Obama blinked and stands guilty of appeasing Clinton by agreeing to a roll call vote for her nomination. That he might not have had much choice if he wanted peace only proves the point that he's playing defense at his own convention.What does he get out of it? Not much and not for long.The fleeting sense that he is a magnanimous nominee won't get him a single vote he wouldn't get anyway. Ditto for the idea that he's going the extra mile to unify the party. Those who refuse to accept him as the legitimate winner aren't likely to do so just because he caves into her demands.It makes him look weak and ratifies Clinton's sense of entitlement to share party leadership and the convention spotlight.
This deal makes Obama look weak. I suppose his campaign thinks it can manage the media to keep him on top, but no matter how much they love him, they won't be able to resist the story of the Hillary comeback attempt. Clinton will do her best to make those 3 AM phone calls to all the delegates. Who knows, maybe she can swing some Edwards delegates? This might be an interesting convention. The big question is: Has Obama's disappointing poll numbers caused the superdelegates to have second thoughts? When Hillary offers to bring Obama along as her VP, will they take the offer?
I still say "No". It would be a disaster to let Clinton steal the nomination. It's all calculated to get more attention for the convention. The Obama people hope they can bring in a big audience so that they can sell Obama to the country. I think it's a mistake to give so much time to Hillary, but she won't be able to pull off the miracle comeback.
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