A Scary Thought

Today I saw a photograph of Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain sitting next to each other at a function at a military base. In today's politically charged environment, you'd think they would be scowling, but instead they were smiling as though they knew something the rest of the world didn't.

I know I can't read minds, but seeing that duo smiling like they were gave me a scary thought. Are they coming out with a Director's Cut of "Gigli"? Then, I thought of the real scary thought. What if Hillary and McCain teamed up as a moderate ticket in 2008? It's entirely possible, folks, and here's how.

First, there's Hillary. She's on the outs with many people in her party for voting in favor of the war resolution giving President Bush the authority to go into Iraq. However, she still has people willing to support her, even if the main party bosses don't. And those people translate into votes. Also, Hillary is trying to appear moderate, which will attract other moderates to her so long as she can keep up the image.

One way she can appear to be more moderate is to hook up politically with someone like John McCain, who is on the outs with his party for the most part. After his 2000 run and with some of the actions he's taken (McCain-Feingold comes to mind), McCain isn't beloved by the Republican base. However, he's still a big hit with moderates, liberal Republicans, and conservative Democrats. Heck, even the media love to call him a "maverick" because of his frequent stances against his own party.

Take a Democrat looking to appear more moderate, add a Republican with moderate credentials, and throw in an electorate tired of partisan bickering, and what do you have? Hillary/McCain 08. Hillary fulfills her dream of being the first female President (provided some liberal whackjob poet doesn't deem her husband to be the first female President), and McCain gets as close to the Oval Office as he'll be able to ever get. And all it will take is for the two of them to be chummy and to lose in the primaries, which may be more likely than we think. Once they're bounced, a PR event can be called, they come out and say they're teaming up, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Or will be if this comes to pass and people don't wise up to it. I hope and pray I'm wrong, but in a country where a "Friends" spinoff gets beyond one episode without being any good, I'm not betting the farm on it.