Peggy Noonan weighs in on the significance of Senator Obama’s victory and reflects on Senator Clinton’s campaign (and why she won’t be his running mate). And Dick Morris attempts to explain Clinton’s decision to suspend her campaign today, but not relinquish her delegates to Obama. Upshot: She is still playing the game. Excerpt:
Hillary wants to be there to exploit any mistakes. She will be watching and waiting. Suppose Obama flubs a line on the campaign trail or damaging material emerges from the Rezko prosecution? Hillary will indicate her continued availability as an alternative. Remember that superdelegates can change their minds anytime they want to. Now they are leaving Hillary to back Obama, the winner, but they could easily go the other way. By not releasing her pledged delegates, she remains within striking distance of the nomination if an Obama faux pas leads to an exodus of superdelegates from his camp.
My take: In addition to other concerns, Obama would look weak choosing Clinton as a running mate. Morris notes:
Hillary knows that Obama will not choose her voluntarily as his running mate. But if Obama falters, he might just need the shot in the arm Hillary would represent. By remaining in the shadows as a potential threat to wrest away the nomination, she might leverage her position to make Obama put her on the ticket.
She wants to be VP in case Obama loses so she can be positioned for 2012 and in case he wins so she can shoot for the stars in 2016. And, she doesn’t want anyone else to have the job so as not to create a potential rival.
Conversely, if Obama does not pick her as VP, and loses, she can play the “I Told You So” card in 2008. Lastly, by retaining her delegates, Clinton can continue raising money to pay her $30MM in debts. Read the whole thing.