BET founder Bob Johnson pushing for Clinton as VP

BET founder Bob Johnson is mounting a campaign for Senator Hillary Clinton to serve as a running mate for Senator Barack Obama. Speaking on CNN this morning, Johnson said that an Obama-Clinton ticket would be more likely to win and unify the party.

Johnson, the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, has reportedly sent a letter to Rep. James Clyburn of the Congressional Black Caucus, in which he appealed for CBC members to help. "I, as a longtime supporter of Senator Clinton and the Democratic Party, urge you to do everything possible to unify this party to win the Presidential election in November. For me and millions of other Democrats, I believe that the most important step that you can take now is to encourage the Congressional Black Caucus to urge Senator Obama to select Senator Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate."

My letter was not a pressure letter," Johnson said on CNN this morning, insisting he was instead trying to "urge" and encourage CBC members. But Johnson declined to answer repeated questions as to whether Clinton actually wanted the job.

Johnson said Senator Clinton was aware of what he was doing, and that she had spoken to him about it.  But when asked if she was prepared to accept a slot on the ticket if it was offered to her, Johnson dodged the question. "There's no question that Senator Clinton will do whatever is asked to do for the party."

Johnson dodged the question so many times that CNN host John Roberts and his co-host began laughing each time he answered.

"If you want a unified Democratic Party and the absolute certainty that these two dynamic leaders bring to the Democratic Party, we have the best chance of winning with Senator Obama at the top of the ticket, Senator Clinton as his vice president," Johnson said. "You can't find, in a  historic election, two more dynamic and inspiring people who could lead t his country and lead the Democratic Party for years to come."

When asked if Clinton needed to heal her relationships with the black comunity, Johnson said, "A lot of things were said in the passion of a primary, both on Obama's side and Senator Clinton's side, and this is no time to look back at that primary fight. What we need to look toward is how do we best beat John McCain."

Johnson himself came under fire from Obama supporters earlier this year when he hinted that Obama had been using drugs while Clinton was working in public service.

"As an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood -­ and I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in the book -­ when they have been involved," said Johnson.

He stepped into controversy again when he said he agreed with Geraldine Ferraro's assement that Obama would not have been able to succeed if he were not black.

"What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called `Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the answer is, probably not."

"Geraldine Ferraro said it right," said Johnson.  "The problem is, Geraldine Ferraro is white." Johnson said the Obama campaign "has such a hair-trigger on anything racial ... it is almost impossible for anybody to say anything."

The story was reported on RawReply, which has the full video.