Press Release Summary: Online petition seeks to unite Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on a joint \"Dream Team\" Democratic ticket.
Press Release Body: NEW YORK - In an effort to stop the bloodletting in the Democratic Party's nomination process, the Together We Will Coalition has launched an online petition to demand a joint ticket. Within two weeks of going live on the internet, hundreds of voters have already signed the petition demanding that the two leading campaigns merge to form a "Dream Team" ticket.
Coalition founder Jesse Sommer, in acknowledging the widespread respect for both Democratic candidates, said he would be happy if either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton took the nomination: "I'm enthralled by them both, and until recently accepted as fact that one of them would be leading the country in less than a year."
But when he grew concerned over the increasingly polarized Democratic electorate, Sommer gathered a team to combat the emerging fear: that a fractured party would hand the presidency back to the Republicans. The petition calls for the Clinton and Obama campaigns to join forces immediately.
"We must demonstrate to the country that we, as voters, are committed to the Democratic Party regardless of who bears the banner," Sommer says of the petition: www.TogetherWeWill08.org. Citing a recent Gallup poll showing Republican presidential nominee John McCain as the nation's favored candidate, Sommer says it is the responsibility of voters to keep their eyes on the big picture.
"Democrats have a tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory. We must dispense with the hysteria, and leave the infighting to the candidates." Sommer's approach is pragmatic: "I'm committed to the policy, not the person. And the policies are virtually indistinguishable. In signing this petition, voters are saying that either Clinton or Obama would be capable of repudiating and rescuing the country from the failed policies of the 43rd Administration."
Sommer believes most Democrats have not been distracted by their Party's horserace, and that the Coalition's petition offers them an opportunity to prove their loyalty to both candidates. "Our unity is imperative to highlighting the failures of the Republican Party," he said. "If Democrats insist on playing favorites, the GOP will sneak away with an unrivaled record of corruption convictions, scandalous resignations, mismanaged wars, special interests, fiscal incompetence, and environmental degradation."
While the petition encourages Obama and Clinton to unite so as to avoid tearing the Party apart, it also emphasizes that a Clinton-Obama / Obama-Clinton ticket would be the ultimate political force. (The petition is careful not to suggest a preference as to who leads the ticket.) Sommer says he is excited by the prospect that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama might lead the country together, breaking two barriers simultaneously.
"Electing our first black or woman president would be a national victory," says Sommer, a 2005 graduate of Wesleyan University. "But I'm opposed to reducing the historical significance of this election to such simple terms. This is neither a race war nor a feminist battle; it's not about my personal preference for president. It's a fight for the greater good of the country. Without question, the person for the job lies among the Democrats."
2025
