Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will make a joint public appearance next week for the first time since she ended her White House bid.

Clinton's national finance director, Jonathan Mantz, sent top donors an invitation Tuesday for a June 26 meeting in Washington, D.C. featuring both former rivals. Mantz also asked Clinton donors to show unity by giving Obama $2,300, the maximum donation allowable under federal campaign finance laws.

He added that Clinton "will do everything she can to unify the party and to elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

THIS...

Okay, be honest now...

Do you recommend your own posts?

In looking at the field of potential vice presidential candidates, they all of course have their individual strengths and weaknesses, and they all have different aspects of comparison/contrast to Obama which could either patch areas where he could use some reinforcement or bolster areas where he's already strong.

But zooming out from the individuals a little and taking an overview of the bigger picture, I'm seeing three main "types" of veep possibilities: governors, former military higher ups, and senators.

I'm feeling torn right now, as some of the candidates who I think could be strongest (Biden, Webb and, although she wouldn't be my personal preference, Clinton) are senators.  And although it seems that the projections for a solid Democratic majority in the Senate are looking good right now, I'm still worried that it could be enough of a close call that a single senator could tip the balance.  This is especially worrisome when it comes to Webb, whose seat could really end up being taken by a Republican. And in a way I just want Biden in the Senate to be a close ally and associate to the President and help Obama push through his legislative agendas.

I'm also afraid that Obama risks losing some of his "Washington outsider" credibility if he doesn't choose a governor or, say, a general.  Governors and former military could not only help reinforce Obama's "change Washington" campaign theme, but could also potentially strengthen Obama's electability in terms of delivering voters from certain demographics and issue voters.  Rendell, for example, could not only assist Obama with his "Appalachian Problem" by helping to deliver Pennsylvania, but also assist with unity efforts as he's been such a strong Hillary supporter.  Or Wesley Clarke would surely bolster Obama's defense credentials, but he might also be able to ward off a measure of the "unpatriotic/terrorist/appeaser" type smears by defending Obama's record on such matters and also, perhaps, bringing in other key military endorsements.


So without naming a favorite candidate, I'd say that I've pretty much arrived at a point where I hope Obama does not choose a senator as his running mate.  Not only is there more to lose there, but it seems to me that there is just as much if not more to gain elsewhere.

What do you think?