SUNDAY TALKING HEADS

It's amusing to watch this morning's news shows with their panels speculating on who Obama might pick for his running mate.

It's clear, from Michelle Obama's attitude, that he will never select Hillary unless forced to do so by pragmatic political considerations. And I have real trouble believing that Hillary would accept such a post. She has to know that if it happened, he would diminish her role in every possible way, relegating her to a campaigner and not an adviser or participant in the governing process. And Hillary is an activist -- she would never voluntarily surrender her ability to speak and act independently on the issues that matter to her just to fill a ceremonial slot. So the talking bobbleheads suggest that maybe a Hillary supporter such as Ohio Governor Ted Strickland might be a way to extend the olive branch to the Hillary wing of the party. Fools and idiots. Strickland or PA Gov. Ed Rendell will not assuage our doubts about Obama, and they will not serve as surrogates for Hillary. The media and the Obama campaign JUST DON'T GET IT. Hillary is not a REPRESENTATIVE of an ideology or a wing of the party -- she is herself, the best-prepared candidate for the presidency. We are not voting for her as a symbol. We support her leadership, which is not replicable. Someone else cannot substitute.

There really is no way for the Obama campaign to make nice with us now other than to appeal to us as loyal Democrats. And there is only one real issue that keeps me and others like me in the fold: Supreme Court appointments. Were it not for that (McCain praises Alito and Roberts as the kind of judges he would select), I would certainly be abstaining from a presidential vote if Obama is the Democratic nominee.

The discussion is almost always, on this topic, about how horribly AAs would react if Obama is "denied" the nomination. Give credit to Cokie Roberts for insisting on This Week with George S. that the media coverage, columns, and blogs have offered little respectful treatment of Hillary and her campaign. Cokie rightly pointed (I keep waiting for it, but almost never hear it) out that women are offended by the rampant sexism in this election cycle, and women are resentful.

Sam Donaldson defended Hillary on the "white, working-class voters" problem for Barack comment by saying that not only is that a fact reported repeatedly by every media outlet, but the Obama campaign knows it and is working on it.

This is NOT OVER.