Obama, Bayh and Clinton

Before I get into why Obama might tap Bayh as his running mate, we must remember Hillary Clinton and her wing of the Democratic Party. First of all, I do not think that Obama should allow himself and his supporters to be bullied by people like Geraldine Ferraro into "offering" Hillary the spot. Strategically, Hillary wouldn't add much to the ticket beyond the shallow appearance of unity to appease her embittered supporters. Apparently, there are still some out there who think that Obama should be "gracious" enough to offer her the spot first, so she can decline it. I don't think he should be "gracious" at all. She ran a nasty campaign and surrogates like Geraldine Ferraro made it worse by claiming he was winning because of his race. Right. A black man named Barack Hussein Obama had an advantage. Right.

Still, they are out there. From Politico...

Ferraro, a Clinton supporter who in 1984 became the first woman on a major party presidential ticket, said Obama should be “gracious” enough to offer Clinton the vice presidency, considering how narrow the race was.

Marcia Pappas, who heads the New York state chapter of the National Organization for Women, believes that Clinton supporters “would be outraged to know she was not given that right of first refusal.”

“She is the only woman in history who has ever garnered this much support,” Pappas continued. “She is the only woman in history who was able to raise the kind of money one would need to run a presidential campaign.”

Pamela Sumners, who directs the Missouri chapter of the abortion-rights group NARAL, added that Clinton “is now seen as the reigning dean of the women’s movement. It’s sort of Moses gets all the way to the mountain and doesn’t get to the promised land — and I think there would be people really angry about that.”

So, unless your name is Hillary Clinton, you should not be in consideration.

My question: Hillary Clinton has done some extraordinary things in public office and has shattered many glass ceilings. That's clear. But is it fair that other women (some of which might be in consideration for the VP spot) are forced to break through Hillary's ceiling and reach for their own? Let me rephrase: Why is Hillary the only who can is allowed to break the glass ceiling?