McGovern Urges Obama-Clinton Unity Tour

George McGovern is in the New York Times today urging Senators Clinton and Obama to go on the road together for the rest of the primary season:

After today’s vote in West Virginia, the two candidates should agree to make joint visits to the sites of the five remaining primaries (in Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota).

During these visits, Senators Clinton and Obama should agree not to criticize each other. They would simply state what each would do if elected president. They would also point out why President Bush’s policies have failed and why they would continue to fail under John McCain [George McGovern, "A Two-for-One Campaign," New York Times, 2008.05.13].

McGovern is trying to turn his fellow Dems' attention away from closing the deal and Hail Mary passes. Perhaps sensing that they've got McCain licked, he suggests Clinton and Obama turn their energies attention toward another big prize, victories at the state and local level:

After each candidate speaks for 15 minutes or so, they would then be taken to a reception where citizens paying $50 a ticket would mingle with the two candidates. The money raised would go to the state Democratic Party to assist local and state candidates in the fall elections [McGovern, 2008.05.13].

McGovern reminds us that he has endorsed Obama and is now working for the Obama campaign, but he doesn't use his op-ed platform to lob slushballs at his erstwhile pick. His focus is conciliation and turning all this primary energy into a Dem landslide straight down the ticket in November.

At this point, getting Clinton and Obama supporters together at the same events might be a darn good idea. It would remind us that we may differ on the person we want to lead the fight, but that we share the goals of that fight. And building the base is one of the most important political goals we can work toward.