Been hanging at the fish market lately, Mr. Woodward?

Famous reporter Bob Woodward comes up with some of the best scoops in America. But, speaking as a former newspaper journalist, I think even the thickest mind knows that every once in awhile the best reporters get fed a red herring or three.

The story coming from Woodward, the longtime Washington Post reporter who co-broke Watergate and in recent years has been hanging around with presidents ranging from Shrub Bush to Rama Lama Obama, that the current prez might dump Joe Biden for Hillary in 2012 smells a lot fishy. You hear it almost every mid-term that a president plans to dump his No. 2, mostly when either A) A president has a stinker for a VP, or B) A presidency is in the crapper. And yes, there can be a C) when both A & B exists except that is a bit more difficult to quantify in polls than when it is the president or it is the Veep a la carte.

Think about it though. At least back to Reagan we heard the purported Mid-term Vee Pee Shuffle. George Herby Bush should go. Danny Boy Quayle. He really should have gone. I’m sure someone talked about Slick Willie getting rid of Al Gore before his reelection, but it was drowned out by all the noise from the Republicans who were trying to run Bill out of town on the Monica Express. Then finally, of course, there was talk of Gee Dubya Bush dumping Darth Vader except the problem was, Ol’ Darth Cheney “his ownself was the one what was running things.”

So it is common to hear such talk and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear the buzz about “Obamillary” was coming from the high-powered Dems, maybe even from those in the White House themselves. Why? Because of all of Biden’s gaffes? Hell, Joe Biden sounds like Winston Churchill when you remember all the nonsense one George Walker Bush spouted and George the First wasn’t much better.

For a variety of reasons — many sprouting from Republican propaganda — the Democratic party and specifically the Obama administration has been looked upon from a very negative viewpoint considering the popularity the president had coming in and still enjoys personally. Talk of a different Veep, most especially Hillary (only one name needed), changes the subject. There were those who were so upset that Hillary was not the nominee for No. 1 that they just said: “F**k it!” Giving those people the hope that Clinton just might be VP — and  you know those Clintons are ruthless enough to do just about anything once they are in office — might bring some to the ballot box in November. Those coming back to vote won’t be doing no Tea, baby! (Yeah, I know it’s a double by God negative.)

I see a Obama-Clinton ticket in 2012 as a snowball rolling down an express lane in Hell. Such a pairing would also bring out a different base, “the really, really pissed off base.” Those are the folks who hate the Clintons more than Obama but who also hate Obama.  Now that is all talk that  is, unless, Obama and his Mama and his Mama’s Momma are really off base. You may hate Obama and hate the Dems and the horse they rode in on. But I don’t think you can say Obama, Ms. Michelle, Mrs. Robinson and Obama’s political operation and Internet list of donors are all off base. But a warning dear friends: If you do think they are off base,  then you are really, really going to hate yourself when you wake up the Wednesday after election in 2012.