John Heilemann on the Obama-Clinton relationship, which in my mind is all about 2016:
“What Obama stands to gain from the transaction [.e. Bill Clinton’s fervent endorsement of the President and his campaigning for him everywhere this fall] is plain enough to see. The support of the political figure with the highest approval rating, 69 percent, of any in America. The persuasive services of a surrogate who can talk the owls down from the trees. The imprimatur of a former president associated with a period of broad and deep prosperity, imbued with unparalleled credibility on matters economic, and possessing special traction with the white working- and middle-class voters whom Obama has always had a hard time reaching. What Obama stands to gain, in other words, is a healthy boost in his quest for reelection–one all the more invaluable in the wake of his dismal performance in the first debate.”
“The potential payoff for Clinton is more ineffable but no less substantial. Last time around, recall, Obama’s candidacy was based in part on the consignment of Clintonism to the dustbin of history. But now, with Obama running unabashedly as the inheritor of that creed, Clinton is reveling in seeing his legacy restored to what he regards as its rightful status: a restoration that will mightily benefit his wife if she hurls herself at the White House again in 2016. Speculation on that topic is rife within the Clinton diaspora; no one has a clue as to whether or not Hillary will run. But, equally, no one doubts that her husband dearly wants her to–mainly because, among members of the tribe, he can’t shut up about it.”
To the point, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), on the 2016 presidential race: “If Hillary runs, she walks away with the nomination and then beats whichever Republican. It’s lights out.”
I agree, and to the larger point, I believe which ever party wins the 2012 election will win the 2016 election.
The following was the most watched moment of Thursday’s vice presidential debate, which probably explains why the Republicans are flipping out:
Biden succeeded, as evidenced by the fact that the lion’s share of post-debate commentary was All About Joe. Critics said he smiled too much, interrupted his opponent too often, came across as too “hot” for a medium that is all about cool. But these complaints only reinforced the fact that Biden was the protagonist of the evening. […] At this debate, the real Biden showed up. At the next, on Tuesday at Hofstra University on Long Island, the real Obama had better do the same.