Of course Obama should turn down Hillary’s suggestion of a joint ticket. He gains nothing by it. Whatever the outcome for him, he has plenty of time to run again, and a big future ahead of him, one way or another. Hillary’s self-interest is obvious. For presidential candidate Hillary, Obama as Veep brings back Democratic voters she not only didn’t win, but may have alienated by taking a close nomination process from him. Theoretically, that increases their total of general election votes to all Democrats, plus some women and minorities who might not otherwise vote for one or the other.
(Conversely, he potentially gains much less by having her on the ticket, and loses credibility in his quest for “change.”)
As a matter of glaring reality, here, I’d say that right this minute in America many people are willing to elect a woman to lead. And many will vote for a black man as president. But, my entire understanding of human nature forces me to conclude that a white woman/black man ticket (either configuration) will cost far more independent votes than it could ever gain. I’d predict that together they will lose bigger than either may alone, with a white male veep candidate. (Alone, it is arguable that one of them could win.) Faced with a similar ticket (black male gubenatorial candidate/white female for Lt.Gov) in a statewide election 20 years ago in Michigan, my then boss, Tom Bray, described the likely reaction of voters with memorable phrase “too rich a mix.”