An Internet petition drive designed to encourage the idea of a presidential ticket featuring Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) -- in that order -- is reorganizing itself to support the idea of either senator serving as the nominee.
"Vote Both" was founded by Adam Parkhomenko, a former aide to then Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, to drum up online support for a ticket led by Clinton. But, in recent days Parkhomenko has changed the name of the committee he filed with the Federal Election Commission, and is relaunching the site today to incorporate the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket.
"Originally my goal was to have a place for Clinton-Obama supporters (in that order) to organize," writes Parkhomenko in a letter expected to be posted on the site today explaining his decision. "But over the last few weeks, even as I have watched Hillary win most of the recent contests, I have talked with Obama supporters who talk about a Obama-Clinton ticket. And they're right too."
The new site, which is expected to go live later today, will allow supporters of the idea to not only sign a petition in support of it but also to write superdelegates to advocate for a joint ticket. The site will also accept contributions to fund the effort.
The grassroots movement Parkhomenko hopes to spearhead runs in direct contrast to some of the language about the so-called "Dream Ticket" being put out by Democratic party leaders.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), for example, has been an outspoken opponent of Obama and Clinton sharing a ticket, although those close to her insist that her position is born of personal conviction not political positioning.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Pelosi told Larry King during an appearance on his show late last month. "I'm not one of those who thinks that that's a good ticket."
The longer the nomination fight extends, however, the more likely a shared ticket becomes. Recent primaries have suggested that Obama is struggling to convince blue-collar voters that he is the right choice, while Clinton continues to make almost no inroads at all among the black community. Both groups are substantial pillars of the Democratic base and the party will need each in order to win in the fall.
A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows significant majorities of Democratic voters would like to see a joint ticket. (Hat tip to Post polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta for digging up the numbers.)
Sixty five percent said that if Clinton won the nomination, they would like to see her name Obama as her vice president. Nearly eight in ten current Obama supporters back that concept, while 53 percent of current Clinton backers do.
When the ticket is switched, 59 percent of Democrats support the idea of Obama naming Clinton as his running mate. More than two-thirds of current Clinton backers endorse the idea, while 53 percent of Obama supporters would like to see Clinton as the veep pick.
The calculus of picking a vice president is mysterious and difficult to predict. For Clinton, at least offering the job to Obama would seem to be something close to a necessity -- a symbolic attempt to heal the party and ensure that the new voters he has brought to the process would stay involved.
Should Obama be the nominee, he is under less pressure to pick Clinton since it would seem to run counter to his fundamental "change" message.
As we have said many times, Clinton's campaign is premised on the idea that she can play the game better than he can; Obama makes the argument that the game is fundamentally flawed. Picking Clinton, given that underlying theme of his campaign, could be tough for Obama.
