The Case of the Vanishing Leverage

Barack Obama made history last night. John McCain gave a tepid speech to a half empty room in Louisiana. And Hillary Clinton? Well, she was Hillary being Hillary. Her "I'll be making no decisions tonight" line was an exercise in delusion. The decision was made for her, and she knew it. So just who does she think is still asking what does Hillary want?

As Obama soared last night, Hillary simply engaged in cheap theatrics. If she's trying to use her refusal to concede as leverage for whatever she does want, she could find herself out in the cold. The Clintons, both of them, are watching their clout in the Democratic Party vanish before their very eyes. From her "I won the popular vote" mantra, to the disingenuous use of a congressional supporter to re-float her vice presidential aspirations to her demand that her supporters be respected, Hillary Clinton did not distinguish herself yesterday.

Barack Obama has a number of well qualified people he can choose as his running mate. Many people have gone back and forth as to whether picking Hillary Clinton would work politically. I am one of them. After last night, however, the decision appears clear. Barack Obama should look elsewhere, to Jim Webb, to Sam Nunn, to Janet Napolitano, to some one worthy to be the vice presidential nominee.

It's now clear Hillary Clinton is not that person.