by Mike Dorning
Does Hillary Clinton believe Barack Obama is good enough to be a heartbeat away from the presidency but still a second-rate choice for commander-in-chief?
As Clinton’s campaign simultaneously questions Obama’s readiness to be commander-in-chief and enthusiastically promotes him as a vice-presidential choice should she win the nomination, a Clinton surrogate this morning made the unusual argument that Obama is “qualified” to be a heartbeat away from the presidency but still falls far short of Clinton’s readiness for the job.
Tim Russert, moderator for “Meet the Press,” bored in on the seeming inconsistency in questioning Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, a surrogate who appeared on behalf of the Clinton campaign.
While the Clinton campaign’s recent rhetoric suggests that Obama may not meet the standard of readiness voters would expect in a commander-in-chief, Rendell argued that Obama is in fact “ready” for the job.
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Still, according to Rendell, his candidate’s “dream” vice-presidential pick is “not nearly as ready as Hillary Clinton is, there’s no question about that.”
Here is the exchange: