Gov. Lincoln Chafee's (R, I, D, depending on the winds) reported decision to make another switch reminded me of a whimsical thought that occurred yesterday: Clinton-Christie.
Don't mistake. I don't much like Chris Christie, in fact I find him a revolting blowhard. There are no policy preferences or ideological bends to my recommendation, which in this case is merely the stuff of raw politics.
Where's the downside?
For Christie, it's all a plus. He's a popular, moderate GOP governor with national ambitions, but he's shackled by a vastly unpopular, immoderate party whose primary base prefers the extremist Cruzes and Pauls. His future as a conservative Democrat is far brighter.
Only about a year ago he confessed he lacked the experience to be president, so--assuming that a few, transpiring months haven't made a newly capable man of him--eight years as veep would do him a world of preparatory good. He's young. What's more, there's no veep like an attack-dog veep. He's a natural.
For Hillary Clinton? An absolutely unbeatable "unity" ticket. Of course it wouldn't really be a unity ticket if Christie switched parties, but it's close enough. He'd be making a statement to all rank-and-file Republican moderates that the water's just fine, over there, in the blue column, which would result in a Clinton landslide of possibly historic proportions (particularly since she would have eliminated her only possible worry).
Both would get the credit for pulling the nation together in a kind of post-Obama, post-partisan maneuver.
It has potential. It won't happen, because it's unorthodox--and politicians who get as far as Clinton and Christie don't get there by being unorthodox (notwithstanding the 1864 presidential election, although Lincoln's in a class by himself). But it's a fun thought to toy with.