Redstate

Rich Lowry poses a question that I've heard from many others recently: If this thing goes to the convention, would Obama accept a Veep spot?

Such a deal would make a lot of sense: Obama would be getting a vice-presidential nomination that he presumably would have been delighted with a year ago, that suits his experience level, and that would probably keep him from having to go back to the U.S. Senate, which he doesn't appear to relish. And he could convince himself that this is the right thing for his party and the country (Hillary wouldn't be so moved by such considerations). It would be the only way to end the race cleanly before the convention.

I completely disagree with this logic: under absolutely no conditions should Barack Obama join himself to Clinton on a ticket. Obama is young, bright as the morning star, can raise metric tons of money in a second, and has elevated himself to the messianic level by eloquently championing "change politics" (and not much else). His future is enormously bright even if the superdelegates throw the nomination to Hillary. By joining himself to the Clinton machine and its incredibly divisive grande dame, Obama ruins his ability to ever again function as a "change candidate" with broad social appeal. It destroys his chief pop-cultural attribute for the sake of an 08 run where he'd be second-fiddle to a vindictive POTUS who is only cooperating with him out of political necessity. It would be unquestionably wiser for Obama to wait, to be "the guy we should've picked" should Clinton fail as nominee or President, raise the GDP of a small nation, go back to IL and be governor, and be the unquestioned heart and soul of the party for four years until he can go at it again, this time with a deeper resume.