Now that Barack Obama's virtually got the democratic party nomination sowed up, pundits and policymakers alike are asking the question: Should he choose Hilary as his VP?
Of course, there are two sides to the decision - both equally valid. Since the race was so close, with Obama scoring some 19 million votes to Clinton's 18 million plus, those in favor of Clinton for vice president say that this high voter popularity makes the dynamic democratic duo an almost unbeatable pair.
However, those opposed say that if Obama chooses Hilary - and the two edge out McCain - then Obama has to put up with at least another four years of "Clintonism." Obama, though president, will run the risk of being seen as "Bill and Hilary's puppet."
"This is good fortune for a woman, misfortune for a man," says I Ching hexagram #32, when asked of the situation. Very interesting, indeed! The statement comes in the fifth line of the hexagram - the traditional position of authority. It seems clear, by the light of the I Ching, that making Hilary vice president may help her, but harm Obama.
But there is a larger, more important question than whether choosing Hilary as vice president will be good for Obama; that is, whether choosing Hilary as VP will be good for the nation as a whole. Hexagram #32 is changing into hexagram 28, "Preponderance of the Great," or in more modern translations, "Critical Mass." The image is that of a ridgepole sagging in the center due to too much weight.
Perhaps an Obama-Clinton duo may be "too heavy" for the nation?
"The ridgepole sags to the breaking point," the oracle says. This reflects a situation where too many dense particles are occupying the same space, creating instability, agitation, confusion, collision. Perhaps Obama in the presidency and Hilary in the Senate would be more beneficial for the nation, than having both in the executive branch?
Of course, I'm raising more questions than answers. In the last analysis, no one knows. We'll all have to wait and see. I am merely a member of the fourth estate, not quite a minor prophet. I claim no authority to judge one way or the other. But a second oracular image concerning this situation is that of a lake rising over the trees. Hence, the image of something tall and strong being drowned, overshadowed by something supple but tempestuous:
It appears the imagery is clear.
"Thus the superior man, when he stands alone,
Is unconcerned,
And if he has to renounce the world,
He is undaunted."
Op-ed informed by the, I Ching, Hexagrams 32 & 28