( CNN ) -- Here is what the election next year is about : the fence-sitters , the independent voters . At this point , there is not much President Barack Obama can say that will win over conservatives , and given the current GOP field , he does n't have to worry too much about losing liberals . But what can he say to convince the middle to give him four more years ? Well , he could start by , to paraphrase Bonnie Raitt , giving them something to talk about . Vice President Hillary Clinton ? Now that 's a talker . Of course if Republicans do something silly like saddle themselves with Newt Gingrich or another polarizing figure , whose politics or past makes the nominee too unappealing to us independents , then there wo n't be a need for such a change at the top . However , if a moderate does make it out of the GOP , and Obama looks to be in a dogfight , I ca n't think of a ticket that would generate more wattage than Obama-Clinton '12 . Would the move be characterized by critics as an obvious ploy to attract women ? Well , yeah . And to a degree they 'll be right : After all , this is politics . But the critics would have to tread lightly , because Clinton would likely be at least as accomplished , and probably more so , than any other person on either ballot . This would not be Obama pulling a John McCain , selecting someone who is n't qualified in hopes of injecting fresh blood into a struggling campaign . If Clinton had to take over the presidency , I think many people on both sides can agree that scenario would be much more desirable than one in which Sarah Palin was running the show . In fact , comparing Clinton 's pedigree to Palin 's or GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann 's is like comparing an oak tree to a handful of seaweed . If Clinton was robbed before , she would receive recompense in 2012 , and by 2016 be in an even stronger position to be the first female president than she was in 2008 . Obama selecting Clinton as his running mate in 2008 , after a sometimes biting primary season , would have rung hollow . Now , after she 's spent four years working with him as secretary of state , an executive partnership would be accepted as authentic . This fall she said she had no interest in running for public office , which is not the same as saying she wo n't run . The reason why she was even approached with the question is because a fall Bloomberg poll found 34 % of Americans believe the country would 've been better if she 'd been in charge . Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he thought Clinton was going to win the Democratic nomination and that `` she 's probably the most competent person they 've got in their Cabinet , '' and he suggested she should run against Obama in another primary . Of course Cheney was pushing his new book and probably trying to sow dissent , but he did echo what most everyone in Washington knows -- Clinton brings gravitas few people possess . If those who rallied around her presidential bid were to rally behind her for the vice-presidential nod , it 's hard to imagine who in the Republican field could match what she would bring . Part of the reason that Obama is vulnerable is not simply that the economy is struggling and Republicans are fired up to defeat him . It 's because his base does not appear to be fired up for him to win . Quite a few high-profile supporters have expressed disappointment . Quite a few low-profile supporters have expressed buyer 's remorse -- not for picking Obama over McCain but for selecting Obama over Clinton . Putting her name on the ticket as vice president would give Obama something Joe Biden never brought to the table -- buzz . Energy . Excitement . That 's no knock on Joe . OK , it is , but I 'm sure he knows he ca n't draw a crowd like Hillary . Sure , we 're 11 months away , and given that Gingrich is the sixth GOP front-runner in less than a year -- including two with reality TV shows -- a lot can still happen . But there is no denying that the electricity Obama generated during the 2007-08 campaign is simply not there this time . Some of his supporters are disappointed with the compromises he 's made since taking office . Others are frustrated he has n't done more to help their specific community or interest group . And while the economy is improving , the recovery numbers are way too pedestrian to be used as an inspiring talking point for voters sitting on the fence . Back in 2008 , political strategists on both sides of the aisle could offer a litany of reasons why Obama defeated McCain -- from the Republican candidate being framed as an extension of George W. Bush , to Obama 's charisma and an electorate excited by the opportunity to rewrite history . But a year from now , there wo n't be as many variables explaining why Obama won re-election . In fact , the rationale could likely summed up in one word : Hillary . Obama 's one-time foe is now his ace in the hole . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson .
LZ Granderson : An Obama-Clinton re-election ticket would give new life to campaign . He says Clinton , accomplished politician , could lure independent and women voters . He says the vice presidency would position her for a presidential run in 2016 . Granderson : Obama 's former foe could be his ace in the hole .