Dems should steal a page from the 1980 Republican playbook

Last week I interviewed Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga) who pretty much said what many people are feeling these days--but are afraid to say. Hillary cannot win without Barack; Barack cannot win without Hillary.

While everyone in the Democratic fold is patiently -- or shall we say, impatiently -- waiting for the Pennsylvania primary, staff members of each campaign are going ballistic. Geraldine Ferraro has had to quit Team Clinton because of remarks she made that were deemed racial and controversial; Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments about America forced Sen. Obama off message and into giving a speech that some say helped his cause on the race question, while others say it just put him deeper in a hole.

When you have two candidates so close on the issues nothing is left to attack but the personal. And in politics, when it gets personal, it gets bad, it gets bloody. This is what we are witnessing in the campaign right now.

So along comes Congressman John Lewis -- who was co-chair of the Clinton Campaign until being pressured into jumping ship, and now backing Obama -- with his latest thoughts about the campaign. The veteran civil rights icon told me that Clinton and Obama together is a "dream ticket" that would be "unstoppable."  When asked if that was his prayer, Lewis said it may be too much to hope for, but that it would be a dream ticket that would win hands down over the Republicans in the fall.

Lewis "hit the nail right on the head."

Let's look at the lay of the land right now: To win, any Democrat must have a consortium of groups (i.e. Hispanics, blacks, women, lesbian and gay voters, whites in rural areas, and young voters).  Hillary has the Hispanics, women rural and suburban white Democrats. Barack has a lock on African Americans and the energized youth vote this election year, and also independents, and even Republicans who have had enough of their own leadership.

Take away either candidate from the ticket, and the Democrat who carries the banner stands to ride into battle without half of the Democratic constituency. And we haven't talked about the possibility that Floridians may bolt and stay home too, if they don't get a say in Denver at the convention. Throw in Michigan Dems taking a walk for similar reasons, and the party is over.

It doesn't take a person with a Ph.D. in theoretical and mathematical physics to do the math. Hillary cannot win without Barack. Barack cannot win without Hillary. Sure, someone will make history no matter what -- because never before has a major party in the U.S. chosen a black person or a woman to be the nominee. But wouldn't it be nice to make even more history this year? A woman or a black president, and a woman or a black vice president too?

But for this to happen, the party's leaders will have to lead. That leadership must be displayed just before the Democrats arrive in Denver or at the convention. No one should expect either candidate to throw in the towel until after the superdelegates make the choice -- because the "super d's" will have the final say, as they are supposed to when it's neck and neck like this. (Yes, Barack is ahead, but all things considered, this still is a neck-and-neck neck race).

For those who worry that this year's brutal and bruising exercise could hurt Democrats, I suggest a case study of the 1980 Republican race.

The Republicans' Detroit convention in 1980 was a raucous mess. Ronald Reagan's team held closed-door negotiations with former President Gerald Ford, (Reagan wanted Ford to be his vice president running mate, but Ford wanted guarantees he'd be more than the traditional V.P.). The former CIA director George H.W. Bush was a vocal critic of Reagan battling hard to wrest the nomination himself -- even referring to Reagan's supply-side economic ideas as "voodoo economics." There was all sorts of name-calling -- all the stuff that makes for a tough nomination that can lead to a weak nominee in the fall. However, the Republicans found a way to rise above it all and moved forward. Reagan ended up picking Bush; they won a huge victory over the incumbent Democrats Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, and even got Bush one term as commander in chief eight years later.

The Democrats, similarly as the Republicans back then, could do the same thing now, 28 years later. Interesting similarities exist too: Reagan in 1980, like Hillary Clinton this year, lost the Iowa primary to Bush who claimed he had the "big Mo" (momentum). Then Reagan, like Sen. Clinton this did this year, won New Hampshire. Well, the rest is history.

The key this year for the Democrats, (hope Howard Dean is listening), is a deal needs to be cut that says whomever gets the nomination, the second-place finisher should be guaranteed the vice presidential nomination. Period. The end. Further, it should be agreed by both senators that whoever gets the number two spot will accept the position and work tirelessly to keep their supporters in the fold with the same vigor they would have had if they had won. 

Rep. Lewis, who earned his stripes fighting injustice by taking police batons to the head, enduring water hoses and vicious dogs during civil rights demonstrations, clearly knows what can happen if the clock is turned back. Remember, the next president will likely choose three Supreme Court justices.

Lewis is wise to offer the contemplation of reality to both camps. The leaders of the Clinton and Obama campaigns must begin thinking about that reality: that together they could be the juggernaut Democrats will need to win in November, and really make history.