Published: June 07, 2008 07:01 pm            

Locals split on possible Obama-Clinton ticket

Supporters of Hillary Clinton believe her withdrawal from the presidential campaign will help to unify Democrats, though they’re divided over whether she should join presumptive nominee Barack Obama as vice president.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, congratulated Senator Obama on his successful campaign and said he is impressed by not only his energy and charisma, but by his ability to inspire and motivate voters throughout the country.

“Today our great nation faces a magnitude of problems and challenges that I have not seen throughout my 34 years in Congress. We must address the big issues that face America – achieving energy independence, providing accessible health care to every American and rebuilding America’s infrastructure. In the near-term we must continue to address economic uncertainties, rising fuel prices and the redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq,” Murtha said in a prepared statement.

He added he looks forward to sitting down with Obama and discussing solutions to these challenges.

“A unified Democratic Party will win the presidency in November, and a unified Democratic Party will put America on the right path,” Murtha said.

Heath Long, an Ebensburg attorney who ran as a Clinton delegate, said that Clinton’s formal dropping of the presidential race “is an excellent move because it’s time to declare a winner and get behind a nominee to beat the Republicans in the fall.”

Long said an Obama-Clinton ticket would be difficult after the intense, often heated campaign, but he said it has been done before, pointing to Ronald Reagan and vice president George Bush.

“But I think this (primary) was more acrimonious than usual,” Long said.

Long believes that it would not be good politically for Clinton to accept the vice presidential nomination.

“She has more power as a senator than a vice president,” he said.

Helen Whiteford, Cambria County’s Democratic chairman who ran as Clinton delegate in the primary, said that Clinton’s backing Obama now “is a good move. She has to help unify the party.”

Clinton likely will be able to bring her supporters to Obama in November “after they’ve licked their wounds” from the primary battles, Whiteford said.

She suggested Clinton teaming with Obama would help Democrats in the fall.

“It would be a good move for him to select her as vice president because he needs her people,” Whiteford said.

Cambria County Controller and Democrat Ed Cernic Jr. said he believes Clinton can accomplish more by keeping her Senate seat.

“If I was advising her, I’d tell her not to seek the vice presidency,” Cernic said.

He said Clinton, who represents New York in the Senate along with fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer, is more valuable to the country as a senator.

Cernic said Clinton, as a senator, would have a better chance of promoting her working class and family values agendas than she would as vice president.

“She has a bigger voice in the Senate,” he said. “She is a Senate leader.”

As for her campaign for her party’s presidential nomination, Cernic said he feels she could have been more forceful and organized, primarily in the early stages.

In his view, Cernic said Clinton went from early presidential front-runner to one of several candidates in the mix.

State Rep. Ed Wojnaroski Sr., D-Johnstown, doesn’t foresee Clinton on the Democratic ballot in the fall as a vice presidential candidate.

“I don’t think Obama will pick her,” Wojnaroski said.

“In many circles, she’s as popular as he is,” he added.

Wojnaroski said he feels that both Clinton and Obama ran excellent campaigns.

As for Clinton, he said she can take pride in her campaign.

“It was a good race,” he said.

Mark Singel, a Johnstown native and Harrisburg-based lobbyist who actively backed Obama, said he believes the long Democratic primary battle actually helped the party.

More Democratic voters are registered and are engaged in the political process this year, said Singel, who also served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor under the late Gov. Robert P. Casey.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the discourse,” Singel said. “It’s been a long time since the Democratic party has seen that level of intensity. And I think, over the long haul, it has been good for the party.”

Despite frequent barbs traded by the Clinton and Obama camps during the campaign, Singel said there actually is a “great deal of respect” between the two candidates.

He supports the idea of Clinton becoming Obama’s pick for vice president.

“Certainly, it would be a ticket of historic dimensions,” Singel said. “It certainly would pull the party together.”

State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, said Obama, as the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee, has the prerogative to choose a running mate.

“I’m sure that whomever he chooses will only strengthen the ticket,” he said.

Wozniak said he believes Obama and Clinton would be a dream team.

“They would be tough to beat,” he said.

From talking to others, all indications are that everyone is ready to coalesce to unit the Democratic Party, he said, describing the Democratic race for president as a marathon that will go down in political history.

Susie Skaggs of Seward, who along with her husband, David, and daughter, Karlie, worked as grassroots volunteers in Clinton’s campaign, said she is disappointed that Clinton was defeated because she captured the popular but lost in the delegate count.

“Hillary has part of my heart,” she said. “I’m still rooting for her.”

Skaggs believes Clinton was the strongest candidate.

“She has earned a spot on the ticket,” she said. “He (Obama) would be making a big mistake if he didn’t include her on the ticket.”

Staff writers Frank Sojak, Sandra Reabuck, Ted Potts, Mike Faher and Kelly Urban contributed to this report.

        

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