Bill Sank Hillary's VP Chances: Plouffe

The Obama campaign seriously considered Hillary Clinton for vice president, but ultimately the perception that her husband was "too big a complication" combined with bad memories from the primary campaign to sink her chances. Barack Obama “said if his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list," writes campaign manager David Plouffe in a new memoir, The Audacity to Win.

Clinton was on a list of six possible running mates as late as June 2008, Plouffe writes. Still, then-candidate Obama told him, “I think Bill may be too big a complication. If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in the relationship.” Plouffe kept his mouth shut but was befuddled. “My view is that any serious consideration was somewhat surprising given all the complications and the toxicity during the primary campaign.” (More David Plouffe stories.)