Panic attack

I'm ready to admit it: I think Barack Obama might want to seriously reconsider Hillary Clinton for the bottom half of the Democratic ticket.

I really don't know how we got here. But after seeing a number of polls show a tightening race in recent days, I'm wondering if Barack needs every bit of Clinton's army of "18-million."

Certainly, I remain a tad disgusted with the lengths the Clinton camp seemed willing to go to wedge themselves into the nomination, not to mention, all the fresh material they provided for McCain in the general election campaign.

But we have to acknowledge the obvious here: Obama has been - and will be - locked in a tight contest this fall, and he'll need all the buzz and wide-ranging support that he can muster. In that context, I think bringing along the Clintons helps to defeat McCain.

It's not a perfect marriage, but honestly, those don't exist. And there's no reasonable argument against Clinton's qualifications or tenacity. She proved to be a campaigning force in the final weeks of the primary. The Clinton brand carries serious weight in places like Ohio, Florida, western Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Indiana - no state is too small in the battle for electoral votes, ask Al Gore.

Not to mention I'm highly dubious of any poll that shows people as "undecided" this deep into the campaign. There's new research indicating undecideds are "are sometimes fooling themselves, having already made a choice at a subconscious level." So, remember, whenever you see a poll showing more than 10 percent of potential voters as still figuring it all out, that might actually be a voter too embarrassed to admit he or she can't cast a ballot for the black guy with a funny-sounding name.

I'm not usually given to rash decisions. But I'm worried here. Obama seems poised to name his veep pick before the week is up. Is it too late to reconsider?

UPDATE: Apparently, I'm in good company. Michael Tomasky agrees.