I wrote yesterday that, according to the delegate math, Barack Obama already is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Now, Obama himself is joining the increasingly frequent arguments that his lead is virtually unassailable, and that it is important for the nomination campaign to end before the nomination:
Barack Obama said last night that it would be better for the potential Democratic nominee to be able to shift into the general election, instead of letting a divisive primary last for months longer.
"I think giving whoever the nominee is two or three months to pivot into the general election would be extremely helpful, instead of having this drag up to the convention," Obama told reporters on board his plane.
Let me offer a word of advice that should be pretty obvious. If we want the nomination campaign to end, and if we want Obama to be perceived as the presumptive nominee by most Democrats and media outlets, then Obama needs to start acting like the presumptive nominee. While certainly this means an increased focus on McCain, more to the point it means that Obama needs to start doing the sort of things that presumptive nominees do: naming administration positions such as his Vice-President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Advisor.
Naming a Vice-President is particularly key, as it would accomplish many goals at once. First, obviously, it would make him look like the presumptive nominee. Second, it would provide him with a powerful new surrogate on the campaign trail, one who could possibly match Bill Clinton. Third, the right vice-presidential choice could actually secure a large number of the currently uncommitted superdelegates. For example, and I am just throwing out a name here, but choosing Nancy Pelosi would almost certainly lock down enough superdelegates, especially California supers and U.S. House supers, to end the nomination campaign pretty quickly. And hey, while Pelosi does not have the world's highest favorability rating, not many people would doubt her ability to be President (she is already third in line) and she was a member of the progressive caucus before she had to leave in order to become leader (the leader should not be in any of the ideological caucuses).
Of course, Pelosi is just one example, and I don't want discussion over her specifically to cloud the point generally. If Obama wants to be perceived as the presumptive nominee, then he needs to start doing the things that presumptive nominees do. Probably the most visible thing presumptive nominees do is choose a Vice-President, and so that is something he should probably do at this point. I imagine this is something the campaign has already thought about, and it probably already has something of a short-list. It is a process they should speed up, and be very visible about speeding up. Make it known that the campaign is actively searching for a Vice-President. Leaks names. Hold closed door meetings with high-profile Dems. If Obama starts acting like the presumptive nominee, then more people might start to perceive him as such.
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