up out of the blue. So it is not possible to look and predict too far into the future. It will be nice to see a woman Obama emerge.

In short what I am saying is this. If Obama is not going to be president in 2008, he will have to make peace that this was his last chance. 2008 also might be Spitzer's last shot at the White House. Surprise, surprise.

Or if Hillary is president, and Obama is vice - highly unlikely - then Obama will get in for the next eight, bad news for Spitzer.

But if Hillary is the one who is going to lose, these next generation Dems better adopt a Muscular Gender Agenda. That is the only way I will not feel bad that Hillary did not make it.

2008 is when Spitzer decides if he is serious about the White House or not. Surprisingly, this might be his last chance. Do the math.

As for Obama, he would be lucky to have Spitzer on the ticket. There is absolutely noone like Spitzer in American politics today. Spitzer takes "new kind of politics" to a whole different level. So Obama should go for Spitzer like Clinton went for Gore in 1992. Don't look at anyone else. Don't shop around. Kerry did that in 2004, and that was a mistake. Edwards' first speech after defeat sounded like a 2008 election speech.

2008: Spitzer's Last Shot At The White House

Hillary is going to be in the Senate for a long long time, kind of like Ted Kennedy. She will see Obama come and go. She will see Spitzer come and go.

Early in their relationship Hillary told Bill, "You are the politician."

I have always been under the impression Hillary became Senator to ensure Bill a long life. Some people are hooked to nicotine. They get literally disoriented without it. Bill is hooked to the political process. Hillary's becoming Senator was like saying, my guy is still young, how will he deal with political retirement? So she became Senator so as to give Bill Clinton a direct umbilical cord into the center of the national political life.

Bill Clinton never understood the concept of term limits. And I don't blame him. Human history has not produced a more gifted politician to have worked in the one person one vote framework. The guy desperately wanted Hillary to run in 2004. He knew that if Kerry won, Hillary will not get another shot. And so he had a heart attack and denied Kerry the bounce all candidates are entitled after a convention.

So finally Hillary gave up. White House you want?

The Clintons are our royal couple. Bill Clinton is our Ronald Regan, only more real. But paying respects and running the country are two different things.

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