SHOCKING NEWS:Hillary Will Be McCain's Veep

I got a phone call early this morning from a friend who has been active in the Democratic Party for nearly 35 years. She was very distraught. She had discovered that there is a secret agreement between Hillary Clinton and John McCain for Hillary to be McCain's Vice-President.

I will not reveal my friend's name. She says she fears for her life and I believe her. She told me how she found this out but I have decided to keep that secret because it might reveal her identity.

How It Began
On February 6, the day after Super Tuesday, Clinton's pollster Mark Penn had a breakfast meeting with his friend, business associate, and McCain aide Charles Black. The idea was born at that meeting. Penn and Black spitballed the idea to their candidates and both expressed interest. While Clinton had not yet committed to the plan she instructed Penn to do very secret polling on the subject. In a preliminary agreement, both McCain and Clinton agreed to not attack each other.

As Clinton's February losing streak began she broached the subject with the very top of her campaign, Bill Clinton and Maggie Williams. Bill wanted to move forward and secure a deal immediately, Maggie wanted to wait until after the Ohio and Texas primaries. At this point only a half-dozen people in the Clinton campaign knew about the proposal. My contact doesn't know how many McCainites knew.

In mid-February, my contact doesn't know the exact date or location, Bill Clinton and John McCain had a summit meeting to discuss the proposal. At that meeting they hashed out the details and actually put the plan in writing. The next day (this was sometime after the Virginia primary) Hillary called McCain directly and agreed to the plan.

The Plan
My contact says she has seen a copy of the plan initialed by Bill Clinton and McCain.

• The Clinton campaign will use the remainder of the Democratic primaries to weaken Barack Obama.
• McCain will announce Hillary is his Vice-President during the Republican Convention.
  
• Hillary will change her party registration to Independent.
• McCain agrees to serve one term as President and then step down in favor of Hillary.
• With the exception of key media players this agreement is to be kept top secret.

The plan lists only one media player by name, Rupert Murdoch. My contact tells me that Hillary and McCain held a conference call with Murdoch in February; his consent was considered vital. Other media players known to have been informed in March are Rush Limbaugh, Richard Mellon Scaife, and Tim Russert. My contact and I agree that David Hiller (LA Times) will soon be told. These media people will be used to lay the groundwork for the public announcement and get positive media coverage afterwards.

Within the campaigns (at least the Clinton campaign, my contact has no inroads into the McCain camp) this plan is to be kept secret. Only the most vital senior staffers know about it (I know how my contact discovered the plan but I shall keep that secret to protect her). The current thinking is that Hillary will be able to keep at least half of her supporters, that their loyalty is to her and not to the party. McCain will lose some religious conservatives but Limbaugh's and Murdoch's support will limit the damage.

Obviously, this is not something that I can independently confirm. But, my contact is reliable and I believe her. I believe her anger at the plan and I believe her fear of discovery. I have done what I can to protect her including changing some of her (his?) descriptions.