Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - Analysts are divided over whether Hillary Clinton can use her delegates as political leverage to force her way onto the Democratic ticket as Barack Obama’s running mate.

Democratic strategist Bob Beckel touched off a fresh wave of speculation about a Clinton vice presidency Thursday by arguing that the job is hers for the taking.

“If Hillary Clinton wants the vice presidential nomination, and her loyal delegates demand it, and the Clinton machine puts its full weight behind it, she will be on the ticket,” Beckel wrote in a column for the RealClearPolitics Web site. “Count on it.”

Acknowledging that Obama does not want Clinton on the ticket, Beckel told The Examiner she could nonetheless force the front-runner’s hand by refusing to drop out of the presidential race until at least June 3, when the last primaries will be held. Then former President Bill Clinton could pressure Obama into putting his wife on the ticket by threatening to spend the summer lobbying her delegates to vote for her at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Charlie Cook, publisher of the Cook Political Report, dismissed talk of a Clinton vice presidency.

“I seriously doubt she wants it, I seriously doubt he would offer it to her, and pairing them up, in either order, would be the worst idea on the planet,” Cook said.

But Democratic strategist MaryAnne Marsh said Obama might conclude that he needs Clinton, regardless of how much blood has been spilled during their bitter rivalry.

“Obama can pick whomever he wants for vice president,” Marsh said. “The real question is, will any other pick unify the party?”

Marsh argued that a Clinton vice presidency might be the only way “to get some of the millions of women and blue-collar voters who supported her to vote for Obama.”

Asked by The Examiner whether Clinton is staying in the race as a way of angling for the vice presidency, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson replied: “Absolutely not.”

bsammon@dcexaminer.com