Obama Never Studied Churchill

This post is not meant to offer Monday morning quarterback analysis, or whine about what could have been. As we've discussed already, that is entirely pointless if you are a Democrat right now. You have work with and ultimately win with the hand you have. That being said, I just wanted to talk about an error Obama has made throughout this general election campaign that is incredible short-sighted, and was entirely avoidable had he just swallowed his pride and ego.

Today Barack Obama and Bill Clinton finally met face to face. This took way too long to happen, and all of the blame lies at Obama's feet. Clearly, former President Clinton could be a huge asset to Obama on the campaign trail. Aside from Obama himself, Hillary Clinton, and maybe now Sarah Palin (for the time being), Bill Clinton is the top political surrogate one can get. Getting Clinton on the trail, and having him appear in rural and urban areas like southeastern Ohio, western Ohio, and southern Florida would be tremendously helpful to Obama and his outreach to key constituencies in vital swing states.

Yet, despite that, President Clinton has been all but invisible. A lot of people, particularly loyal Obama supporters have argued that President Clinton is at fault for this. They contend that the Clintons are being needlessly bitter about Senator Clinton's loss, and as a result they have no interest in helping elect Obama. Some have even noted -- including yours truly -- that deep down the Clintons don't even want Obama to win so Hillary can have another shot at the apple in 2012. All of this is probably true, and you know what? It doesn't matter.

The fact is that Obama should have followed Winston Churchill's wise lead. In his magnificent biography of Churchill, "The Last Lion: Alone", the late, great William Manchester described that one of Churchill's very greatest personal attributes was his magnanimity in victory. When he won large victories and personal glory, Churchill would often reach out to his enemies and those he had defeated, and try to bring them back into the fold. Sadly, Obama has apparently never read the masterpiece.

Senator Obama won the election, and as such he should have reached out to both Clintons once the dust had settled, but particularly Bill since he was supposedly very steamed about what he perceived as overly-nasty treatment during the Obama-HRC battle royale. His failure to reach out to Bill until very recently -- sitting down with him today, September 11, less than two months from the election -- was an awful mistake in judgment for Obama. Going further, it reflects poorly on the judgement of Obama and his handlers. The failure to even go through the motions of vetting Senator Clinton as a running mate was another such mistake that merely rubbed salt in the Clintons' wounds, and it was totally avoidable.

Obama should have realized something: he has always needed the Clintons more than they need him. Even if he is elected and never once calls on either of them for anything, they will get by just fine. Hillary is still a U.S. Senator, and Bill is a former President and esteemed statesman. They will survive. Conversely, with lingering bitterness among many Democrats in the aftermath of the primary, the Clintons can play a great role in healing wounds. Furthermore, both of them could serve as great surrogates on the trail. Indeed, we have finally begun to see Hillary on the trail, and that can only aid Obama in a tight contest.

Bill is another, albeit very similar issue. I truly believe that all anger aside, all Bill really wanted was for Obama to reach to him, stroke his bruised ego a little, and accept him with open arms as a personal advisor and important campaign force. In other words, Obama should have just shown the old lion a little love.

Had Obama just made a small gesture in the way of a phone call or quick personal trip to Clinton's Harlem office (as he did today), I think Clinton would have been back in the loop almost immediately, and Obama could have had him on the trail soon thereafter. And no one can tell me that Bill Clinton would not be able to generate huge crowds, buzz, and big news for Obama-Biden. That is utter nonsense.

So, while it is nice that Obama has finally brought Bill Clinton into the fold -- at least by all appearances -- this should have happened months ago. That is took so long is a small indictment on Obama. He let his own ego and personal arrogance get in the way of doing what was not only right, but politically and strategically wise.