Bob Johnson, Founder of BET, Thinks Hillary Clinton Should Be Running Mate

Bob Johnson, the found of BET, says that Obama should pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate. Bob Johnson sparked controversy for remarks he made against Barack Obama, in an attempt to support Hillary Clinton. He later apologized for those remarks.

Bob Johnson graduated from the University of Illinois. He then obtained a Master's degree in International Affairs from Princeton. Bob Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television which he sold to Viacom in 1999 for $3 billion. This made Bob Johnson the first African American billionaire.

Currently Bob Johnson is a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He also serves on the board of several companies including General Mills and Hilton Hotels.

While Bob Johnson has stirred controversy in his support for Hillary Clinton, he may be right that she is the ideal running mate for Barack Obama.

The length of the campaign for the nomination has taken its toll on the Democratic Party. The campaign often turned bitter. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama exchanged a number of barbs on the campaign trail which served to strongly polarize their supporters. Polls during the campaign indicated that supporters of Hillary Clinton would vote for John McCain if Obama won the nomination.

Selecting Hillary Clinton for his running mate would help to unify the Democratic Party. Clinton supporters might be more willing to vote for Obama if their vote was for Hillary Clinton as well. No other potential running mate will be able to have the unification effect on the party that Hillary Clinton will.

One criticism that many of made of Obama regards his relative lack of experience. Having Hillary Clinton as his running mate would help deflect this criticism. Clinton has been involved with politics for some time and she was very active as first lady during Bill Clinton's presidency. Hillary Clinton would be invaluable to an Obama presidency.

I'd also suggest that Hillary Clinton makes a more suitable vice president than presidential candidate. She seems to have a very polarizing effect on people. She's either loved or hated. This could be have been a huge liability to the Democratic Party if she ran for president. However, those that have a strong dislike for her or more likely to vote for another presidential candidate even though she's on the same ticket.

Another strength Hillary Clinton would bring as a vice presidential candidate is her popularity with the blue collar voters. During the campaign for the nomination, Hillary Clinton performed very well among blue collar voters. Her message on the economy and the working person resonated strongly with this demographic. This is a vital demographic since many key states like Ohio consist largely of blue collar voters.

The Obama campaign has positioned him as the candidate of change. I think Hillary Clinton would be key to selling that message to the voters. During Bill Clinton's presidency, Hillary Clinton was very involved with education reform and health care reform. These are issues that are important to Americans and would be key planks in a change oriented platform.

Sources:

Robert L. Johnson, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Johnson