Regular readers of this blog know that that we have always assessed the fantasies of Dick Morris and the PUMA's that Hillary Clinton would challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President in 2012 as patently absurd – and they still are.
But over the past month or so, a new Hillary-Obama rumor has gained some currency, and its origins have come from political insiders not disgruntled Obama opponents – that Clinton would trade jobs with Vice President Joe Biden, and join the ticket for 2012.
We bring that to your attention today only because the pollsters with Suffolk University last night released a survey that isn't good news for Obama fans – but gets better when Clinton is added to the mix.
Suffolk shows that Obama has a 41 percent rating in Florida, which is much lower than a new national poll released today by Quinnipiac that has the President at 47 percent, his highest ranking in that survey in months.
But if you believe that Florida could decide the election, 41 percent a year out is horrible news. Not fatal, obviously, but it shows that the OFA folks have a lot of work to do, though much of it may be out of their hands (i.e., the state of the economy).
But what if Hillary Clinton is attached to the ticket as Vice President?
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2011.