Obama needs Clinton on ticket

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:21AM

If you contrast the get-well notes that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wrote to Mark Kirk, you’ll understand why the president needs the Secretary of State to be his 2012 running mate.

Sen. Kirk, the 52-year-old Republican who occupies Obama’s former seat, was felled by a massive stroke last week.

It was a shocker.

A relentless campaigner, Kirk defeated Obama’s friend and basketball partner, Alexi Giannoulias, in 2010 in a bitter campaign. But in the last two years, Kirk has forged a solid working relationship with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who is extremely close to the White House.

News of Kirk’s stroke hit on the eve of the president’s State of the Union address. Though Obama warmly embraced recovering gunshot victim Rep. Gabrielle Giffords that night, Kirk’s empty chair in the chamber went unacknowledged. And Obama’s note to Kirk, while no doubt sincere, was brisk: “Mark, we just heard about your medical situation. So I wanted to let you know that Michelle and I have you in our thoughts and prayers. Good luck on what I’m sure will be a speedy recovery.”

To paraphrase basketball coach Phil Jackson, sometimes men need to get in touch with their feminine side.

Clinton’s missive to Kirk carried all the grace notes that Obama used to summon on a regular basis.

The Secretary of State wrote: “Dear Mark, I was greatly distressed to learn of your stroke and subsequent surgery but am heartened to learn you are doing well despite the circumstances. While the road to full recovery may look long and daunting, please know I join your family, friends, colleagues, and supporters in cheering you on. Stay strong, keep positive and heal fast. . . . If there is anything I can do for you, please contact me.”

When his poll numbers were lower and unemployment rates were higher, commentators including Sun-Times colleague Laura Washington wrote that Obama needed to move Vice President Joe Biden, a good man, out and Hillary Clinton, a better candidate, into the 2012 race.

Now as his poll numbers rise a bit, the economy improves a bit, and some Republicans are fearing Newt Gingrich might be their nominee, there are still close friends of Obama and Clinton who are quietly arguing a switch needs to be made.

A person who knows Hillary Clinton well — and who doesn’t believe Clinton wants or would agree to be drafted — said this on Friday: “The reason people are drumming up this ticket is . . . there’s not enough sizzle on the second seat. Joe doesn’t light them up.”

Another person, one who knows Barack Obama very well, believes that, regardless of who the Republican nominee is, Clinton would bring “a whole new energy and particularly energize women.”

An antidote, if one is needed, to the Republican Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, who drew the president’s ire last week for saying she felt “lectured” by him at the White House.

Optics matter.

In a White House dominated by men — chiefs of staff, press spokesmen and advisers — Hillary Clinton pops out like a red dress in a sea of black suits.

Moreover, she deserves another shot at the top slot in 2016.

And the vice presidency is a way to position that.

In the words of the Obama friend, “It would be good for the country.”