The headline on the Reuters dispatch tonight said it all: “Obama open to Clinton as possible running mate.”

Indeed, he’d better be—at least open to it.

While it is obvious at this point to just about everyone (and probably to Hillary Clinton,too) that Barack Obama will be the Democratic Party presidential nominee, he will come to the nomination having lost an important base of support –actually, many bases of support-much needed to win in November against John McCain. He needs older women and older, white, blue collar men and Latinos—all of those groups which have thus far been firmly planted in the Clinton camp.

In the past, Clinton has suggested that if she won she would give real thought to asking Obama to join the ticket for the number two spot. Obama has been far more reluctant to even go that far….till today.

No doubt she’s qualified, says Obama

Obama told NBC News when asked whether he would at least consider an Obama/Clinton ticket: “There’s no doubt that she’s qualified to be vice-president. There’s no doubt she’s qualified to be president.”

He went on :” She is tireless, she is smart. She is capable. And so obviously she’d be on anybody’s short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate.”

Well, since Obama has clearly won this race, on who other’s short list would Clinton be on other than his?

Should Obama, in the end, decide that Clinton would not be able to work with him–or if he asks her to accept the spot and she turns it down–my best guess is he will be under great pressure to name another female as his running mate in an effort to grab some of Clinton’s power base. There are a number of good, female governors he could pick who’d bring executive experience, which he doesn’t have, to the ticket.