Hillary for Veep - Yes? No?

Before writing about possible Vice-Presidential candidates I have to discuss the hippopotamus at the tea party, Hillary Clinton.

The Case In Favor

1. She will heal the Party. The Democratic Party right now is split down the middle. There is a lot more healing that usually needs to be done following a primary season. True, Hillary is responsible for most of that rift but that is why she is the only one who can mend it.
2. They can run as a team. Youth plus experience. Like the 1960 Kennedy-Johnson ticket. It can be a strong team when the youth is at the top of the ticket.
   
3. She has a huge political following. Excepting for a few feminists who are disgusted by the thought of any Democratic nominee with a penis, Hillary's supporters will not turn their backs on her if she is #2 on the ticket.
4. She has an existing campaign network. She has deep connections with the old-line party hacks who feel left out by the Obama Revolution.
5. It can't hurt. Racist misogynists don't vote Democratic anyhow.
   
6. It's only politics. There is a general impression that Barack and Hillary hate each other. Fortunately this is politics, one of the few professions where that doesn't matter.
   

The Case Against

1. Poor life insurance. As I wrote before, if Hillary Clinton is Obama's vice-president the Manchurian Candidate scenario becomes a real possibility. Some Hillbot equal of Charles Guiteau may decide to do whatever is necessary to make Hillary President. It doesn't take much reading at Taylor Marsh or TalkLeft to realize that there are many Hillary supporters sufficiently fanatical.
   
2. Big Bill. The only thing looser than Bill Clinton's zipper is his mouth. Bill has not aged well, he is now a screwup waiting to happen. He will be an even bigger burden for President Obama than he has been for Senator Clinton. Bill has taken money from a lot of curious people in the Middle East and South America these past eight years. My gut tells me the Republicans are sitting on a juicy Bill Clinton scandal just waiting for the right time to use it.
3. The Joe Lieberman Effect. Many of us believe Lieberman deliberately sabotaged Al Gore's 2000 campaign. Hillary is a Democratic Neo-Con a la Tail-gunner Joe. On things that matter to neo-conservatives (wars of conquest against oil producing nations and dismantling the Constitution) Hillary has been a consistent vote for them in the Senate. Like Lieberman, Hillary might throw the campaign to her close friend, John McCain.
   

A purely political judgment says that Hillary should be the Vice-Presidential nominee. Human wisdom suggests no. This may be one of those rare occasions where the potential risks outweigh the certain benefits.