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I listen, on occasion, to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I started doing this as a sort of know-your-enemy campaign, but I eventually determined that both are well-educated and well-spoken. Listening to them is definitely an insight into what the Republican Party would do if the party as a whole were smart enough

That said, I am well aware of Rush’s “Operation Chaos.” For those outside of the loop, this is Rush’s plan to keep both competitors in the contest for the Democratic nomination for as long as possible. His idea is basically that as long as the Democrats are sniping at each other, they make each other look bad and more people start to like McCain.

Let me first say that this is sad that even conservative talk show hosts have to support McCain via destroying his opponents. I think that says a lot about the attractiveness of the Republican candidate.

However, more importantly, someone pointed ut a major flaw in Rush’s plan to me the other day and I could only gape and wonder if this person might not have a point. He said, “What is the tension between Obama and Clinton is just a ruse?”

I thought, “You have got to be kidding!”

But then, I thought about it. What if they were workign together?  After all, it has been a forgone conclusion for awhile now that Obama was likely to win the most delegates, but not enough to secure the nomination. And, the Clintons are among the most savvy political intellects in the world, so what if…

One day, it becomes clear that Hillary has lots of appeal to some voters and Barack has lots of appeal to a different set. The trouble for her is that he can swipe more of hers than she can of his in a few really important states and the delegate split begins to seriously turn his way.

So first, you circulate the rumors of a dream team and then immediately quash it, saying, if you are Senator Clinton, that you’d love to consider Barack as your vice presidential candidate. Then, you look at the remaining races, see that you can win enough to keep the race tight and you hatch a plan.

The Republicans have already chosen John McCain and he is yesterday’s news. The man has to work at it to get anybody to care that he is still campaigning.

So, behind the scenes, maybe without telling even your campaign staffs, you call Senator Obama and hatch an ingenious plan to keep the Democrats in the limelight right up until the convention.  You agree amicably on a couple of digs that you an take at each other, preferably things that the world already knows.

Sean Hannity has been harping on the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers issues for months, so those seem like good targets for Sen. Clinton. The whole world knows about Bill’s infidelity and an easy “misremembering” of a trip during the first Clinton presidency could make a silly, but headline grabbing attack for Sen. Obama to use.

Because you are so busy sniping at one another, McCain tries to be a gentleman and stays out of it. Great! One more story about the election that his name doesn’t appear in.

In fact, you tie up the headlines for months with virtually no mention of the Republican candidate. Then, as the convention draws closer and Obama appears to have a lock on the nomination, you create another controversy, demanding that Florida and Michigan delegates are seated at the convention. You know full well, if you are Senator Clinton, that the delegates will make very little difference to the outcome of the nomination process, but the battle keeps you firmly on the front page while McCain releases information about his health to prove he’s not too old to be president.

Finally, and this is where I hope the scenario goes, on the eve of a court battle over the delegates, you reach an amicable agreement with Senator Obama, with him graciously allowing the seating of the delegates (even though everyone knows they should be punished for breaking tradition) even though he wasn’t even on Michigan’s ballot.

His “graciousness” and “problem-solving” ability are heralded as genius and you, as Senator Clinton, are equally praised for defending the right of every vote to be counted. This should drag on into the summer as the convention approaches.

Then, mid-summer the rumors begin to circulate again that an Obama-Clinton ticket is in the works. This time, you deny the rumors only with a smile and a “we’ll see.” The furor over the choice of a running mate reaches fever pitch as you head to Denver and on the floor of the convention, you proudly and historically stand arm-on-arm with Senator Obama and graciously announce that the two of you have decided to run together, regardless of who the party puts at the top of the ticket.

Net gain: a dream ticket and months of Republican exclusion from the media circus regarding the nomination.

I supposed, the likelihood of this is small, but a girl can dream, right?

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