Hillary v. Huckabee?
Posted: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 2:26 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Democrats
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Compare Clinton today to Huckabee in February, and it's worth noting the similarities as this continues. Similar statements on math and notice GOP operative saying it's OK for Huckabee to stay in the race, "as long as Mike Huckabee stays positive."
But, it must be pointed out, that Clinton still has a FAR greater claim to this nomination than Mike Huckabee ever did, which is why Huckabee's hanging on became the stuff of Saturday Night Live. Just pointing out some similar language...
(1) CLINTON (today at West Virginia news conference):
QUESTION: Does your statement today mean that you intend to stay in this race through the vote on the convention floor?
CLINTON: Well, I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee. And I obviously am going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee. That is what I've done; that's what I'm continuing to do.
I believe that I'm the stronger candidate against Senator McCain. And I believe I would be the best president among the three of us running. So we will continue to contest these elections and move forward.
(2) HUCKABEE ON STAYING IN THE RACE
FEB. 12 (CNN): "As long as my guys are still waving their pompoms, I think we're going to stay on the field. The goal is still to win ... Everybody keeps talking about, 'Well, the math doesn't work.' We don't know what is going to happen. You don't just throw people's votes out and say, 'Well, we're not going to bother counting them because we kind of think we know where this was going."
Feb. 13 (FOX): "Well, the game may be for us to go to the convention, if nobody gets 1,191 delegates, and that's still a possibility. Until someone gets that magic number, we still have an election process, and there is no nominee. Once that happens, we've got a nominee, and it's time to rally around him. And so if that's not me, then we'll rally around who it is. But if we don't have one and we go to the convention, then we'll make the decision at that convention, and the delegates will decide. I'll have as good a chance as anybody."
Feb. 25 (Local TV): "If John McCain doesn't get 1,191 confirmed, committed, pledged delegates, then there is no nominee officially until we get to the convention. And when we get to the convention, all bets are off and many of the delegates can do what they wish." But, he added, "Now it's possible that he'll get there. And if he does, then so be it."
"I've always said it depends on the delegate count, and until somebody has captured 1,191 pledged delegates that's required to be the nominee, there's still a contest going on," Huckabee said.
(3) Note another similarity, GOP operatives saying, 'As long as Mike Huckabee stays positive' it's fine for him to stay in: "As long as Mike Huckabee stays positive, and as long as he does not stimulate a third-party challenge from the right in the fall, Mike Huckabee staying in could actually help John McCain," said GOP pollster Whit Ayres.
