Obama plans general election team

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama is quietly planning to take over the Democratic National Committee and assemble a multistate team for the general election, the latest sign that he is putting rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and the nomination fight behind him.

Top Obama organizer Paul Tewes is in discussions to run the party, several Democratic officials said Tuesday.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said no final decisions have been made on general election plans and that such decisions would be premature with Obama yet to clinch the nomination.

Tewes is one of the leading architects of Obama's success in the marathon Democratic primary race. He engineered Obama's critical victory in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, which gave Obama the upper hand and Clinton was never able to fully overcome.

DNC executive director Tom McMahon and DNC political director Dave Boundy traveled to Chicago last week to meet with Tewes and other campaign officials to discuss merging efforts. The party officials have held similar meetings with Clinton campaign officials and last week got an agreement with both campaigns to start raising money that will benefit the eventual nominee.

The Obama campaign also is in discussions with staffers who will be dispatched to various swing states, but holding off on making announcements until Obama has won the nomination. Officials who spoke to The Associated Press about the discussions insisted on anonymity because the campaign wanted to keep the deliberations quiet.

Obama needs 2,026 delegates to clinch the nomination, and he moved within 100 of that goal after contests in Kentucky and Oregon Tuesday. Clinton was more than 250 delegates back.

The staffing decisions are a natural progression for Obama, who still is engaged in a primary campaign while Republican candidate John McCain has been free to prepare his general election team for months. Obama will have to hit the ground running to make up for lost time when, as expected, he dispatches Clinton.

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Democratic and Republican nominees traditionally install loyalists at their party committees even though it is technically headed by its chairman _ in this case Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and a presidential candidate four years ago.

McCain has put his own team at the Republican National Committee to operate a Victory Fund Committee that is corralling top GOP donors and plotting strategy for the general election. McCain took the steps shortly after locking up the nomination after primary wins on March 4.

But Obama can't afford to move too quickly toward the general election, or he will risk alienating Clinton supporters who are already emotional about the likelihood of their chosen candidate's closely fought defeat.

There have been other steps toward the Democratic nomination. Obama has been campaigning in general election battleground states. Fundraisers for the two campaigns have held quiet discussions on working together in the fall campaign. And Obama's campaign reached out to former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle about joining forces for the general election, although several other top Clinton staffers said they have not been contacted.

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On the Net:

http://www.barackobama.com

Comments

[way2muchsense]

Can you imagine what would happen if Sen. Clinton got to name the new DNC chair? I would guess that a large portion of what Howard Dean spent the past four years doing would go up in a puff of smoke. The 50-state strategy would be replaced with the old, tired DLC battleground-states-only and screw-the-state-parties strategery of Terry McAuliffe, and we'd be paying dearly for that for years to come. It's much better this way.

[MarkyM]

Brilliant!!! Solidify....by any and all means necessary! Help us out of the http://revver.com/watch/848840atch/848840 Click here and copy and paste then and pass it along and share with everyone in your address book!

[scorpioleidy]

Buh-bye ... Hillary Huckabee !!!

[kellygrrrl]

"several other top Clinton staffers said they have not been contacted."

sitting by the phone won't make it ring. Get out there and roll up your sleeves and start working to get the Dem Nominee in the White House!

[kellygrrrl]

The Dream Team
includes all of US!

Of the People - By the People - For the People!!!

Keep the Momentum Alive!

Take It Back!!!

[mom2sons]

For the last time, HRC supporters bash Obama and his supporters, but whine when they get bashed back. I've read hateful things all across the board about Obama, and you are going to say that HRC has been railroaded or treated unfairly? He has said that he is not perfect. Can HRC even turn up her lips to mouth the same words. Furthermore, he has not aired her dirty laundry in public, not once. They should be too embarrassed to even have run for the nomination again. They have no SHAME. What would it look like to the world that we would be so stupid to put people back in the WH who embarrassed the WHOLE country. Where is the morality of the HRC supporters. How could you even think to do something like this? I wouldn't wan't people laughing behind my back every time I met with a world leader. Something is wrong with this picture. What you are saying is that you either forgive all of their faults, you don't care, or you are just in denial. Which is it? Can an HRC supporter answer this? You know that they have been crooked and not honest with the American people. How did they really earn that $109 million dollars? Influence peddling, plain and simple! It's gut check time people. At least be honest with yourselves. They received all of that money on the promise that she would become President. Do they have to return some of that money?

[ApolloniaCreed]

The nomination process is for all intents and purposes over... there is no need for the inflammatory remarks. Not to mention it is in poor taste.

[divaatty]

mom2sons appears to be a Republican troll. Please Hillary and Obama supporters - just ignore.

[savertime]

What?? A Clinton supporter can recognize inflammatory remarks (truth) and poor taste.
This entire Clinton campaign has been in poor taste. Hopefully, there will be no coronation.

Bill Clinton back in the White House!! What were you thinking?

[bigbingtheory]

So why give the people who are insitigating the inflammatory remarks a free ride? I don't get it. You seem to be calling on Obama supporters to stop doing what the Clinton supporters are doing.

[ApolloniaCreed]

I find it curious, that posters in this blog are antagonizing Clinton supporters. I suspect "operation chaos" is still in effect, and is becoming a more convincing chameleon by the day. But I take comfort in the fact that democrats have common interest that would make it impossible to be snared by this conspicuous trap.

[EGNY]

Yep. Every Clinton supporter who thinks they've been insulted by an Obama supporter ought to remember this point. And vice versa. The Limbaugh Lobotomy cases are intent on stirring up trouble, because they (as Rush puts it) "take orders" from him, and have not a thought in their heads or anything better to do with themselves.

So, keep in mind -- we're way too smart to be fooled by a bunch of slack-jawed, drooling Limbaugh morons. We darn well ought to be. Heaven help us if we're not...

So, DON'T TAKE THE BAIT! Just treat fellow Dems with a little respect or, at least, hold your fire for McSame. That's where it belongs now. Period.

[Grunty1]

Republicans never seem to understand that their mission and goals are dead in the water.

Not Operation Chaos
Not George W Bush
Not their party in general.

[Syncere]

As an Obama supporter i apologize for those who have antagonized Clinton supporters. We need to come together no matter what. If Hillary gets the nomination fairly, although i would be disappointed, i would campaign for Clinton as hard as I can because McCain is not what America deserves or needs. On that note i vote America '08 ( Obama / clinton or whoever he/she decides and vice versa)

[eurydice]

Anyone who would vote for the Clintons and the crooked political machine they represent, under any circumstances, is part of the problem and not part of the solution, and tacitly endorses that same crooked political machine.

[olivia]

Every day Hillary does a new thing to bring friction between the two camps. Every day.

Today, it's rallying Floridians to a protest against Obama, for May 22, on her website.

Every day, she abuses him some more.

There can be no truce until she stops.

[kdublya]

I disagree.

The price of unity is a concession speech. Until that time, anything is possible.
So, Clinton supporters have every incentive to fight for her nomination.
However, it's fair game to remind people that.Obama is in a relative position of strength.

Is strength a weakness? Or, weakness a strength?

It depends...

[ApolloniaCreed]

I think we can agree, while anything is possible, Obama is very likely the nominee. The Clinton campaign has backed off of the negative tone, and I believe Obama supporters should be gracious... that's all. I see that as strength in knowing your candidate will be able to navigate through the remainder of this prickly primary seasaon.

[WasteNJ]

Trust me, there are plenty of people that dislike the antics of the HRC campaign that have not a single GOP bone in their bodies. I'm one of them. My only agenda here is to amuse myself, possibly others.

And in case you were not aware, "Operation Chaos" is designed to INFLATE HRC's status and appeal, not the other way around. So any HRC supporter owes thanks to Rush Limp-Bo for giving their candidate a nudge, however small.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Of course, I am aware of what Limballs was up to; inflating HRC, so they could take her on in the GE... but methinks it is an appropriate term (and it just may have been a natural evolution- if that's even a term you can use in this case), for trolls on message boards fanning the flames of the Obama/Clinton tensions.

I just seems counter intuitive (if the likely dem. nom. is your candidate) to, at this point in the campaign, to argue the negative of the other Democratic candidate... that's all.

[oldwiseone]

All one has to do to get an idea of what Obama is all about is look at his campaign. Records have been set by his organization. His talk about race has been called historical. Instead of ending in debt he has a surplus. But what I find most interesting is that many replublicans are moving over to his side.

[Terminal1]

I am one of them... I didn't leave the GOP, the GOP left me.

I STILL can't stand the Clinton's though.

Obama!!

[ramblingjohnny]

To the victor goes the spoils!

[keriheb]

It is not about HRC it is about preventing war with Iran, the financial health of the US, health care, social security and a host of other issues facing this country that we don't want McBushNixon to be the neocon front man on these issues.

HRC's feelings is not the issue, political arena is not the proper forum for the healing of her feelings, a clinic that can deal with mental or emotional issues is a better place for that. This is a political blog, not a post menopause hold my hand because i lost blog. If HRC needs estrogen or prozac to deal with the day, then that is what she needs, and some professional should help her to deal with it.

We are talking about war and fascism here in the US and the future of our children not the blind ambition of one family or the personal ambition of Hillary.

While they have their faults, the Kennedys have made the ultimate sacrifice to this country over and over again! OUR PRAYERS ARE FOR TED AND HIS FAMILY.

Clinton's have only come as beggars and criers.

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!

For those who want to stay at home or vote for McWar - VOTE FOR HIM. The US has been shown the enemy intends to bring war to our doorsteps with Twin Towers. If suicide bombers is what you want in the US and perpetual war ~ Vote for McWAR.

[CeciliaBertrand]

My words exactly -- only YOU got to say them - thank you very much-have a great day - many blogs and comments to do....

[GunnyJ]

Outstanding! Thank you.

[Fathoms]

Gently people, It's time to heal the rift not exacerbate it. Dividing and conquering the Party along Hillary/Obama lines is only aiding and comforting the enemy. Would that I didn't have to call Repubs the enemy; but I do. Let's not devolve to the point where we ourselves are worse enemies than the Repugnantcons ever thought of being.

[billrott]

Fathoms, I think you may be misconstruing the post. The poster is throwing out the allegations of sexism by Hillary and others and comparing them to the more important issues facing our collective nation.

No, I am not saying I am for sexism or support it. I just do not think sexism played a part in Hillary's loss. I also think that our nation is in peril and we are on the verge of destruction at the hands of the Republican party. This election is too important to blow on Hillary's antics.

[bison2]

If Hillary had not gone 31 million in debt, she would not have these ardent supporters. Her supporters did not have these feelings in Feb. The longer she has campaign the deeper these feelings have grown. Average supporter do not view the political process the same way as political operators. Their support of a candidate is out of identity, issues, loyalty, etc.,-- because of a pay check.

[PennP]

It's $20 million; the LA Times counted her loans to the campaign twice.

[Fabienne]

There are not as many diehard Clinton supporters as it appears in the media or the blogosphere. No one to whom I have spoken, including professors in Women's Studies departments in major universities, has heard any Clinton supporter say they will vote for McCain in November. There is a noisy bunch of supporters who are storming the media and the blogosphere. Withdraw energy from them and ignore them. There is nothing you can do to placate them anyway; it only makes them angrier. Onward to a more positive future; they are what we want to leave behind.

[sheisme]

When does Obama get to really begin a general election campaign? Looks as if he will have the Clinton pitbulls nipping at his heels all the way to the convention. Howard Dean has been ineffective as leader of the DNC by allowing the Clintons (and the pundits) to question the very rules and procedures for the nominating process agreed on by all. The nominee is NOT decided by popular vote, caucus delegates are just as important as primary delegates, and the number is 2026 NOT 2210. Howard Dean is a good man, but he is not the leader that Obama will need to win the general election. Clinton has built a girdle of Appalacha support based on racism and misrepresentation of her viability that is squeezing the breath out of the Democrats. Dean couldn't stop it and he can't fix it!

[billrott]

Please don't confuse the public Dean with the private Dean. I am sure behind the scenes Dean and others are planning the hammer smack down on Hillary's crap. Hillary was given to the end of June to make her pitch. Dean appears to be moving the date up to the end of the last contest.

Next week the rules committee meets. The Dems will resolve Michigan and Florida. If Hillary does not face facts that she lost next week and stop with the sniping crap, the supers will end the campaign and publicly crucify her.

[RoSull]

So when are we going to see this hammer?

[bison2]

Is the problem Dean or the Clintons? We don't know all that he has had to tactical. He has been fighting them from day-one of his chairmanship.

[McPander]

I agree, this primary is more about the conflict between the DLC and DNC.
The ardent DLC people are for Hillary.

Howard Dean planned a 50 state plan and a rugged primary that would last this long.

The Clinton's wanted to wrap this up early, but this skinny guy came along and ruined their plans.

We owe a great deal of thanks to Dr. Dean

[Softnsweet]

I could see if it were the General Election, but this is the primary and it is not decided by popular vote. The woman keeps coming up with new rules.

[cdavis]

I agree. If she didn't like the caucuses and delegates and super-delegates shouldn't she have spent her "35 years" getting those rules changed?

[Fabienne]

Senator Clinton has NOT won the popular vote, except by her own rules, which gives Obama NO votes in Michigan. This is a lie on her part. Time to stand up and call her on it.

[colleen2]

"Howard Dean has been ineffective as leader of the DNC by allowing the Clintons (and the pundits) to question the very rules and procedures for the nominating process agreed on by all."

Don't look now but the enormous gains the party has made since '04 despite t5he ineffectiveness of congress have been made, in large part, because of Dean and his 50 state strategy. Dean can no more disallow hypocrites like Harold Ickes (who sits on the rules committee and voted for the MI and Florida sanction and then proceeded to question the very rules he voted for) or the Clintons a very loud voice than he can silence Dick Cheney. Your statement is nonsensical.

[LISABONA]

Sheisme, If the popular vote doesn' count, WHY, we should go to vote???? If a bunch of delegates would decide or overturn the will of the American people, what is the difference between " voting" in America or " named" the winner in Cuba. For the sake of our future democracy, VOX POPULIS , the voice of the people should count the most and first.I don't care if Obama or Clinton will be the nominee, as far , as the nomination is fair. I feel mentally competent to decide for myself and express my opinion. I don't need a custodian or DNC to decide for me, also not a behind the curtain arrangements.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Well then you should have been opposed to the process far before 2008. There is no way of accurately calculating to popular vote... the nomination is based on delegates.

[RoSull]

To All Hillary Supporters Out THere:

All hurt feelings, and ill will aside: What will it take to ease the tension should Barack Obama be the democratic nominee after June 3? As democrats, it should be about getting back into the white house and defeating John McCain a this point.

I for one would hate to see that because Obama and Clinton supporters have such strong ties to their particular candidate, that it would somehow ruin our chances in November.

[billrott]

If you think that the nation can survive four more years of Republican rule in order for Hillary to run in 2012, think again. Remember what Bush did in four years. He bankrupt the country and got us knee deep in two wars. At least Bush started with a nation in half decent shape. McCain/McSame is starting with things a heck of a lot worse.

[somewayout]

Senator Obama 's positions are fairly close to Senator Clinton's, so there is not a huge political chasm to tovercome. I think Senator needs to convince Clinton supporters and undecided voters that:

Domestic:
That he understands the legislative process and the economy.
That he has plans to reduce the deficit. The success of former president Clinton in doing this is a big factor in my support for Senator Clinton. I did not think we would ever get rid of the deficit created during the Reagain,GHW Bush presidencies, and not we have an even worse one.
Some people might see him as being too liberal in spending on social programs vs reducing the deficit.
I think it would also be well to emphasize the traditional democratic support for social security, as this is very important for wage earners. I think his emphasis on the GI bill is very good.

Foreign:

That he understands international issues and diplomacy and does not imagine that he can single handedly change the way diplomancy is conducted. Also, that he does not look at things from such an international point of view that he does not carefully represent the interests of the U.S.
We don't want any more Bush-style cowboy diplomacy, but I don't think any country should be in doubt of the danger to them of a nuclear attack on the U.S. or one of its allies.

Energy policy also very important to be discussed in detail.

[26eaj24]

To all HRC supporters that are threatening to vote for McCain: I will assume you do not have loved ones that are fighting in this stupid war. I would suggest you seek out those people or their family members and explain your vote to them. Explain to them that you are fine with sending our young men and women in to harms way because your girl didn't get the nom. It's time to grow up here people!

[billrott]

I have loved ones over i both wars. I know people that have lost everything trying to pay for a dying family members chemotherapy. I know people that have been targeted with selective prosecutions geared more at padding a Bush appointees resume than enforcing justice. I know people tha have lost there homes.

I can not believe that there are people serious about voting for McSame over the Democratic Nominee, Obama. If Hillary was the nominee, I would have voted for her; however such is not the case. It is not that our nation can not afford four more years of the same, it is that our nation can not survive four more years of the same.

Oh, and if you think that the nation can survive four more years of Republican rule in order for Hillary to run in 2012, think again. Remember what Bush did in four years. He bankrupt the country and got us knee deep in two wars. At least Bush started with a nation in half decent shape. McCain/McSame is starting with things a heck of a lot worse.

[LISABONA]

I agree with you. This war from the begining was a disaster for us,Americans and the whole word.I painfully remember the day when Col.Powel, in front of the United Nation,said the war in Iraq is imminent. We loved and trusted Col.Powel,more then the president,and he knowingly mislead the American people. It's not criticism, all of us knows very well,the pressure over him by the Bush Adm., but he should love us more,than give in, to the pressure.Plus, C.Rice,came out with the " mushroom cloud". What I still can't understand,why, parents, wifes,who lost loved once,never complaint against the war. We lost over 4000 innocent lives,disabled thousands,for WHAT?, for nothing, ,just for a stupid ambition.

[Independentjunkie]

So the body that is going to be responsible in electing members to vote on florida and michigan is in coherts to give one candidates home boy the top spot in that body. Heh...

[PensacolaTiger]

At this point, Florida and Michigan won't make any difference in the nomination, so your comment is moot.

What is needed now is a plan to seat the delegates at the convention in a way that penalizes them enough to keep other states from doing the same thing in 2012, but still allows participation. Probably a 50% reduction in delegates, as the Republicans did, with Florida representing the vote as cast and Michigan a 50-50 split.

[billrott]

This is the normal process. Once a part nominee is designated, he or she places his or her own people in leadership positions within the party to coordinate the general election and the party leadership strategy. This reason is why the Clinton surrogates are so scared. James, Eddie, Terry, Gerry, and Lanny won't have places anymore in the party leadership. They are very scared of being locked out and not getting the ability to live off the party donations as they have in the past.

[loax]

The focus should all be on defeating john mcCain. He own team is falling apart because of all the connections to lobbyists that surround him. This is a major issue. How can he claim to be the "Straight Talk Express", yet surrounds himself with self serving people such as this. Everyone must focus on the ways that we can beat the Republicans in the fall. Let's end the bickering, nobody ispaying attention anymore, except the Republicans who are gloating.

[Scarllatti]

To John McCain, a lobbyist is any one with cash and who can talk trash to win a trashed "election".

[Kalifornika]

I call it like I see it. It is the "BS Express" . . .