One of the reasons I did not support Hillary for president (though not the main one) was that I thought it would be terrible to have Bill back in the White House. For one thing, he tarnished that great place by his awful behavior there and it would be a travesty to let him return.
For another, it is impossible to muzzle Bill Clinton. There would always be the danger of Bill trying to grab the limelight, always the confusion over who was really the president, always the possibility of him becoming involved in another scandal. Bill Clinton is and always has been a loose cannon.
But I am even more concerned about Bill's behavior should Obama cave in and offer the vice presidency to Hillary. One can only imagine the trouble he could cause should he feel his wife was "cheated" out of the presidency. He would be the alpha male of all alpha males, competing with the President of the United States for attention and power. He could cripple Obama's presidency by encouraging Hillary to fight against, and even undermine, her boss.
There can only be one president at a time in this country, and Obama would need to assert over and over that it is not Bill. Obama's agenda could be diverted time and again with the work it would require to keep Bill in line.
But that is assuming an Obama - Clinton ticket could get elected, and I fear that having Clinton on the ticket could doom it, both from within and without. The Republicans have wanted Clinton as the presidential nominee all along, as they know how to defeat her. If they can't have her on the top of the ticket, they would like her in second place. She will energize them, and fire up their fundraising base. Republicans hate Hillary and can't wait to get at her and Bill again. That's why most of the Republican pundits are encouraging this ticket.
But the Clintons themselves could wreak havoc on this ticket. Look at how many times Bill has gotten his wife's campaign in trouble with his big mouth and big ego. Just imagine what he could do campaigning for Obama-Clinton. He could yell at reporters, assert untruths, build up his wife and in an indirect way make Obama look weak, distort Obama's message of change, etc., etc.,
Together, the Clintons could make it look like they are campaigning hard for Obama, but make enough mistakes on the trail that they undermine his ability to win, thus setting Hillary up to be the nominee in 2012. The only thing that would hurt her chance to be the frontrunner in 2012 would be the perception that she hurt Obama with her negative campaigning in the primaries. If she were on the ticket, no one could accuse her of hurting Obama, even as she was doing it.
I put nothing past the Clintons. They will do anything to gain power, even agreeing for Hillary to be on the ticket to sabotage Obama's chances.
Obama can't trust them. No one should trust them.
Please, Barack, pick someone else and then work to win over Hillary's supporters some other way.
