Pardon my audacity, but Obama needs Clinton as running mate

I dropped by Hillary Clinton's "Support We Can Believe In" tour stop Friday at the Green Valley High School gym.

At least I think that's what it was called.

Maybe it was "The Audacity of Help."

From the size of the turnout, I wondered if it was halftime at a Gators game and some of the crowd was out getting popcorn. Bursting at the seams, it wasn't. The assembly was lively and devoted, but well within the fire code.

Then again, the size of the crowd wasn't as important as Clinton's message: She sincerely and completely supports Barack Obama's candidacy for president.

No, really.

Let there be no doubt. She's all in. Absolutely. Positively.

Without a hint of irony, sarcasm, envy or regret.

At least publicly, no one in the Obama camp has asked Clinton to take a polygraph or a shot of sodium pentothal to prove her loyalty. That would be rude. And, after all, this is politics. The use of lie-detectors and truth serum would put nine of 10 practitioners out of business.

Obama and the rest of us are left to listen closely to Clinton's speeches as she crosses the country on behalf of her favorite candidate still in the running. That's what I did Friday.

As I listened, Clinton reminded me she alone possesses the ability to fire up a substantial block of Democrats left unexcited by Obama's candidacy and his Change We Can Believe In mantra.

"Anyone who voted for me or caucused for me has so much more in common with Senator Obama than with Senator McCain," Clinton said. "I urge you to remember who we were fighting for in my campaign."

And, "We've got the forces. We've just got to turn folks out."

How's that for sincere support?

Out from under the relentless pressure of the presidential campaign, Clinton's rhetorical skills have blossomed. Her call for unity was believable. At times her partisan one-liners were "Tonight Show" funny.

I liked the part where Clinton reminded the audience that she's been working in politics for 40 years -- yes, almost as long as Obama has been alive -- and then deadpanned, "Now, at this point someone is supposed to yell, 'I don't believe it.'"

Self-deprecating humor, what a concept.

Visionary speeches painted with a broad brush are great, but doesn't Obama ever crack a joke?

Not even the devout want a sermon every day.

I'm guessing not even Mrs. Obama will say that Mr. Obama is a lot of laughs at the dinner table.

I came away from Clinton's speech believing she has the stuff Obama needs as a running mate. There, I said it.

The Sunday morning pundits have already written her off despite the fact she alone energized an enormous cross-section of diehard Democrats who had an opportunity to vote for Obama and took a pass. They say she didn't play nicely and was too critical of Obama during their toe-to-toe battle, and she has her own experience issues.

A favorite media fable is that Hillary Clinton is too polarizing and will hurt Obama more than help him. As the story goes, her presence will "fire up" the Republicans at a time they're off their game.

What a scream.

Let's see: Barack Obama is a liberal African-American Democrat with not a lot of political experience. If that's not enough to excite the Republican base in 2008, nothing in Clinton's political portfolio -- not even her relationship to the former frat boy-in-chief -- is going to do the trick.

Obama needs a high-octane can of Red Bull in a pants suit who can deliver millions of votes. He needs someone to promote the campaign's themes and speak with authority on health care and women's rights issues while treating the enemy the way Don Rickles treats his audiences.

Obama needs someone not from his choir, but from his corner.

So call it the "Support We Can Believe In" tour. Say it's "The Audacity of Help." But it's becoming ever clearer that Hillary Clinton's energetic participation in the campaign is essential to the Democrats' hopes from here to November.

I don't know if Obama can win with Clinton at his side, but I'm becoming more convinced by the day that he can't win without her.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.