What Will He Do With Hillary?

Oh, Barack, I don't envy your position. One of the first points of business for the new democratic presidential candidate will be to figure out what to do with the Clinton's. He will have to decide how Hillary and Bill will give him the least heart burn in the next few months. It is not going to be an easy job.

I applaud Obama though for stepping back and allowing the tide to calm before he makes any major decision or announcement, and it comes with an extreme advantage to him. By waiting to make any announcement he will be forcing Hillary Clinton to make a decision with no guarantee of what she wants - a spot on the ticket. Could he outsmart the Clinton machine yet again?

Hillary has been over confidant from the beginning. Her major campaign financial difficulties started because she was so sure of walking away with an early victory, her campaign was only budgeted through Super Tuesday (February 5). She so believed that she would pull off a win that she offered Barack Obama the VP slot several months ago, while he was ahead, making voters laugh, when Barack responded by saying, "...the second place person doesn't offer the first place person the second place position. It just doesn't make sense."

And now, Hillary is so determined to gain a spot on the ticket that she is demanding some sort of "coalition government" between herself and Obama, something that is highly unlikely to appeal to the president. Because she wants to try to have her cake and eat it too, she has even been reluctant to concede the election and recognize Obama as the victor. If she did that, she would be forced to either throw her support to him or step out as an independent candidate - thus dividing the party and ensuring a McCain victory in the fall.

What a chance she had Tuesday night to speak about the historical primary that she and Obama fought so hard in. What a chance to appear gracious about the contest they both played. What a chance to congratulate such a major party victory and remark about something good in America, that made many including myself proud of our country and how far we have come to see past the racial divisions. No, instead of taking those chances, it was still all about Hillary. She delivered a completely self absorbed and somewhat delusional speech, seeming to still believe that she had a chance.

Hillary is not however going to get her wish to be immediately offered a position on the ticket. She was hoping she would know quickly so she could plan her next move, instead Obama has formed a committee to research a list of qualified people to ask to run with him. He doesn't have to name a VP candidate yet, in fact he can wait until the convention in August. Unlike Hillary, time is on his side, at least for now.