Horrorshow

K:

I don't know what the conventioneers fear, but I fear history. One of these two candidates will have to condescend to be vp. Neither has any reason to assume the position. The other day, Brian Williams was on Letterman. Dave asked something like: "These people hate each other, I mean revile. So how do you work with a person after that?" And Williams brought up Kennedy-Johnson. And we know how that ticket turned out.

Next prediction: in the event of an Obama-Clinton ticket, wait for Obama to be assassinated. Maybe in a plane crash.

I'm still pissed about Paul Wellstone.

The 1960 scenario is pret-a-porter...where are my diacritics...Young, inspirational minority liberal, with religion problems, reliant on Chicago power brokers meets middle-aged cloakroom operator. Needs the so-called hand of wisdom in the general, needs to tack to the right, needs delegates.

Clinton, as Johnson was, will be pissed at having nothing to do. And she's not as good at entertaining herself as Lyndon was: no ranch, no booze, no baseball, no pissing in the House parking lot. Who's wearing a pantsuit at 3 AM? HRC's wearing a pantsuit at 3 AM. Like Batman. Johnson's motivating force was the knowledge that men in his family tended to die young. He had a heart attack during his first Senate campaign. Father, grandfather and uncle died of heart disease in their 50s. If Clinton feels like the clock is ticking, if she can't wait out the next eight years...

In effect, the death-threat scenario is a pretty good argument for Clinton-Obama. Make sure she's not stifled by the two-hole. And since I don't trust her to reverse the arrogation of power to the executive wrought in the Bush years, I'm begging for Gore-Obama. We'll see...

Next? PA polling, futures, Pylon, Delta 5, the Yoo torture memo (latest disavowal: "it's boilerplate"!), and does anybody else want a Gore candidacy? Also, what does Al weigh now?

Gore-Obama Reprise

Kevin,

First of all, I think we should run this as a work of correspondence. Partly to structure the rambling; partly also to let my 20th century mind handle the medium. That said:

Joe Klein wrote this on 27 March 2008.

On Tuesday, 10 July 2007, I wrote to you:

all hell breaks loose at the convention when HRC can't win on the third ballot. Al Gore moves through the crowd, suddenly less Taftian. signs pop up. banners unfurl. dissatisfied electors realize they are about to install a female candidate. chairmen cut new deals with the Gore insurgents. Gore calls Obama: "Hello Senator, good to get a holt of you." Obama knows the score: "My pleasure, Mister President." Gore is appreciative but cool: "I have an idea, I wonder if you'll hear me out." BHO releases his chairmen to Gore, who wins the nomination by a nose, taking the South on principle -- nobody trusts the Hairdo anyway, they jump ship -- taking in others by nostalgia, or a sense of order. Gore Obama. stickers that just say GO GO GO. Al defeats his despised HRC, giving a final fuck you to the Clinton empire that so brutally fisted him in 1998 -- i'm thinking of the Lewinsky, the bombing of Iraq, and swallowing a Republican increase in ballistic missile spending that became the cornerstone of the Bush defense plan. Gore gets to play the tough, since BHO is so sweet and gentle, and tough Gore is fascinating. Skilled fundraiser, brutal in the debates, cold, smirking, lunging in for the kill, making fun of Romney's hair (or McCain's Iraq, or Thompson's colostomy bag, or Rudy's ignorance), refusing to repeat the smug performance of 2000, the wonkery, he goes all out full-bore arrogant, knowing his power. He's the only Democrat to pull 50-plus percent in this generation. The one man who could bend other men to his will, the kind of man who would kill his own family, the kind of man who could kill Edie Finneran -- that's right Verbal...

Let it be known: I was on that shit.

Problems with what I wrote back then? For starters, I was sure Clinton would be the presumptive and Obama the insurgent nominee. I thought for sure Romney would win the nomination. And chairmen; who was I thinking of? I also thought that Al Gore was Keyser Soze...

But the full-bore arrogance is in effect: Gore called Cheney a flat-earther and a conspiracy theorist in his 60 Minutes interview...steps in the right direction...