Ted Kennedy puts down Hillary, alienates her voters

POSTED BY Alexandra Steigrad, 09 May 2008

When asked whether an Obama/Clinton ticket was possible, Ted Kennedy said the following to Bloomberg TV:

"Well, the first is always a demand that you're going to have someone that's going to be able to assume the responsibility. I would hope that he would also give consideration to somebody that has –- is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people. And I think if we had real leadership –- as we do with Barack Obama –- in the number-two spot as well, it'd be enormously helpful."

I'm sorry, but there are plenty of Hillary supporters who feel that voting for a the first female president is a noble aspiration. Ted Kennedy is not one to make such a statement. Furthermore, he is making matters worse for Clinton voters who are already reluctant to get on team Obama. Lastly, as pointed out by VoteBoth, Clinton has won about 49% of the vote in the Democratic nomination, which means she is a leader and the top choice for almost half of the party. More statements like this from Obama supporters like Kennedy is most certainly a death wish for Obama. From ABC News:

Kennedy on Obama-Clinton Ticket: Dream On

May 09, 2008 2:20 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: In an interview with Al Hunt on Bloomberg TV, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., an Obama supporter, has a particularly strong negative reaction to the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket:

HUNT: What's your view of an Obama-Clinton ticket?

KENNEDY: I don't think it's possible.

HUNT: You don't? And what type of vice president choice do you think he should make? What type of person?

KENNEDY: Well, the first is always a demand that you're going to have someone that's going to be able to assume the responsibility. I would hope that he would also give consideration to somebody that has –- is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people. And I think if we had real leadership –- as we do with Barack Obama –- in the number-two spot as well, it'd be enormously helpful.

The Democratic group VoteBoth dedicated to an Obama-Clinton or a Clinton-Obama ticket didn't much like Kennedy's thoughts.

"We respect Senator Kennedy's opinions about what is best for the Party, but we think that the millions of Democrats who have voted for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have something to say, too. Why stop at having a nominee who has the support of 51% of Democrats when we could have a 'Dream Team' ticket that has won 100%?" co-founder Sam Arora said in a statement.

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reported on Thursday's "Good Morning America" on Thursday that "intermediaries" in the Obama and Clinton campaigns have resumed discussing the possibility of an Obama-Clinton "dream team" ticket.

"I think it's very much a possibility and there are others around Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., other top Democrats who think the strongest ticket would be a joint ticket," Stephanopoulos said this week.

The dream team ticket was discussed earlier this year, but fell by the wayside as both sides ramped up the rhetoric against each other, intensifying their battle for the Democratic nomination.

The talk has revived as Clinton now looks like an ultra-long shot for the presidential nomination, and her disappointed supporters are threatening to vote for presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., instead of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"There are intermediaries discussing this very scenario," Stephanopoulos said on "GMA".

There is at least one problem with the scenario: Obama, the Democratic frontrunner, might not want Clinton on the ticket.

When asked whether he would take Clinton as his vice presidential running mate during a chaotic visit to Capitol Hill Thursday, Obama told reporters, "I think its premature for us to be thinking in that way, because I don't know who the nominee is going to be yet. It's not yet resolved."

Howard Wolfson, the Clinton campaign's communications director, denied that she is interested in the vice president spot.

"She said that's not something she would accept," Wolfson told "GMA."

Al Hunt's full interview with Sen. Ted Kennedy will air on Friday's Political Capital at 7:30pm ET on Bloomberg Television and will rebroadcast through the weekend.