McAuliffe: Clinton would make ticket a “cakewalk”

Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign, thinks that if Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) picks Clinton as his running mate it would trigger a "50-state sweep."

"How do you not ask Hillary Clinton?" McAuliffe asked Monday morning on MSNBC. "We would sweep all across the country.

{mosads}"If Sen. Obama picks Hillary Clinton, we will win this White House, I believe, in a cakewalk. And I think we'd control this White House for 16 years, which is what it will take to offset the eight years of the Bush administration," McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe said the Obama campaign has "an extensive travel schedule" planned with Clinton that will begin this week. The New York Democrat has not appeared on the campaign trail with Obama since their joint event in Unity, N.H.

Last week, McAuliffe seemed to throw his support behind Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), telling a group that Kaine would be Obama's best choice. McAuliffe again brought up Kaine's name as a possible running mate, but made clear that Clinton is the obvious choice. "It's not even a close call," McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe added that Clinton will "probably" be speaking on the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

While McAuliffe was promoting Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) again insisted that she does not think an Obama-Clinton ticket is likely.

“I don't think that it will happen,” Pelosi said Monday on the “Today Show,” calling the vice presidential pick Obama’s “prerogative.”