The Hillary moment

Patrick Caddell and Douglas Schoen, who were pollsters for Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, respectively, have a remarkable op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today, urging the president to step down:

When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House, both men took the moral high ground and decided against running for a new term as president. President Obama is facing a similar reality—and he must reach the same conclusion.

He should abandon his candidacy for re-election in favor of a clear alternative, one capable not only of saving the Democratic Party, but more important, of governing effectively and in a way that preserves the most important of the president's accomplishments. He should step aside for the one candidate who would become, by acclamation, the nominee of the Democratic Party: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

I voted for Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton in the New Hampshire primary four years ago, but if I had it to do over, I'd do it the Caddell-Schoen way. In the end, I might well vote for the Republican candidate, as I did last time, but a Clinton II presidency together with a Republican Congress might serve the country just as well, perhaps better. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford