Not a classy move by Hillary supporters

I've been thinking I should say something positive about the Clintons, maybe reminisce about what it was like to be in Washington back in late 1992-early 1993 when Clinton came into office. Let the healing begin, etc. It sounds like Hillary has accepted defeat; she and Barack met last night, she is going to be giving a concession speech on Saturday, and, on a particularly hopeful note, there's this:

Clinton hosted a conference call Thursday with her national finance committee, urging them to shift gears and begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee, which will be coordinating fundraising efforts with the Obama campaign.

That's good, and it's what I expected. I've been wondering about why Hillary is taking so long to concede. One downside for her has been that other people have jumped into the void and defined her as being self-centered, because she didn't concede to Obama when she should have. That was my feeling as well, although I have also heard that Clinton supporters need time to decompress. I can understand that. Anyway, it's just four days. It will all work itself out. So good things are happening. Healing has begun.

But then I read this, at the same TPM post that I quoted above:

DNC Chairman Howard Dean has already reached out to some major Clinton fundraisers, urging them to put aside any lingering bitterness over the primary and come aboard to help Obama. Dean dined with several top donors in Boston on Wednesday night.

"He clearly made the case to this group of people that he needed them very badly and asked for our willingness to reach out and join up with the campaign as soon as possible," said Steve Grossman, a former DNC chairman and a Clinton supporter.

But in return, the group had asked Dean to relay to the Obama campaign "how very focused they are on Hillary being on the ticket," Grossman said.

Earlier this week, Clinton's national finance chairman, Hassan Nemazee, said he was also pushing an Obama-Clinton ticket, claiming that together they would be able to raise $200 million to $250 million for the general election.

Dean is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing: bridging the gap, mending fences. Good for him. He knows how to do his job well.

But do Hillary's supporters have any idea how incredibly tacky they look? Yes, they will support Obama, but they have a price. Do they realize how much they are hurting her chances of actually becoming VP? By implying that they will support Obama more if Hillary is on the ticket, they look like they're twisting his arm (at the very least). Do they think they can roll him? Don't they realize how bad it would be for Obama politically if he looked like he was being rolled? Guess what, folks, the smoke-filled back room now has a video camera in it. The more pressure they apply, the less are her chances.

The Vice President is one of only two offices that is voted on by all Americans. The Vice President is not the Vice President only of Hillary's supporters. Bill Clinton actually established a good precedent for how to pick a VP. He choose Al Gore because Al Gore was qualified to be President, and he made a good Vice President. That should be the only criteria: how well they can serve as VP over the next four to eight years, or, if the worst comes to pass, as President. Not how much money they can bring in in the next five months.

The Vice Presidency is not for sale. To even suggest that it might be is extraordinarily crass.

I hate to say it, but it looks like Hillary isn't the only one who has a problem with being a gracious loser. She should have another conference call with her supporters.