Newt Gingrich this week announced what he believed will be a Hillary/Obama ticket for the Democrats in 2008.
Unfortunately, he is probably not too far from being correct.
With about $50 million in combined contributions (currently), a Clinton/Obama ticket would be a formidable group for Republicans who currently are not enjoying the same fundraising abilities as the Democrats.
Those two candidates are the only candidates relevant enough to receive support from broad constituencies on the Democrat side. They court the progressive, anti-war group. They appeal to those without access to health care by claiming universal health care is the answer. They both emit broad one liners such as, “Tax the rich!” and “Lets return toward the community and away from the individual,” which appeal to the struggling low to middle class and those who do not care to translate what that really means.
We’ve seen two candidates beat each other up in primaries before and then realize they are each other’s saving grace (ie: Kerry/Edwards ‘04, Reagan/Bush ‘00). There really aren’t two other candidates or elected officials who have nationwide appeal, can contribute to a campaign war chest, and can appeal to the broad spectrum of people that support Obama and/or Hillary.
There is talk of Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio as a possible Democrat running mate. He was just elected governor in 2006, and I do not foresee him leaving the state two years into his term. Strickland has a great deal of potential, and I would not be surprised to see him enter a Presidential race four years down the road if the Democrats do not take this election.
Would a Hillary/Obama ticket be able to take the ultimate prize? I’m not shutting out the idea. There are several obstacles to a victory such as Obama’s inexperience, gender and race factors which some voters are not comfortable with, Hillary’s supposed cold personality, etc. If the Democrats were to take it today, I would say this would be the most likely pair, with the most momentum, and with the most broad based support.
