I’ve been hearing this rumor for a few weeks now. From TPM Election Central:
Money is expected to have a key place in the peace-making process between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, with Clinton advisers telling the Associated Press that Hillary will likely seek Obama’s help in retiring her campaign’s $30 million in debt.
For the sake of clarity, it’s worth pointing out that the Obama campaign cannot directly give money from its own treasury to the Clinton camp. Instead, Obama would ask his top fundraisers to help bring in the money, and likely send out e-mails to his much-praised list of small donors asking them to give Hillary a hand.
I’m interested in opinions from the anti-Obama wing of Clinton supporters: will it take nothing short of a “dream ticket” for you folks to support the Dem ticket in November? Would this gesture from Obama and his many small money donors be received as welcomed, out-stretched hand and olive branch? Are some Obama supporters willing to throw a buck or two into the Hillary pot for fence mending’s sake?
What does everyone else think? I’m squarely in the Obama camp and there was a time when I advocated the “dream ticket”, but now I’d strongly prefer to see someone else as veep (isn’t it also interesting that some pro-Hillary people who were against the “dream ticket” idea are now strong advocates?). The idea I find most appealing at this moment is the idea that Senator Obama shows the good grace of helping Senator Clinton pay her debt and, as The Telegraph suggested, Obama guarantees her the Health and Human Services cabinet post where she will be the name and face of healthcare reform.
Hillary gets immediate debt relief and the chance to have history remember her as the leader who reformed healthcare, Obama gets to choose his VP and will win, or at least soften, some Hillary supporters, and real healing will begin.
