RHBNCA

[Joey]

I'm not sure who else is following the race in the US but much WOO and YAY to Obama. I don't mind saying that I was a Clinton fan but he changed my mind.

And now with about $40 million debt to pay off, you have to wonder what the hell she's gonna do next!!!

[claire]

i take it she's officially pulled out then?

i wanted her to win at first, but her conduct throughout the whole process has been horrid. Yay for Obama!

[Joey]

She has yet to pull out or endorse Obama and according to her maths & lawyers, she could still challenge the figures and win. In theory she could talk all the Super delegates to back her by claiming she can win the big blue and swing states (which technically she did win over the last few months).

Obama doesn't get the official nomination till the Democratic Convention in August. So she could screw things up for him between now and then... who knows, she could be mad enough to run as an Independent!!

[claire]

do you reckon it would be a good thing for the democrats if obama asked clinton to run for VP? and would she accept?

[SILV3R]

hasn't she already said that she wouldn't?

[claire]

dunno - i missed it if she has

[Joey]

There are claims that she is now open to the idea, its Bill that's not happy with that ticket.

[SILV3R]

he just wants his old bedroom back.

[Psymon]

In the paper today they were saying how its most likely to be Obama that doesnt want a clinton VP because she would drag him back to the old politics that he has been campaigned against with change.

[claire]

i've read a comment elsewhere that for the democrats to have both the first black man candidate and the first woman candidate on the same ticket is a very bad idea, as there is only so much change the us can take at once.....

[Psymon]

yeah they should probably balance out obama with some moonshine sipping, nascar loving redneck hillbilly

[Joey]

My money is on John Edwards going on the ticket again.

[just_juice_it]

I'm still not giving up on Hillary - i think if she thougth that everything was over she would have handed in the towel already but i think she (and most of the supervoters) realise that there is a lot of negative support which exists for Obama (noted the hillbilleys etc) who would more likely turn to the other dude than vote for "a black man"

(on that note did anyone see the CNN news report a week ago where the reporters were asking the residents of West Virginia who they voted for?).

[SILV3R]

the bible belt is the problem. blue collar families in particular. what concerns me most is that there is still 15% of the country that thinks obama is muslim.

it bothers me on two levels. firstly, that people ignorant enough to have not done the research on their potential next president actually get to vote. secondly, that his religion matters.

[Joey]

Looks like she's finally giving up this weekend.

[Joey]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24993082/

Looks like the decision is almost made. I do hope she doesn't get VP. 8 years from now she will go for it again i'm sure but for now the VP job has very little to do with daily US politics. Put her to work elsewhere!

I wonder if Al Gore would want the job back again... can a past VP serve a 3rd term?

[claire]

how many VP's have gone on to successfully run for president?

[Joey]

Here's a list of these -- though some of these first became president due to death/assassination of the President, and afterwards won on their own. This list does not include those who only served out the remaining term of the President who had died.

1. Vice President John Adams -- became 2nd President
2. Vice President Thomas Jefferson became 3rd President
3. Vice President Martin Van Buren (under Andrew Jackson) became 8th President
4. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt first became President due to assassination, then went on to win a second term on his own
5. Same for Calvin Coolidge -- became President due to President Harding's death, then another term on his own.
6. Same for Truman
7. Nixon -- Eisenhower's Vice President. Attempted in 1960 but didn't get Presidency until 1968.
8. George Bush Sr. -- Reagan's Vice President, then President

[claire]

so statistically speaking it doesn't happen much?

and say Obama became president, if he wanted to serve a second term, does he automatically get the democrat nomination, or does the whole process happen again anyway?

not 100% up on my american politics, but have been following the race with interest, and learning as i go, so to speak.

[Joey]

I believe as leader of his Party, he has to re-nominate himself in 2011/12. However others within his party can stand against him if they wish. More so than not, this doesn't happen as it would show signs of weakness within the party. Were it to happen, that person would most likely not get the nomination but then run as an Independent, which would also be bad for the party as it could split the vote and give the keys of the White House to the Republicans.