By now we’ve all heard speculation about whether an Obama/Clinton ticket would, in fact, be a winning ticket for Democrats in November. This chatter will only get louder in the days ahead as activists, media, bloggers and others weigh in on what the potential pay-offs would be for such a union.

The arguments that I’ve heard for and against the “dream ticket” are all largely based on political calculations. That is, can Senator Clinton deliver lower-income and women voters to Senator Obama in the general election? Or, with Clinton off the ballot and campaigning on Obama’s behalf, does this not matter because these demographics will likely be reliable Dems in the fall?

While I don’t think anyone can divorce politics completely from the decision making process, I do not believe that, in the end, this will be the primary factor in whom Obama chooses to be his running mate.

In the end, this decision will need to be about trust.

By suggesting this I don’t wish to insinuate that Senator Clinton is not trustworthy. However, after going through this long primary campaign, I can only imagine the bad blood and harsh feelings that may exist between these two individuals. Sure, their policies are similar and they certainly share a desire to get our country back on track. But let’s get real; they have been through a tough fight and it may take a bit of time for wounds to heal.

There is plenty of precedent for primary rivals embracing one another and running successfully on the same ticket. I would have given anything to be in the room as Kennedy and Johnson made their amends and joined forces in 1960. Same thing in 1980 with Reagan and H.W. Bush.

There will be a time in the coming weeks “at a place and time of her choosing” where these two political rivals will have to sit down and talk through their issues.

And, while I have been skeptical of Obama choosing Clinton for some time largely due to the politics of such a decision, no one knows how this discussion will go. Will these rivals decide to agree to disagree? Or, will they put the recent past aside and decide to, as others have before them, establish trust and move forward together in a historic run for the White House in 2008.