For Obama, who needs enemies with friends like Ed Rendell and Doug Wilder?
“There might be a challenger but it would be from the fringe wing of the party, not from any substantial challenger,” he said. “I don't think [Wisconsin Sen.] Russ Feingold is going to do it and I don't think in the end Howard will do it, although I think Howard will think about it, but I don't think he will do it.”
That would be Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, former national party chair, and a 2004 presidential candidate whose campaign took off over Iraq. No word yet on whether the thought of running in 2012 has in fact crossed Mr. Dean’s mind.
But it’s all enough to make you wonder, what’s up with Rendell? He’s always had a habit of saying what he thinks, and maybe now, in his final months in office, he’s even less guarded. And it’s not as if he was ever a huge Obama person. During the 2008 Democratic primaries, he vigorously backed Hillary Clinton.
Still, there’s not been a hint that Secretary of State Clinton is actually considering such a disloyal act as challenging the boss for the top spot in 2012. (Though former Monitor editor John Hughes suggested the possibility in an Aug. 2 column.)
Equally as unlikely is a suggestion from former Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder (D) that Obama might do well to replace Biden on the ticket with ... Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Wilder, the first elected black governor in the country, thinks Biden’s gaffe habit hurts Obama and that putting Clinton on the ticket would bring back Obama’s 2008 themes of audacity and change. Wilder gives Clinton high marks for her performance at State, and suggests she could help Obama win back middle-class independents. Clinton also has far higher job approval ratings (above 60 percent) than both Obama and Biden (mired in the 40s).
