A 'Dream Ticket' Question for You.

As Barack Obama pointed out last week before he molly-whopped Hillary Clinton in S.C., her supporters would likely vote for him if he got the Democratic nomination, but because Clinton rubs a lot of people the wrong way, there’s a real possibility that the opposite just ain’t true.

The celebrity-filled audience at last night’s Democratic debate in Los Angeles — which was surprisingly substantive and friendly, as these things go — ate up Wolf Blitzer’s suggestion that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would form a “dream ticket” for Democrats (seriously, Stevie Wonder jumped out of his seat). Neither Clinton or Obama bit, but neither ruled it out.

Our question is this: would those of you who fancy you some Obama but don’t like Clinton vote for her if he was her vice presidential running mate? Or would that alignment miss the point entirely?

(Aside: the photo for the Times’ story makes Obama’s shirt-and-tie combo look yellow and gray/beige. In the video, it’s clearly white and lavender. We’re partial to the latter, but curious to how our commenter/resident dandy GVG and any other fashionistas/os would weigh in on this.)

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.

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  • Steve

    Man I was all about that tie…I thought it was a tasteful deviation from the norm..LOL

  • LH

    Whether that alignment misses or gets the point depends upon one’s perspective, but for me a Clinton/Obama ticket would definitely miss it. That said, I’d vote Democratic as a show of support for Obama, not Clinton.

    I’m not so sure Obama and Clinton as running mates is a dream ticket. I wonder if it wouldn’t serve to divide the country’s electorate even more than it would be if either were on a ticket without the other. Whether or not America is “ready” for a black president or a woman president is open for debate, but a black man and a woman on the same ticket? I’ve been surprised before but I doubt it.

  • Possibly, but wouldn’t be happy about it. They don’t differ too greatly on my primary issue (immigration reform).

    But then again, it’s unlikely California will go red in November, so I can go third party. I think.

  • quadmoniker

    I will vote for either of them anyway. I think Obama and Clinton running together would actually give all the racists and chauvinists in the world the last excuse they need before they open their mouths and laugh their way to another Republican presidency. They’ve been wanting to, and we all kind of know it.

  • GVG

    Will I be called a chauvinist by feminist for liking the “Blk” guy and the “poor” white guy for a ticket? I like the way, at least on TV, the Obama/Edwards ticket plays. I was very impressed with the way they played well with each other through the debates, knowing that they had a mutual enemy in Clinton, and realized early on that for either of them to survive they could not allow themselves to be divided, and then be conquered by the Clinton machine. They both, seem, as if they would work well together not only on the campaign trail (Edwards with the southern “traditional” vote and Obama with the progressive coastal super liberal vote), but it also seems like the working relationship would translate well straight into the white house. I believe they both understand that they need each other on various issues associated with who they are and where they come from, and need to lean on each other to make things happen both here and abroad.

    I’m honestly not a fan of Senator Clinton for a multitude of reasons – the top being that I never trust a word that comes out of her mouth to be sincere and/or any of her “convictions” of the moment to not be interchangeable at the time of a vote depending on which way the polling is leaning that morning. Honestly if she were my only option, I would vote for McCain. I also do not believe this here “united” states of ours is ready to swallow both a black man and a woman in the top two seats all at once. You might have the largest American occurrence of simultaneous heart attacks if they even announce the Obama/Clinton ticket. (interchange the names as you like)

    As for the sartorial aspects of the election – The lavender is an amazing selection on the part of his image consultants. It plays well on his skin and reads well on TVs, but it’s not a classic candidate choice. The problem with dressing people for TV, especially politicians, is that you are looking for colors that speak to the viewers – which are the reason you see so much blue and reds with sharp large pattern if any, which are believed to translate positive messages to the viewer about the person they are watching. They equate those colors with leadership, strength, and power. When you start playing with smaller patterns, stripes, and the varying spectrum of colors – they can bleed on TV and take the viewers attention away from the speaker and in turn, the message the speaker is trying to convey. The Lavender is a softer contrast that silently speaks to the viewer as Obama being the “warm and fuzzy” one who can lead with that big smile and Clinton is harsh and mean in those ill fitted/ bad toned pantsuits. Notice the addition of turquoise in this debate and other softer color accents to her wardrobe over the progression of this election as her polling read that Americans perceived her as hard and unapproachable.

    P.S. I meant to change your name on my blog roll. I had given you that title when I first came across you blog and quickly realized it did not at all suit you in the least. I have been busy with work and had not put the necessary thought into a proper replacement. Apologizes if any of you took offense to it.

  • saul

    What many should find unsettling is the notion that Mrs. Clinton couldn’t lower herself to be VP, and that Barack has to be the one that accepts the slot. Why? Like everything else in this race it is another example of the “race tax” on Mr. Obama’s candidacy. How can black people (particularly black women), be torn between these two candidates? Obviously the must not understand White Supremacy. Do everything you can to allow the black male to get the wheel to the ship. You are black first. Just as Mrs. Obama put it. It’s now or never. After playing the race card, I don’t know why Clinton still got 19% of the black vote. I’d also like to believe that black would actually stand on principle and sit this one out if she is the nominee. That isn’t my expectation though. That expectation would probably just bring disappointment.

  • NDH, Esq.

    I’m going to vote Dem regardless. This is not simply blind allegiance to the Democratic party, but I just can’t feel the Republican choices. Honestly, would my vote matter if I went any other way than major parties?

    I’ve heard people say they’d vote for McCain over Clinton if she won the party’s nomination. That’s scary. She really rubs people the wrong way. But true, her supporters would easily go over to Camp Obama.

    I like Obama-Edwards. Best of both worlds, IMO. I’d love to see a Tarheel in the White House.

  • quadmoniker

    NDH:
    I have also heard people say they would vote for McCain over Obama if Obama were the Democratic nominee. I think it’s probably true that more people hate Clinton for Clinton; she’s led a political life, in every sense of the word, for far longer and has a lot of baggage. And she has a problem with the transparency thing. But it’s weird that the Democrats are so divided. It seems like everyone is willing to “live with” McCain. I bet the $10 in my pocket that he’s the next president.

  • Saul-

    I disagree on the ‘race tax’ point. I think it’s worth noting that Clinton’s not accepting the slot would be because this is her last, best shot at the presidency. In 8 years, she’ll be 68 years old.

    Obama, who is only 46, would have a chance to bolster his executive credentials and would almost certainly be the favorite for the nomination if he wanted to run in 8 years. The one knock against him —- his inexperience — would be effectively canceled out.

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  • LH

    GVG, to hear some feminists tell it, yes, your support of Obama and Edwards makes you a chauvinist. How presumptuous. Who says Clinton is a better candidate than either of the other two? Actually, who determines what “better” is?

    I’m unimpressed by Edwards, which I don’t say by way of criticism. I liken him to the boy who’s nice enough for girls to like, but only as a friend. His message may resonnate with voters on an emotional level, but that has yet to translate into enough votes to take him seriously.

    I’m not fan of Clinton, but she definitely isn’t the only one I don’t trust. Politics is an inherently dirty game. No one becomes a senator and certainly not his party’s nominee to run for president without cutting back room deals.

  • Troy

    It really doesn’t matter to me. I’m voting Dem no matter what. After the last 8 years I have ZERO confidence in the Republican Party.

  • LH

    Troy, what or whom specifically do you distrust?

  • Frank Tillery

    It is unlikely that Mrs. Clinton would accept the Vice-Presidential role for any President after spending eight years witnessing Al Gore’s plight. Also, Mr. Obama would probably not be able to endure eight years of being Vice-President to the Co-Presidency of Bill and Hillary Clinton. By the way, does a co-presidency even have or acknowledge a vice-president?

    OBAMA-HAGEL ‘08