Delegate fight: Is tonight the end?
Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 9:12 AM by Mark Murray
The New York Times front-pages, “Senator Barack Obama’s campaign began a concerted effort on Monday to rally undecided superdelegates around him so he can claim the Democratic presidential nomination after the primaries end on Tuesday night. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton invited fund-raisers and other supporters to an election-night rally in New York City where, aides said, she was prepared to deliver what they described as a farewell speech that summed up the case for her candidacy. They said Mrs. Clinton was not likely to withdraw from the race on Tuesday night, probably waiting until later in the week, once Mr. Obama’s victory appeared clear.”
The Washington Post adds, “Obama is optimistic that he will be able to claim victory Tuesday evening at a gathering in St. Paul, Minn., with superdelegates preparing to rally to his candidacy on the eve of the day's contests in South Dakota and Montana and push him past the threshold of 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.” Meanwhile, “Clinton sent mixed signals about her plans throughout the day Monday. As her campaign recalled field staffers to New York, one adviser indicated that she would suspend, but not end, her campaign within days. But the candidate herself said she will continue to argue to the group of party insiders who will hold sway over the final outcome that her strong showing in recent contests demonstrates that she would be the more electable candidate in November.”
Per NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Hillary Clinton will not concede or suspend tonight. Instead, it will be a "celebration" of her campaign themes. What happens tomorrow? She flies back late tonight to DC and appears back-to-back with Obama at the AIPAC conference. Campaign aides don't rule out a return to New York for a concession/endorsement with Obama as early as Wednesday night (there is that DNC event in New York City).
The AP: “Barack Obama said Monday he has asked Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for a meeting on her terms ‘once the dust settles’ from their race. ‘The sooner we can bring the party together, the sooner we can start focusing on John McCain in November,’ Obama told reporters. He said he spoke with Clinton on Sunday when he called to congratulate her on winning the Puerto Rico primary.”
“Separately, in an interview with The Associated Press, Obama said he expects to pick up 15 delegates in Tuesday's final contests in South Dakota and Montana and expects superdelegates who have been holding back to then start flocking his way. ‘A lot of people recognize that it is going to be time for us to pivot and move on’ after Tuesday, Obama told the AP.”
Yesterday, Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee held a gaggle with reporters aboard the press plane. Here are some of the more interesting exchanges.
Q: If Obama passes the 2,118 threshold and declares himself the nominee, will Clinton be in a position to say, “No you didn’t”?
A: We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. But again, we do not expect that a nominee will be clear tomorrow night. We believe there is a significant number of delegates to the convention who have yet to make up their minds in this race. And we’re going to talk to them up until they do.
Also… Q: Obama is just a few dozen delegates away from 2,118.
A: We do not believe that there will be a nominee, that the Democratic Party will have a nominee tomorrow night. We do not believe that is a likely scenario. We are going to be reaching out in the coming days …
Q: So you deny that she will be dropping out tomorrow night?
A: Yes.
The New York Daily News adds, “Clinton staffers insisted the senator would not quit Tuesday night, even though she has returned to New York to celebrate the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota. Other body language from the campaign suggested her exit was not a question of if, just when.”
