DREAM TEAM OR MENAGE A TROIS NIGHTMARE?

It would seem that Hillary Cinton's entitlement to the presidency is about to fade into the sunset. However, it ain't really over until the fat lady sings - lest we forget Al Gore's eleventh hour loss to Bush. Faced with her likely loss, philandering hubby Bill is now asserting that if Hillary can't be President, she is entitled to be Obama's Vice-President. Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist, writes that " ........ she and Bill want to force Barack Obama to take her as his vice president ..... ."

While many Democrats are licking their chops at the prospect of an Obama-Clinton "dream team" if it comes to pass, others worry that a White House "menage a trois" would turn into a horrible nightmare. Instead of a President and Vice-President you could end up with three feuding "presidents" - Barack, Hillary and Bill - elbowing each other out of the way to gain the public spotlight.

In the current administration, President Bush has given his Vice-President unprecedented powers. Unlike his predecessors, Dick Cheney does more than just cut ribbons, attend funerals and preside occasionally over the Senate. Nevertheless, Cheney keeps a low profile and Lynne, his wife, is rarely seen or heard from. That's definitely not the way it would be in an Obama-Clinton-Clinton White House.

If Obama is dumb and desperate enough to ask "the Clintons" to be his Vice-President, they will demand that he guarantees her powers equal to, if not exceeding those now given to Cheney. The Clintons have a hidden agenda though - restoring Hillary's entitlement to be President. If Obama fails to get elected, Hillary will run again in 2012. If he becomes President and declines to seek a second term, she can run again in 2016. In any event, I'm betting that deep down in their devious hearts, Hillary and Bill are pulling for McCain to win the presidency.

Maureen Dowd describes the latest Clinton- Clinton plan as "Billary's hostile takeover attempt on the vice president's mansion." An Obama-Clinton-Clinton White House would make one helluva soap opera. Unlike Lynne Cheney, Bill Clinton would never languish silently in the background. That's not the nature of the beast. He thrives on public attention and would surely, sooner or later, become an embarrassment to the President and the nation. And then there would be the frosty relationship between Michelle Obama and Hillary. It is no secret that Michelle detests her with a purple passion.

So, is Obama-Clinton a dream team or a menage a trois nightmare? We would not be getting two for the price of one. It would be three for the price of one, as Bill would expect nothing less than to be the co-President of the United States. If Obama selects Billary as his running mate and they get elected, I'm betting on the nightmare.