Former President Carter Believes Obama Should Not Name Clinton V.P.

Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter announced yesterday that he would be supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the upcoming election. According to Chris Dolmetsch from Bloomberg, Carter publicly stated today that Obama appointing fellow Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate would be "the worst mistake that could be made" for Obama.

Carter's reasoning behind that bold statement, which he provided during an interview held in Guardian magazine, was that statistics prove that half of the voters in the United States have a negative view of Mrs. Clinton. Carter believes that appointing such an unpopular figure as his Vice President would be detrimental to Obama's chances of winning the election.

According to Dolmetsch, the interview that Carter gave to the U.K.-based magazine was conducted prior to Tuesday night, when Obama officially received the required number of delegates necessary to clinch the Democratic nomination. As an alternative to Clinton, Carter suggested that Obama appoint a running mate who could compensate for some of his potential weaknesses, such as his youthfulness and lack of experience in regards to military and international affairs.