Posted by Jed Lewison on Fri May 23, 2008 at 12:58 PM Pacific

Barack Obama does not need Hillary Clinton

My reason for opposing the selection of Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama's VP is simple: I wouldn't vote for her for president, so why would I want her within a heartbeat of the presidency?

As Clinton loyalists begin to make the case for Clinton as veep, however, their arguments will be mostly political, claiming that Barack Obama needs Hillary Clinton to win. As Dianne Feinstein said today:

The weight of the states he carried versus the states she carried, it's different. And, therefore, if you combine them both, you've got the best electoral path.

There's a problem with that argument, though. Not only is Obama leading McCain by 9 points in the latest Ohio poll and by 8 in the latest Pennsylvania poll (and by 7 in the latest Virginia poll), he also does at least as well as Clinton nationally.

Pew is one of the national polling organizations to reveal demographic breakdowns. Take a look at their most recent polling, conducted just after the second Wright flareup at the end of April. Compare the Obama-McCain matchup to the Clinton-McCain matchup. They both win, but would anybody in their right mind trade Obama for Clinton?

It's not just polling data; Barack Obama does not need Hillary Clinton for fundraising either, nor does he need her for grassroots support. With 1.5 million donors and volunteers across the nation, he is now more powerful than her; it's an amazing thing, but it's true.

In part because of that, if Obama did pick Clinton it would be seen as a sign of weakness, not just because he selected someone who had ruthlessly attacked him for months, but also because he'd be sending a signal that he tacitly agreed with her attacks.

For Obama, the weakness he would project by selecting Clinton would present a far greater electoral risk than the challenge he faces of uniting the Democratic Party.

Don't forget, the most important political endorsement this year has already taken place: George Bush embraced John McCain. And that more than anything else will help pull the party back together.

My reason for opposing the selection of Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama's VP is simple: I wouldn't vote for her for president, so why would I want her within a heartbeat of the presidency?

The weight of the states he carried versus the states she carried, it's different. And, therefore, if you combine them both, you've got the best electoral path.

For Obama, the weakness he would project by selecting Clinton would present a far greater electoral risk than the challenge he faces of uniting the Democratic Party.

Don't forget, the most important political endorsement this year has already taken place: George Bush embraced John McCain. And that more than anything else will help pull the party back together.