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Obama Rejects Idea of Back Seat on Ticket

The New York Times (register)

COLUMBUS, Miss. — At first, the suggestion was a quiet one, raised by their supporters. Soon, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, lent credence to the idea, telling voters in Mississippi and beyond that Senator Barack Obama would make a fine partner — most likely as No. 2 — on the Democratic ticket.

But when Mr. Obama arrived here Monday, he brusquely discounted the chatter. He suggested that the Clintons were being duplicitous in their offer, implying on one hand that he was not ready to be president, but that on the other, he could solve the party’s political impasse by joining together.

“I don’t know how somebody who’s in second place can offer the vice presidency to someone who’s in first place,” Mr. Obama told a town meeting at the Mississippi University for Women here, alluding to his lead in delegates. As the crowd cheered, he said: “If I’m not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?”

Posted by Editor at March 12, 2008 01:50 AM

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