Democratic Leaders Pushing Superdelegates To Commit

WASHINGTON — Top Democratic leaders intend to push for a quick end to the battle for the presidential nomination when primaries are over next week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday, adding that he, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and party chairman Howard Dean will urge uncommitted delegates to choose sides.

"By this time next week, it will all be over give or take a day," Reid said of the marathon race between the front-running Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama is within 44 delegates of clinching the nomination, according to The Associated Press tally, and leads Clinton by roughly 200 delegates.

Democratic officials said Pelosi already has begun contacting uncommitted House members urging them to weigh in soon after the primary season ends. Numerous Democrats have expressed concern that a protracted nominating campaign could harm the party's chances of winning the White House in the fall. John McCain effectively wrapped up the Republican nomination in March.

Tantalizingly close to the nomination, Obama stands to gain a minimum of roughly 20 delegates in remaining primaries in Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota under party rules that distribute them proportional to the popular vote _ even if he loses all three. He would need to enlist the support of uncommitted superdelegates to amass the rest.

Slightly fewer than 200 superdelegates remain uncommitted, including 64 members of Congress.

One, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the Democratic whip in the House, was quoted in a report published Thursday as saying he intended to disclose his preference as the final primaries are held on Tuesday.

Clyburn, who is black and whose district and state voted overwhelmingly for Obama, is widely expected to support the Illinois senator.

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Asked about the story in the Stamford Advocate, Kristie Greco, a spokeswoman for Clyburn, noted that he repeatedly has said he will not endorse before June 3.

Although Obama holds a commanding lead in delegates, Clinton has threatened to campaign into the August convention if she is not satisfied with the results of a party committee meeting this weekend. A Democratic National Committee panel is scheduled to discuss the fate of disputed delegations from Michigan and Florida, two states that held primaries last winter in defiance of party rules.

Reid, in an interview on radio station KGO in San Francisco, said he had talked since Wednesday with both Pelosi and Dean. "We agree there won't be a fight at the convention. ... We're going to urge folks to make a decision quickly _ next week."

Reid said the results of the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan "should be counted as well," but he did not propose a compromise to resolve the controversy.

He made his prediction that the nominating fight would be settled by the end of next week in a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for Dean, said that in his conversation with Reid, the chairman said he wants the nominating campaign settled in June.

Pelosi has also said she hopes the nominating contest is wrapped up quickly.

Comments

[Mr. Cobb]

You all need to take this serious. This is very important. We really are at the abyss as a nation.

And one thing most haven't mentioned: Voting for either McCain or Clinton, if they're the only two candidates this falls, says bush was correct all along with his Iraq war. That's why he doesn't want Obama.

[Ibackobama]

I dont know about anyone else, just looking at my individual family situation. Here is my take.. my husband's income as an independent trucker, has reduced to 1/3 of what it was 5 years ago, in fact we are trying to get out of the business entirely. If McCain takes over, and institutes the draft, my child will be old enough within the next 5 years to be drafted. My home that I could afford, I'm thinking of walking out of since due to property values going down, I am upside down on my mortgage. I've had two surgeries in the past 12 months and even though I had company insurance for which I pay $500 per month out of my check, I have medical bills that you would'nt believe. I dont feel sorry for myself either since I feel that as long as we have two hands and feet, we can do something. I know that I am not the only one either, a whole lot of Americans are in the same boat.
We seriously need change or we shall soon be a 3rd world country.

[Ibackobama]

Forgot to add that due to numerous foreclosures in my neighbourhood and the property values going down, the taxes went down by .25% meaning, less money to the school districts which are already cash strapped and talking of reducing to a 4 day week due to gas prices.... this is insane folks! For those of us unable to take our kids to private school, we really need to focus on issues.

America we need to wake up!!

[abby4ever]

Cocteaus Twin, where are you, I need some more cheering up...

I hope Pelosi and dean and Reid keep their word---but another poster on another thread just alerted us all to another bad pastor story for Obama, a priest this time, here's the link, I hope Reid and Pelosi and Dean proimising to end this don't get derailed by this new story, it looks bad:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24882600/

Looks bad and of course it was coming and I bet Hillary knew it, damn her, now she can redeem herself and her battered legacy. She hopes. She has just been waiting for something bad to happen to Obama, as today's Tom Edsall blog states:
"One of the publicly unstated reasons that Clinton is remaining in the race is to be positioned to step in immediately in the increasingly unlikely event that damaging new material emerges about Obama. In such an event, retaining the right to force pre-nomination fights over credentials becomes crucial to a delaying strategy to allow any conceivable controversy to gain momentum."

Funny how it comes out just now, just a few days before June 3.

[ruscle]

This isn't that. So the preacher mocked Hillary for crying and trying to hard to be the nominee. So has Jay Leno. And Obama's already distanced himself from the remarks (of the preacher, not of Leno.)

[jeplanet]

Frankly, I thought it was kind of funny.
What's with these preachers spending so much time on politics, though?
Isn't the Bible, like, 1000 pages long? Don't they have enough material with that?

[Waltb31]

This "bad pastor story" really isn't that bad. He was just mocking Hillary's narcissistic clinging to the race. Obama already distanced himself from it.
I doubt it will get much airplay, because even though it was a crass parody, most people could see how it was an accurate depiction of Hillary's behavior

[AMJordan]

My big question on this is:

Why is Barack Obama responsible for every word spoken in that church? Was he even there?

[Ant]

The Hillary camp is crying foul over this but she mocked Obama a few months ago on the campaign trail and her supporters got a kick out of that.. The Hypocrisy is stunning.

[AMJordan]

abby, don't worry. We know a few things.

1) Most of the Senate SDs are for Obama.

2)Obama has lots and lots of SDs and has been holding back their announcement in order to try and be nice to Clinton.

3) The MSM is going to start ignoring her probably after next week and unless she does something like setting herself on fire, we won't hear anything abut her until the Convention.

4) If she DOES do something like set herself on fire, due to the emergence of YouTube, we won't miss it.

[Rose52]

He was a visiting Catholic priest, and Obama already denounced his comments.
This should really confuse some people who still think Obama is a Muslim.
Obama 08

[SaintZak]

Rev. Michael Pfleger is no Rev. Wright, no Pastor Hagee or Parsely. Phleger is a true legend and hero in Chicago for the social work he has done. The Catholic church leadership may not like him, but he's one of the good guys.

[dawlishgal]

Obama has already rejected what the guy said. I think people are getting sick of the attacks on Obama's religion. He beat down the Wright business, and this guy doesn't have as much impact as Wright.

I'm not sure Obama's positive campaign is doing the right thing, though, in not bringing up Hillary's ethical problems connected to statements of her crackpot religious guru. If Hillary's people plumbed the sewers looking for something to take out of context and spin in order to harm Obama, Obama's people could be doing the same to slime her, but I don't think they are. I wonder what happened to that book about the religion of Santorum and Hillary that was supposed to come out this month.

Hillary's campaign is getting a lot of mileage out of the (seemingly correct) assumption that both Obama and his supporters will be better-behaved than she and her supporters are willing to be. The really ironic part is how the MSM calls this scumbag quality of Hillary and her gang "being feisty."

[riverhouse]

The Democratic leadership has been extremely tolerant of Hillary's divisive behavior during this campaign. She has not been publically criticized for her unabashed racist comments or her outright lies; She has whined and hectored and displayed a remarkable inability to run a campaign. She has proven a decided lack of leadership necessary to run this nation. The hateful, out of touch with reality tenor of her campaign tells me that she is incapable to moving on gracefully. The Party leadership is going to have to drag her kicking and screaming off the stage.

[DrCahill]

Might be quicker and easier to beam her out into space using Asgard technology.

[Dannydel]

Never mind the leadership, what are these prima donna 'Super Delegates' waiting for anyway? We know that 1 tried to sell his vote, but the others? I'm beginning to think they are a bunch of drama queens, trying to extend their 15 minutes. We appear to have the rare opportunity to nominate a man who has the foresight, courage and ability to help unite the country and finally put an end to the lying 'war for profit' neo-convicts whose greed is exceeded only by their lack of morals. And you posers are waiting for..... what exactly? Show some courage. Grow some balls. Get a clue...buy one if you have to. As a party, as a nation, this could just be our last best hope. Don't let your fear of Juan and Eva keep you from doing the right thing.

[BlackLeatherRain]

They're waiting for the last three states to have their primaries, at this point. I can understand this - there are only 4 days left.

[blueshift]

More tough talk from Reid? Pelosi? They've been talking tough for a year and a half now and have delivered exactly...­.squat.

[ChicagoBob]

! !

I just had a thought. (I novelty for me.)

Hillary will fight to the end and lose the nomination. She will then run as a third-party candidate, thus assuring a McCain victory and the end of the United States as we know it.

Corporate profits will go through the roof as more jobs leave the country. Unemployment will be rampant. The quality of life will take a dive. There will be more wars, thousands more will die for nothing and the debt will continue to skyrocket. Oil will reach $350 a barrel. The housing market will continue to cost taxpayers additional billions as the repubs bail out their Wall Street friends, but the stock market will be strong and McCain will claim success in saving the economy and the country.

The future of the US of A and most of the free world rests in the mind of Hillary Clinton. Now there's a thought.

I am going to the bathroom to be sick.

! !

[DrCahill]

Silly thought this is... How will she afford to run a Presidential Campaign between now and November, when she is already $35 million in debt! Who will fund her? You?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

"How will she afford to run a Presidential Campaign between now and November, when she is already $35 million in debt! Who will fund her?"

Good questions.

Outstanding questions.

Questions that have not been thought about by the pundants of the MSM.

The answer is that she will be funded by her creditors.

Any amounts which any of her creditors do not intend to collect are not bona fide debts.

Instead, these types of debts are indirect contributions.

What percentage of these debts are indirect contributions? 95%? 90%? 85%? Who knows? There is no precise way to get an answer to this. For all we know, the entire $35 million may be indirect contributions.

Do you want to support her and not call it a contribution?

Just give her some money and call it a loan.

[marymansour]

Let me offer another scenario. Hillary will fight tooth and nail for the nomination and finally, after the Dems are bloodied and in disarray, John McCain will be standing in the wings to embrace her as his veep. That's when everyone will leave the country in total disgust. Who knows what Hill and Johnny have been plotting behind Obama's back. Notice that she praised him initially and he has gone after Obama.

[Aleka4]

I think that would be a funny scenario, but only to see the look on her face to lose to Obama twice.

[BlackLeatherRain]

I have heard there are some states that have sore loser laws that prevent a candidate from doing that very thing. So, while she can potentially do this, she wouldn't be on the ballot in every state.

[jeplanet]

"Sore loser law".....i­nteresting­.
Can we just start calling it "Hillary's Law" right now?

[ThunderclapNewman]

I think about 30 states have those laws.

[AMJordan]

I don't think there's enough time after the convention to register in every state. She would have to start her run NOW.

Who in their right mind would give her money for such a run? She's already proven she can't handle money.

Bob Barr and the Libertarians are going to split the Repulsives.

There's a good chance that those Repulsives that hate McCain and REALLY hate Clinton will actually vote for Obama.

[Quipman]

They call themselves leaders but the problem is when are they going to lead. When are they going to sit Hillary down and tell her to get out the race. Their delay has already cost her any future in the party as her recent RFK statements assured that. Hey! maybe that's what Nancy and company is doing . They are allowing the Clinton's to finally burn every bridge,street and highway behind themselves so the Democratic Party can finally be free of these dishonest pirates.

[dawlishgal]

The problem is Clintons rabid deluded supporters who tolerate her behavior and threaten to vote for the Republican is she isn't the nominee. They resent being called "racists" but the Clintons' blatant racism didn't dissuade them from their support of her.

The party must deal with the effects of this fallout and whether it is enough to make Democratic candidates on every level lose in November. That they Clintons have encouraged this mindless rage and paranoia just proves that they have no party loyalty. .....as though those of us who watched while they sat on their hands and failed to campaign for the two men who ought to have followed them into the White House ALREADY know.

[Pepper14]

All this talk about the Clinton's doing something is just talk. The DNC will shut her down next week. They have given her plenty of time and now they finally seem to realize that they need to step in and bring this to an end. Even the Hillary supporters said they will not follow the campagin off a cliff. It's time for her to step up and withdraw with grace and stop acting like a spoiled child because she didn't get her own way.

[hope]

Hillary will stop when she chooses.

The DNC couldn't strong-arm saltwater taffy.

[smoo]

I am affraid you may be right.

Just maybe those elected dems that continue to support her will see the cost they will have to pay when they need to push legislation through senate and house leadership. I would not be supprise if next tuesday we see a few switch hitters. Like another poster mention, I would not want to go over cliff either.

[jafahr]

i hope you're right. it's way too late for her to withdraw with grace. it's incredible how much chaos and misery one person can cause. instead of dealing with her own disappointment privately, she's got to torture and punish everyone else.

[frappe]

Exactly. Well said. Thank you.

[Mr. Cobb]

Yeah, I know. It's not like we haven't been through enough already the last 8 years.

[hope]

I have the solution.

Make Hill Pres, Obama VP.

Next day, impeach 'er.

Everyone's happy.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Including the crowd who has been screaming "impeach NOW!" They know so little about impeachment that it shouldn't matter who is impeached.

Brilliant, Hope!

[ChicagoBob]

!

I've heard this song before.

Is this not the third such declaration by this "leadership?"

!

[kay]

It's a silly statement. The primary ends June 3rd. They ran out of states.

[hope]

Count every vote!

Tunisia, Latvia and Burundi...­..yes, we will!!

:)

[LaFeminazi]

June 3rd 2024.

[whiskeytangofoxtrot451]

Hillary, "Best 2 out of 3! Best 2 out of 3!"

[jeplanet]

"Whoever can hold their breath longer WINS"
Ready? GO

[flibbertygibbet]

Leaders ? WHERE ?

[LaFeminazi]

Can the Dem primaries run until 2012?

Go Cynthia!

[harriscrl3]

I've come to the conclusion that this party is going to SPLIT. Maybe if these so called leaders have gotten involved sooner but no everyone is saying this is good for the party well its BAD and it could cost us the election but thats still no reason to give it Hilary because she is in NO BETTER shape than Obama and those polls are NOT showing the potential backlash from Obama supporters if she manages to steal the nomination.

But with that said here is what Obama needs to do. He needs to start factor in the possiblity that he will lose say 33% of her supporters because they are diehard supporters and would never vote for him. If republicans can test to see how much votes they can get because of racism on the part of Whites Obama can test to see how much of Hilary supporters he can get. He needs to do it state by state. In states where he will get less support from Hilary supporters he needs to work more vigorously to get people registered those are the states where he should concentrate his most resources. Its time for him to start looking towards the general planning his strategy and INGNORING the shenanigans of the Clinton. If they want to stay in the primary let them. Obama needs to move on to the general.

Carol

[jeplanet]

I think he's been ignoring the Clinton's for awhile. The rest of us just need to catch up.

[harriscrl3]

Unfortunately the media is acting like she is still news that they are still tied in the primary so it makes it hard for him to move on I suspect after June 3 things will become more focus and she will be getting less press coverage.

Carol

[AggravationKills]

Its time for the primary to end. I think if Obama keeps right on the way he's been doing, being gracious and respectful of the Clintons, most of her supporters will eventually come to the fold. McCain is already showing his true colors. I was a die hard Hillary supporter. Its hard for me to watch the dream die, but her campaign was horrid. Obama is obviously a real uniter. Given time, I do think they will come around, were all democrats. Our country, our party,and our Republican fellow citizens ( whether they know it or not) need us to come together. A change is gonna come...

Vote Democrat 2008
Obama 2008

[caj]

With very little daylight between the platforms of the two democratic candidates, It appears that some Clinton folks are obsessed with 'personality'. They want it her way or the McCain highway. These voters are not Democrats . . . they are Hillcrats, almost like a cult. Despite what the party elders say, I do believe this 'fight' has weakened the party. A house divided cannot stand. Sad but true. Makes me think of the little Hollywood kid who told his friend, "My dad can beat up your dad." The friend replied, "No he can't. My dad is your dad." If the mindset persists the pary will indeed 'split'.

[dawlishgal]

I totally agree. Hillary has been making the case (although she calls it being "more electable"). that her supporters are more childish, sore-headed and vindictive than Obama's supporters, and that is undoubtedly true according to the polls that show Obama supporters more willing to vote for her if she is the nominee than her supporters (those hardworking WHITE Americans) are to vote for Obama. In other words, the Obama supporters are more fair, generous and party-loyal. . It is the only legitimate case she has to be given the nomination and it is a DISGUSTING one

To give somebody the nomination because of the low quality and bad behavior of her supporters (not to mention their own stupidity in voting against their own best interests) would set a VERY bad precedent.

[hope]

Triangulation, like Republicanism, will be swept out to sea by the undertow this November.

Like the Titantic, there aren't nearly enough lifeboats.

[LaFeminazi]

I vote for hexagonation.

;)

[Nyland8]

That's cause you're a hexist.

8

[frappe]

This controversy would end if the media would simply stop devoting any attention to the Clinton campaign. Clearly, the Clintons have no justification for continuing this race and they know it.

It is my fervent hope that honest and decent Democrats everywhere remember Hillary Clinton for what she appears to be about -- an unethical and frustrated woman whose personal ambition has driven her far from the norm where a reasonable candidate would acknowledge and accept their defeat with grace and dignity. Instead, she appears hellbent on destroying Barack Obama's chances for election in the Fall. In addition, she is doing serious damage to the larger mission of a Democratic sweep in November.

I never thought Clinton would be capable of this. It's sickening and depressing. I just hope that the leaders within the party can talk some sense to the Clintons and talk them down from "ledge on the roof".

[usabroad]

Agreed.

And I'm going to be lazy here and paste in what I wrote on another thread: Ickes certainly has the capacity to thwart the party's success with continued procedural wrangling as he did in '80 and '88, but let's hope that Pelosi, Reid, Dean and many others say enough to irascible bullying and get us over this hump successfully. (Ickes and McCain cut from the same temperamental cloth?)

I am not sure why many Dems are continuing to admit their fear of the Clinton "machine" when it is making a lot of noise spluttering in the mud and spewing it out as it revs it engines, moving nowhere and making the hole bigger, financially and politically . The new model is sleeker, more elegant, and well, moving forward, financially and politically.

[CocteausTwin]

What and violate their basic drive for profits? What are you a communist? Some kind of actual patriotic American?

[Ibackobama]

I think there is something behind the scenes that makes her so desparate. We need to follow the money trail on the Clinton library and I bet you we'll find out why. A lot of people will want their money back.