Howard Dean: Obama Or Clinton Must Drop Out In June

WASHINGTON — Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama will know when it's time to drop out of the nomination race after the end of the primaries in early June.

"We want the voters to have their say. That's over on June 3," he said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Dean, saying he was speaking from experience as a candidate for president in 2004, said he won't have to force anyone from the race.

"Either of these candidates, if it's time for them to go, they'll know it and they will go," he said. "They don't need any pushing from me. You know when to get in and you know when to get out. That's just part of the deal."

"This is not about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," Dean added. "This is about our country. It's about a better course for our country. ... We've got to move on and win the presidency."

Obama has more delegates and popular votes than Clinton, but she also is fresh off a big-state win in Pennsylvania.

Indiana and North Carolina hold primaries on May 6.

Dean also said that while party rules say superdelegates can wait until the August convention to make up their minds, that would be too late to unify the party and defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

"We really can't have a divided convention. If we do it's going to be very hard to heal the party afterwards," Dean said. "So we'll know who the nominee is and that'll give us an extra 2 1/2 months to get our party together, heal the wounds of having a very closely divided race and take on Senator McCain."

Comments

[ReportThis]

Yeeehaaa!

[Clarabell]

Thank you for a very good reminder about what is important to get an American's vote!!!

[Probus]

Under no circumstances should Clinton be allowed to take this to the convention if by Aug she is not leading in pledged delegates or the popular vote which is very likely. Obama is the likely nominee and she needs to bow out of the race after June 3rd. She has till June 3rd to do this, most analysts don't think she can pull it off. The supers aren't going to support her as she has been steadily losing their support since Super Tuesday.

[aj4321]

I think many of the superdelegates have been waiting for Obama to win a close contest before they support him (otherwise they may get branded as anti-woman). If Obama wins either NC or IN, I would expect to see a large number of superdelegates coming behind him and essentially, ending this drama.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

It would almost be funny if Senator Clinton stole the nomination from Obama-- then Obama defeated her and McCain in the fall as a third-party candidate.

[ReportThis]

Holy Mother of God! If HILLARY starts thinking about a third-party run we'll never be done with her. (Picture Hillary running in a fit of pique and/or out of spite, Bubba egging her on, and neither caring whether it would throw the election to McBush. She might even get Lieberman to run as her VP just to rub salt in the wound.)

[Ramus]

ReportThis, your imagined scenario is very scary indeed. Like a horror movie. She has said she'll support the Democratic nominee. Surely she would not misspeak?

[JuneCleaversBeaver]

Most states have sore loser laws. Your name can not appear on the General Election ballot if it appeared on a party primary ballot the same year.

[JuneCleaversBeaver]

...on the GE ballot as an independent...

[TERRYKEITH4]

Lol! That's not impossible. What's that guy's name? Lieberman came back and did that.

[iPolitics]

"With Bingaman Endorsement, Obama Takes Senate Support Lead."

Looks like their colleagues prefer Obama.

[cheneyhasawarmachine]

i though the democrat party was for every vote counts and count every vote? whaaa happpennn?

[AMJordan]

What happened was that MI and FL were TOLD ahead of time what would happen if they moved up their primaries. MI was told years ago the same thing. Senators Clinton and Obama agreed, in writing, that neither would count and that they wouldn't campaign in either state.

Now they want to change the rules? Ain't happening. However, Dean is willing to proffer an olive branch to them. He said that their delegations would be seated but that the Rules Committee and the Credentials Committee would have to frame how that would happen.

[cheneyhasawarmachine]

kind of like how gore wanted recounts in Florida but only for the heavy dem counties right?

[iPolitics]

The United States Constitution. Try reading the section on the electoral college.

[Probus]

It's the democratic party not the democrat party. FL and MI knew that if they defied DNC rules their delegates would not count. They can't be expected to be rewarded for breaking the rules.

[Annette]

Since you don't know the name of the party, it is pretty obvious that your observations are likely to be worthless also.

[SpinCycleRadio]

Ok folks here is how the script is going to play out. On June 4th Howard Dean will send all still-uncommitted superdelegates a message saying that unless they commit in one week don't expect the party to help with their re-election or any other pet legislative projects. He won't say who to commit to, only that they do NOT need any more time to make up their minds. This will include the FL and MI Superdelegates too.

I suspect that unless Obama has somehow lost the voted delegate count most of the superdelegates will stand behind 'listening to the people'. It is by far the safest thing for any public official to do.

If Obama would still win despite adding in Hillary's margins in FL and MI then Obama will make a big show of being generous and allowing those delegations to be seated. If seating just one of them is safe then he will probably allow seating FL while saying that the ballot in Michigain, with only Clinton and Kucinich on it, is simply too flawed.

[ClevelandTom]

That's about how it will go and the sooner it happens, the better for everyone. Personally, I'd like to see it happen after NC and IN.

[huffy2001]

And I, as a New Englander, would have preferred to stop last year's Super Bowl with three minutes yet to play. Unfortunately, that's not how it's done.

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

Except it's not Dean's call; he's chair, but it's up to the credentials committee.

[gopwreckedusa]

Why are we not seeing the article showing Hillary beating McCain in the polls, while Barack and he are dead even? Is this the fair and balanced version for the left?

[AdLib]

Rasmussen Tracking: 4/27 (yesterday):

Hillary - 44 McCain - 47 - McCain +3

Obama - 46 McCain - 46 - Tie

How's that for balance with your poll?

[situationcritical]

You mean this one?

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
48 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton now leads John McCain by 9 points in a head-to-head presidential matchup, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that bolsters her argument that she is more electable than Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Obama and Republican McCain are running about even.

The survey released Monday gives the New York senator and former first lady a fresh talking point as she works to raise much-needed campaign cash and persuade pivotal undecided superdelegates to side with her in the drawn-out Democratic primary fight.

Helped by independents, young people and seniors, Clinton gained ground this month in a hypothetical match with Sen. McCain, the GOP nominee-in-waiting. She now leads McCain, 50 percent to 41 percent, while Obama remains virtually tied with McCain, 46 percent to 44 percent.

Both Democrats were roughly even with McCain in the previous poll about three weeks ago.

Since then, Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary, raising questions anew about whether Obama can attract broad swaths of voters needed to triumph in such big states come the fall when the Democratic nominee will go up against McCain. At the same time, Obama was thrown on the defensive by his comment that residents of small-town America were bitter. The Illinois senator also continued to deal with the controversial remarks of his longtime Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

[gopwreckedusa]

That's the one! Why is this article not prominently displayed here on Huffington Post, folks?

[xenoploid]

What poll are you talking about? I've never seen such a poll. Don't let the media confuse you: for Hillary to win 1. the Superdelegates would have to go against the will of the people, which means you're advocating against a true democracy, 2. The votes in Michigan would have to be seated. A vote where Obama wasn't even on the ballot. Hardly democratic.

We need to realize the damage we are doing to the party by stringing this out, and unite behind a common cause of ending the Republican executive rule of our government.

[gwhizz]

"for Hillary to win 1. the Superdelegates would have to go against the will of the people,"

Kind of like Gov Richardson, right? Oh and the caucus goers in TX.

[TERRYKEITH4]

post a link, gwhizz.

[ClevelandTom]

Why aren't we seeing the story that Obama leads Clinton nationally among Democrats by about 10 points?

[gwhizz]

Because it's not true. Obama can't win dems, see the results of closed primaries.

[AdLib]

How about this one from today:

"Monday, April 28, 2008

RASSMUSSEN REPORTS

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows John McCain and Barack Obama once again tied, with each attracting 46% of the vote. Four percent (4%) say they would vote for a third party option and 4% are undecided.

In a match-up with Hillary Clinton, it’s McCain 47%, Clinton 44%. Daily tracking results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (see recent daily results).

In the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, it’s Obama 49%, Clinton 41% (see recent Democratic Nomination results). These numbers are identical to the results from just before Clinton’s victory in the Pennsylvania Primary. In fact, there has been essentially no change for the past seven days-- Obama’s support has stayed between 47% and 49% each day while Clinton’s support has ranged from 41% to 43%.

Rasmussen Markets data gives Obama an 79.0 % chance of winning the Democratic nomination. "

[Lemeritus]

http://realclearpolitics.com/polls/

Have a little perspective. Rasmussen tracks conservative, I believe.

[SmellTheHorse]

Hillary Clinton playing the victim card (again), today:

“Now, I know there are some people who say, ‘Oh my goodness, she is tough.’ Well, if you’d had my life you’d be tough, too.”

Is she talking about the $100 million personal fortune?
The eight years in the White House?
The 2 best-selling books?
Being a U.S. Senator from New York?

Please, Hillary, tell us more about your difficult life…and then your husband can tell us, again, how hard it is to be white...

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

Yeah, she's suffering big time. Working mother and all that. And the night shift!

[rubicon101]

America is beggining to see who Barack Obama is by the company he keeps. It's like when you are younger and you find your "true love". It usually takes 6 months or a little more to see who the person that you've been confiding in, to show his or her true colors.
Americans are beginning to see who Barack Obama really is...and by June, well we'll see. If Barack somehow gains the nomination, he would have the proverbial "snowballs chance in hell" to gain the white house thru general elections in November.

[AMJordan]

You are aware that Hillary Clinton has been seen, more than once, hugging a disbarred lawyer who was prosecuted for lying to a Grand Jury? Doesn't that say something about the company she keeps?

[MattGuillen]

At least the company SHE keeps never applauded the wholesale murder of 3000 Americans by terrorists.

It'll take you time, much, much time, to digest the subtleties here--believe me, I know your kind.

[TERRYKEITH4]

Uh huh, but Barrack is too noble of a human being to use tactics like HRC. She wants people to believe that he is a black racist.

[editorjuno]

Repeating the Clinton campaign's thoroughly debunked electability talking point ad infinitum et nauseam doesn't make it any more true than it was when Mark Penn hatched it. Polling -- which is all we have at this point -- simply doesn't bear it out, and Senator Clinton's sky-high negatives plus the animus so much of the right harbors against her and her husband will bring a windfall of otherwise stay-at-home GOP voters to Senator McCain. Senator Obama's general election chances are much better overall -- and he will "somehow" get nominated because he'll have far more delegates, the only remaining question being how long before this pro forma primary campaign debacle finally, mercifully ends.

[AdLib]

Boy, you neocons are always so right in your predictions. Remind me, how did that "greeted with flowers and chocolates" thing work out in Iraq?

[juangault]

It was the wrong time of the year for flowers, and the kids ate the chocolate. Geez, why can't you just believe us. We know what's best.

[olivia]

Obama is pure as the driven snow. They have nothing to throw at him so they try to find faults in everyone he has ever been acquainted with, in the hope the newly manufactured dirt will smudge Obama.

Those tactics are transparent and will become even more so when Obama takes on McCain.

Nobody expected fellow Democrats to stoop as low as they have in borrowing this technique from Karl Rove & Co.

That will be Hillary's final legacy: joining the neocons in smearing Obama.

[rubicon101]

June is a long way away and November is a decade when it comes to politics..oh and junior,,the one that referred to me as a neocon..I've been a democrat long before you were soiling your diapers.

[PACRAT]

Of course it is Obama or Clinton! But what's the rush ? For the unity of the democratic party? Nonsense, the democrats have never been united and never will be - let's have a convention for a change - wouldn't that be refreshing? Let's have an old fashioned knock down drag it out battle at the convention. And may the best man or woman win! We will all win in that case.

As for democratic leadership - nonsense - Dean, Reid and Pelosi are all losers - the first thing that a democratic president should do is dump them and replace them with people with intelligence and courage!

Each candidate has strong and weak points. In Hillary's case her weak point is Bill! In Barrack's case his weak point is that he is a speaker not a doer! But as long as he has some good doers on his team he can inspire us with his rhetoric.

[Gmoney1]

Come on superdelegates, stop babysitting Hillary - don't ya know that her people are running out of money they need to buy gas this summer - stop the madness and go for it superdelegates -

[olivia]

Perhaps Hillary & Co. are staying in this for the campaign contributions. They don't want to quit while they are in the red.

[AdLib]

Did you even read this article or the half dozen other articles recently from the DNC leaders...even two of the biggest Hillary supportes, Ed Rendell and Charles Rangel have said the same thing.

They want this to end in June and it will. And mathematics indisputably prove it will be Obama. Believing in any of the Hillary spin just makes her supporters appear to be in denial. Accept the truth of mathematics instead and we can all be on the same page.

[TERRYKEITH4]

Are you forgetting that BO voted against war while HRC voted for it?

[maxfusion]

No, run hilly, run, don't let it end, you go girl, you can do it. Go to the end----------------------------

[bygollymissmolly]

I have a question for all you Hillary supporters about MI and FL.

Ok, here's the scenario. Both Hillary and Obama agreed that MI and FL wouldn't count. Now, let's say that Obama put his name on the MI ballot and Hillary played by the rules and didn't put her name on the ballot. Then let's assume that Obama won MI and FL.

Do you really think that Hillary would be whining right now about MI and FL not being counted. Do you think she would be whining about how the DNC is disenfranchising those voters?

Now, answer that question truthfully.

[MizKit]

Right you are bygollymissmolly! When Terry McCaulliffe was DNC Chair, he wouldn't let Michigan move their primary up early - he said the closest those delegates would get to the Democratic Convention would be to watch it on TV. The hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me with those Clintons!

[RIPHRC]

The people of FL and MI elected these people. So they are ultimately accountable. If they elected officals that played by the rules, they wouldn't have this problem.

[ClevelandTom]

The FL amd MI issue is a red herring meant to create the appearance somehow that Clinton has not had a fair shot at the nomination, and therefore the super delegates should hand her the nomination.

The reality is that she signed on to the rules that invalidated them and even if we counted the FL primary and did a re-vote in MI, it would not materially change the situation we see now.

[Sunburst]

Condi Rice for president, or Howard Dean

[ClevelandTom]

If you actually want Condi Rice to be president, whose finger prints are all over the terrible decision to invade Iraq and the disasterous way it was managed afterwards, then you must be a card carrying member of the Neocons.

[MattGuillen]

Yes, but her skin color ALONE would guarantee another 92% Black turnout for her in PA.

Isn't this part of what makes of your Obama such a darling?

[kevenseven]

Condi Rice, criminally incompetent.

[AMJordan]

But, boy! can she buy shoes!

[mingjia]

The party should turn to Gore--seriously. He'd win in an absolute LANDSLIDE. Mark it, folks: Obama will struggle big-time to win the midwestern swing states. He's very liberal--got a rabble-rousing blame the white man minister--and that won't sit well with "bitter" older Americans, especially after the GOP unleashes its ad campaign. I don't know how many moderate to conservative people with Democratic Party inclinations voted for Kerry four years ago, but Obama won't get as many of their votes. More black votes, to be sure, but far fewer votes from older swing voters.

[maxfusion]

Oh yes, please run fat Al, pleaaassssseeeeee. Please run a idiot who thinks he can predict the weather a hundred years into the future. Please run the fool, again.

[gopwreckedusa]

Al is an idiot? I'd be willing to bet this "idiot" has done more for the world in the last 45 minutes than you've done in your entire life.

[AdLib]

In democracies, the winner of the majority is the winner. Obama will have the majority of votes and delegates and states when the race is over, he will be the nominee.

It is anti-democratic to want someone who has not won the majority of anything in a primary to be crowned by a small "elitist" group, whether it's Hillary or Gore.

I'm a big fan of Gore, if he had anted the nom he would've run. If you know anything about Gore, you would know it is not consistent with his character to have the Dem nominee annointed the way the SCOTUS annointed Bush against him. He does have principles, something missing from a lot of people's thinking about elections.

[juangault]

We have some very divided democrats in our family. Whenever the conversation turns to politics, we say our two cents, collected form the MSM. Then everyone calms down by agreeing that Al Gore would be our first choice candidate.

[kevenseven]

You idiot. If you think Obama is "very liberal" then you have no idea what a liberal is.

Russ Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders, those are actual liberal senators.

In any European democracy Obama would be in the centrist party.

[SCG2]

It's the more recent strategy to marginalize him. You can always watch the gears turning at "Camp Hillary in Denial" or "CHD" for short.

[MattGuillen]

Are you suggesting that Ségolene Royale, who lost 45%-55% to Sarkosy, while netting the vast majority of Islamic and North African voters (though nowhere near Obama's 92% in PA) is a "centrist"?

Perhaps the subtleties of "Parti Socialiste" ellude you.

[Probus]

Your argument is not supported by the facts. Obama has won more popular votes and has won more states. He is more likely to win the general than Hillary. If she can't get dems to vote for her in the primaries and caucuses than how can she make the claim that she can defeat McCain? She can't.

[TERRYKEITH4]

What makes you such an expert on the black vote or any other vote as far as that matters. Many young blacks and blacks overall have been disenfrachised, because of the prison system. This is why HRC is behind BO, because he is getting support from young college students of all races. And it was not the black vote that put Bill in office for 2 terms. It was the votes of white women that got him there and he knows this. Believe it or not many older upper middle classed blacks vote republican over all particularly in the south among the southern black christians, and GWB knows this. It was easy for him to frighten them with the image of Islamic terrorists of which they already have their own image of Islam as a false religion. Don't you think it's odd that Bush calls the religion of Islam a beautiful religion, but at the same time the media tries to link BO to Islam in a bad way?