I don’t think this is the answer, but Daniel Altman over at the Huffington Post suggests a “Granita Pact” between Clinton and Obama. Interesting – but it would make little sense for either of them.
Why would Ms. Clinton agree to serve for only one term? Her rationale for staying in the race according to John F. Harris and Jim VanderHei of the Politico is that Obama cannot win and would destroy the Democratic Party. Others talk about the insatiable Clinton lust for power. Regardless, without a policy rationale to keep her in the race, it’s hard to see Ms. Clinton encouraging an Obama run ever. The only reasons for her to stay in the race even now are based on either her judgment that Obama cannot win, that he would make a bad president, or that she is determined to gain power no matter what it takes. Otherwise, she would have gotten out of the way.
Mr. Obama, on the other hand, keeps talking about the “fierce urgency of now”. His campaign is based on the premise that now is the moment when America needs a change, a new face, a fresh start, a different kind of politics. In other words, America needs a break from the Clintons and Bushes. For him to agree to another Clinton term when he was winning the race would brand him a typical politician.
Interesting idea. But I don’t see either candidate accepting it. It makes more sense for the Democratic Party than it does for either Clinton or Obama.