How far will Barack go to secure a successful convention?

I’m travelling through France, the only internet access I’ve got is on my phone and have not been able to keep up with PB threads or the news. But from what I can gather Obama’s running mate has not yet been announced and the speculation and betting goes on.

And the more I have thought about it over the past 24 hours the more I have become convinced that Barack has little alternative but to choose Hillary if next week is to be a success. The stakes are simply too high for him to allow any sense of there being a split or the party he leads not being 100% behind him.

Quite simply those who invested so much of their emotional energy in the Hillary campaign and the idea of a female president have to be neutralised at the very least and hopefully brought on side. That cannot be done if he chooses any other running mate.

In any case who amongst the suggested alternatives is “box office”? Who else could electrify the campaign?

Yes there are down-sides with HRC – but he has to get elected first.

UPDATE: The following is from USA Today. Who does it sounds as though Obama is talking about here?

In an interview in Chester, Va., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he’s made up his mind, but he would not say whether he’s informed that person yet. “I won’t comment on anything else until I introduce our running mate to the world,” he said. “That’s all you’re going to get out of me. Obama said it was a difficult decision. “We had some great choices.”

Obama said he wanted somebody who is “prepared to be president” and who will be “a partner with me in strengthening this economy for the middle class and working families.”

He said he was looking for not just a partner but a sparring partner. “I want somebody who’s independent, somebody who can push against my preconceived notions and challenge me so we have got a robust debate in the White House.”

Mike Smithson