Clinton Calls For "Cathartic" First-Ballot Nomination

Hillary Clinton recently appeared before supporters and at least a few delegates and answered questions about the upcoming Democratic Convention, the candidate nomination process and how she thinks it will unfold. A YouTube of her talk is being sent around by the PUMA / Just Say no Deal coalition along with a link to their over-the-top "Three Hundred Delegates" ad, which urges delegates to sign the petition to put Clinton's name into nomination at the convention, likening them to the cinematic Spartan warriors of the movie "300." (*Update below)

At the meeting with supporters, Clinton masterfully tamped down expectations and redirected them, hinting at some of the behind-the-scenes negotiation taking place. Of course not all of her supporters were ready to be as circumspect as she was being.

QUESTION: I remember when first ballots contained the names of a lot of favorite sons -- I don't remember favorite daughters -- but please consider having your name put in for nomination... no disrespect for the future president Obama, but that's what conventions are about, it's not out of disrespect, and that it is in fact a showing of unity...

CLINTON: I'm asked this question every day... What will happen at the convention in respect to my putting my name in nomination, a roll call vote, and the usual kind of process that happens at the convention --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Vice president!

CLINTON: -- Well, you know, we're trying to work that out with the Obama campaign and with the DNC. I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views were respected.

[Applause]

I think that is a very big part of how we actually come out unified, because I know from just what I'm hearing that, uh, there's just -- there's incredible pent up, uh, desire --

AUDIENCE: Yes Yes --

CLINTON: -- And I think that, you know, people want to feel like OK it's a catharsis. We're here. We did it. And then everybody get behind Senator Obama. I mean that is --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Doesn't work that way!

CLINTON: -- That is what most people believe is the best way to go. No decisions have been made and so we are trying to work all this through with the DNC and the Obama campaign

[...]

I think it's fair to say that If you look at recent history I have moved more quickly and done more on behalf of my opponent than comparable candidates have and most of them didn't endorse until the convention -- you know Teddy Kennedy or Gary Hart or Jerry Brown... you know just a lot of people held out till the convention, kept their delegates, often waged platform or rules or credential fights and , you know, I've made it very clear that I'm supporting Senator Obama and we're working cooperatively on a lot of different matters. But I think that delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don't need permission. They can decide under the rules of the DNC. And so I think it would be better if we had a plan that actually we put in place and everybody knew what it was and then we executed it, because I just think that would go more smoothly. So I hope that's what we come up with, some kind of a strategy.

QUESTION: ... Since the delegate count is so close... What if you are called up for nomination and what if you do win by a narrow margin?

CLINTON: That is not going to happen, not going to happen. Look what we want to have happen is for Senator Obama to be nominated by a unified convention of Democrats, and as I have said, the best way I think -- and I could be wrong -- but the best way I think to do that is to have a strategy so that my delegates feel like they've had a role and that their legitimacy has been validated and that kind of --you know, it's as old as, you know, as Greek drama -- you know, there is a catharsis. I mean everybody comes and, you know, they wanna yell and scream and have their opportunity, and I think that's all to the good, because then, you know, everybody can go OK great. Now lets go out and win! And that's what we want people to feel. We do not want any Democrat, either in the hall or in the stadium or at home, walking away saying Well, you know, I'm just not satisfied. I'm not happy. Because, I mean, that's what I'm trying to avoid.

*Update: I originally wrote that "The Three Hundred" delegates were being urged to defect from Obama. They are not.

Comments

[tiggrrl]

We just posted on this over at the CA NOW blog: http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2008/08/hillary-clinton.html

[TRIATHLON]

OBAMA SIGNALS "CATHARTIC" CLINTON (VP)

The idea that The Former Impeached President Snowman Slick Willie William “Bubba” Jefferson Clinton will speak just before the announcement of the Vice Presidential Choice is announced, and the United We Stand Platform, only means that the Vice President who will be selected is (D-NY) US Senator Hillary Diane Rodham-Clinton, as anything less would cause uproar in the Convention.

So, what are we now looking at (CAPITALISM Vs "CATHARTIC" SOCIALISM).

McCain Capitalism: (1) Basic production facilities, land, capital, buildings, machines, and other equipment are PRIVATELY OWNED, (2) The economy is based upon organized activity the (NYSE) New York Stock Exchange, (3) Private Owners and Non-Owners are free to pursue their own self interests for maximum gain as earned by their own labors. (4) A self regulating economic system with little government supervision, only the enforcement of contractual agreements between individual interests within the Capitalist Economy.

Obama & Clinton "Cathartic" Socialism: (1) Basic production facilities, land, capital, buildings, machines, banking, credit facilities public utilities, other equipment are NATIONALIZED AND STATE OWNED, Large Corporations would be place under STATE OWNERSHIP. (2) Those business that are non-vital to the power of the state would be allowed to remain under PRIVATE OWNERSHIP, but the organized activities of the (NYSE) would be ended, the end of the stock-market and stocks & bonds, (3) Small privately held cooperatives would be allowed.

[bellenoir55]

All this drama that HRC is encouraging to highjack the convention from Obama
dooms her chances of EVER getting a shot at the presidency in 2012 or 2016.

As a black woman, I can say with authority that the Clintons,thanks to their behavior
during the primaries, have already burned their bridges among black Democratic voters.
Loyalty works both ways, but the Clintons took it for granted.
They showed their true natures this election season,and lost our
support,probably for good.

A Democrat CANNOT win the presidency without our solid support.
We are just as important as working class white voters.

HRC should work on her seniority in the Senate,where
I think she will do much good,
Sadly,Ted Kennedy's days are numbered,
and we'll need another champion of the "regular people."
She can redeem herself by becoming the sage of the Senate!

[nonconformist2]

HRC no longer has 18 million voters. Most have moved on and support the legitimate democratic nominee. A couple thousand bitter white women refuse to move on. HRC has an obligation to tell them, nicely and diplomatically, to move on.

[Mimi11]

Bitter White Women? The fact is I believed that HRC was the one that was actually hijacked. I was so excited when Senator Obama and Senator Clinton decided to run. I have always been a Hillary fan but having the two in the race would be dynamite. It was, but not the way I envisioned. The Clintons have worked tirelessly for all ethnic groups and have always been champions of AAs.

The DNC (good old boys) the Black contingency as well as many journalists turned on the Clintons. I am truly disappointed. I always thought of myself as a yellow dog but times change.

[gwt301]

I keep reading about HRC's 18 million votes. If that is the case, then BHO must have gotten 18 million and 1 votes. He won the primary. There does not need to be some group catharsis to comiserate about the person who lost. Did not happen with Dean, Tsongas or Brown when Bill won. Hillary should speak about her platform but don't make it about her. Obama is the candidate. If you don't like it , vote for McCain. During the presentation of the championship trophy in any major sport, the losers don't hold a rally while the winner picks up the ring. They go quietly to their lockerroom, offer polite but stunned congratulations and slip out of the back door. Their fans think about the future but they don't replay the game.
Obama is holding his own with McCain and is
farther ahead than the polls indicate...and this before debates. The true McCain will show his head when he can't read his notes. He was horrible in the republican debates. Had just one of his opponents believed in evolution and was not a mormon he would have lost. How many times will he have to degrade his wife (joked about her winning a wet tshirt contest this week) before HRC supporters see that he does not respect women? Let the election play out as is. Maybe if you supported the democratic nominee with as much enthusiam as you support one democrat he'd be winning by a landslide.

[Lu4PUMA]

The DNC did not run the primary in a manner that all the popular votes were considered valid. If you count them all, Clinton won the popular vote. After that, who exactly came out ahead depends on which votes they count, making it effectively a tie. If that were not a big enough problem, the actual nomination votes is based on delegates. The committed delegates are roughly based on the population and awarded to the candidate in proportion to the votes won in the state. Clinton came out slightly behind, 60-120 delegates, again depending on how the vote was counted.

There are also over 800 superdelegates that vote. This primary will essentially be decided by the superdelegates.

Most of the superdelegates pledged to Obama. However, the vote is not final until the DNC convention, several weeks from now.

Obama has been flip plopping on the issues, his shady past has come to light, and he does not have enough of a magrin in the polls, for all the resources he is expending, to indicate he can beat McCain in November. McCan is spending a fraction of the money that Obama has been and is not expected to really get serious until after Labor Day.

As for the debates, Obama has performed poorly so far. Mccain has repeatedly called him out, but he is avoiding it. Obama has refused to debate McCain before the DNC Convention.

All indicators are that Obama will lose the Presidential Election to McCain.

[doctorwang]

So if Clinton is nominated at the convention....and she still loses....what will you do then? Vote for McCain? Even after the misogynistic display he was part of at Sturgis?
McCain has flip flopped more than Obama has on the issues ,and his shady past has not yet come to light (Keating 5).
Obama will debate McCain- on his terms- not yours or mine. McCain wants a "town hall" format. This type of format won't really be a debate at all- just a Q & A session from the audience.

[nonconformist2]

BO won the popular vote. BO won the delegate vote. Not to mention that If popular vote mattered, then all states would hold primaries and there would be no caucases. And candidates would run a difference race. Trying to "change" the rules after the fact, ignoring all caucas states, allowing HRC to get all the vote in Michigan and give none to BO is complete B.S. And you know it.

This isn't about fairness. This is about childish pouting. Your candidate lost. You refuse to accept it, so you try to reinvent the primary to fit your facts.

If you're unhappy with the candidate who won the primaries, so what.

Grow up or join the republican party. The democratic party neither needs nor wants your participation.

Bye Bye, don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out.

[Bozwellian]

LOL, those "indicators are WISHFUL thinkings on part of GOPERS and CLINTONITES and time to really get a grip...IF you wanted her strictly as a FEM symbolic CIC, then your reasoning for selecting was flawed , if you wanted due to issues, then accept the FACT that O and H were closer than O and Mcain ...make your choice or sit around and pout and slice off your nose in contemptible folly , whatever..MOST are really , REALLY fed up with the C's and their claim to holding 18million votes in their pocket along with her delegates which she has NEVER released which points up that she is INCAPABLE of coming to grips with reality and now this falderal of hiding behind excuse that she wants HER supporters voices heard..ONLY IF THEY SHOUT FOR HER, the bombastical nature of the C's has gotten really, REALLY OLD !!! TIME FOR TRUE CHANGE, they deminished themselves and are even willing to take out the party they CLAIM to be loyal to !!!

[DonKrieger]

I predicted this months ago. The whispers will grow louder and louder to hijack the convention and steal the nomination for Hillary. And if Obama has a significant and sustained dip in the polls, there will be a real danger.

At the least it will cause a dip because he will look weak. I would like to see him smack down both Hillary and Bill so that the electorate sees that he is strong. We will not tolerate a weakling president, which Obama is not. But he must show it as he is beginning to do with his thoughtful counter-punching approach to McCain's attacks.

What bothers me the most is the drama. It seems like an extraordinary insult to women that the require a "catharsis" at the convention. And it's a disgrace to the Democratic party, with is the union of all the outsiders. Someone from an outsider group gets the nomination, so the members of the others each must have their moment in the sun? It's just too much.

Don

[Bozwellian]

Many agree that the C's are in need of a grand smackdown to see if they are capable of facing the reality that THEY LOST,gracious losers they are not !!! That night that O clinched it, she goes on air being intro'd by Terry as THE next President even thou all aware SHE LOST IT !!! SHe has NEVER relenquished her delegates, uses phony excuse that is because she wants her supporters "respected" no matter if it means dissing the party and the Dems OFFICIAL nominee and giving //fueling further fodder of ILL WILL . IF she actually had HOLD to that claim of 18 million votes, she would NOT have the debt stil hanging for a measly $3 apiece would wipe it out BUT HAS NOT HAPPENED so she is still begging and DEMANDING OTHERS PICK UP HER RECKLESS TAB from that LOUSY CAMPAIGN fhe foisted on us all !!!

[mightbesane]

Hillary made the nomination a closer race than any in my memory - and I'm older than most of you. She's admitted that she lost. She has asked the winner, as have most failed candidate in recent memory, to help her retire her debt. Her people have made it clear that she does not intend to sign a petition place her name in nomination - as have many failed candidates in the past. She is negotiating, as do all failed candidates, for her place at the Convention - as she rightly points out, for the sake of keeping her supporters in the Party and voting for Obama.

In other words, all of the dire predictions that appeared on these boards the week after the final primary have failed to materialize. And nothing out of the ordinary has been proposed. In fact, again from someone who has a bit of grey in his beard, Obama and Clinton are the two least acrimonious post-primary candidates that I think that I've ever seen.

Yet you folks have this strange need to continue to stick pins in her. One wonders what strange obsssessions lurk in you psyches that you can't just let go. You won. She's said so. She's lost, She said so.

QUESTION: ... Since the delegate count is so close... What if you are called up for nomination and what if you do win by a narrow margin?

CLINTON: That is not going to happen, not going to happen.

What more do

[gwt301]

You never give an opponent a captive audience and a live microphone--that's why.

[Bozwellian]

annouced late today, Bill has been given a NIGHT to hold the mike...just befor the VP is announced, suggest all get familar with emergency "brace" position for he is yet a very loose cannon (and time some one yanked him aside firmly rather than this nonsensical pandering to smooth his egotistical hurt feelings !!!) The C's are willing to damage the Dem candidate and party and nation , to sooth their perceived savadged souls...the majority of us all have really had enough of their drama and ongoing dramtics..they deminish themselves and their bitterness shows full force but the stakes are high, an the O camp has tried to be more than gracious , problem is the repect is NOT returned nor likely to be returned from the Clinton and their crew. THEIR problem is foisted on us all and to OUR detriment, and THEY do NOT care and that shows as well !!

[nonconformist2]

There is room for compromise. HRC and BO should be able to work out a scenario whereby HRC and her delegates are respected without doing something to nudge or exacerbate or encourage party disunity. Having her name put into the vote is a recipe for chaos.

The most important purpose of the convention is to put BO (along with democrats down ticket) in a stronger position to win in November. Anything that interferes with that, should be denied.

[Bozwellian]

WHAT MOIRE CAN SHE DO? STOP HER PARADED HEDGES !!! She has NEVER really conceded , she has NOT released her delegates which IF done would go a long way towards showing she is doing ALL possible and when releasing them , STRONGLY urge support of THE CANDIDATE THAT HAS LEGITIMATELY WON THE NOMINATION...she comes off as a vulture , hovering JUST IN CASE SOMETHING SURPRISES AND POPS UP to halt Obama !!! HER sincere LACK of enthusiasm shows regularly just as Bills does ...attribute it to their shock and awe at losing what THEY figured a sure thing !!! THe show bitterness and reek of resentment and it encourages those hopeless ones who want to cling on and on and on but the MAJORITY HAVE MOVED ON and its time for the Clintons to get a real grip on reality and those holdovers ? TIme for them to figure out that the positions held by both O and H were/are negligible when compared to where McC is found to be , so make your best choice folks, and truthfully get a good reality check !!!!

[DebbieinPhx]

Okay, I have a query for this blogger group:
Per US election laws the Clintons have until the start of their party's convention to pay off their finance debt. At last accounting, and it depends on WHO you talk to, that amount currently sits at $20 Million (give or take an additional $4-5 million!) Now as I read it, the same laws state that they have UNTIL the convention to raise the money (by soliciting­/accepting donations) to pay back that debt. Any campaign debt not paid off by that time becomes the would-be candidate's personal debt. That's the law and is applicable to both RNC and DNC. QUERY: the only way I can figure, both Bill & HRC have decided that this latest "move" or quest for a cathartic healing event is worth eating $20+ Million in debt, (because if ya think Obama supporters are going to continue to rally around the idea of ponying up for this monstrous debt prior to the convention in hopes that the Clintons will then play nice, think again-- and by the by, I've received the emails I know that debt is still out there in force and as a regular donor I'm getting trounced with requests for $$$) So, for people who are supposedly so politically savvy, this just seems like a really, really, REALLY STUUUUUUPI­IIIIIIDDDD­D move. Does anyone else see this that way? Anyone up on campaign finance laws? I'm criminal law so this is foreign territory to me.

[reliant1]

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/07/clintons-debt-reveals-flaws-in-campaign.html

It's more of a brutal move - strong arming for the big donors to clear this up or else...

classic clintononian move.

She does not want to carry this debt into her Senate campaign funds.

[Bozwellian]

IF and it its a MAJOR big IF, IF the CLintons TRULY HAD 18million voters/supporters they rule over /hold claim --a MEASLY TWO to THREE DOLLARS a piece would wipe out that hanging debt and leave her with $$$ lin her coffer ...SHE /they DO NOT HAVE 18million voters/supporters WILLING to ante up so why should any others ? Those that are yodeling how they want to be "respected", they have received far more respect than they have given and that is quite obvious !!! Let THEM bail out the Clintons, she is THEIR gal , let the proof of 18million votes be SHOWN !!! Until then, not one dime for that horrific campaign they foisted on us all !!! TIME FOR CHANGE and TO MOVE ON , and if their is a segment that is SO disconnected from reality regarding issue awareness that they incapable to see little REAL difference between O and H but due to their gal NOT being the candidate, vow to vote McC or not at all.. SO BE IT !!! It indicates that they wERE WILLING TO ACCEPT HER FOR SYMBOLIC REASONS, and that is NOT good enough folks and quite misguided !!!

[Mark99]

Thanks for stating this. It's been clear for some time that the Clintons' fantasy of 18 million motivated diehards is just that. Bill & Hill ran a dirty campaign, and spent themselves into a deep hole. For either of them to hint they deserve any help getting out of it, from anyone but those supposed 18 million, is just comical. There's no angry mob; it's more like an angry coffee klatch.

Their forthcoming convention antics may cause a stir and try to ruffle feathers, but you can bet Obama is prepping an upright and benevolent response. Bottom line: The Clintons are old news and of no real use to anyone. Both of them need to go home & stay there, epoxied to their recliners.

[CKieffer]

As expected... the other shoe has dropped

[WFV]

Ostracism is cathartic too.

[PNG]

To the Obama Suporters: The Senator was victorious in the in the popular vote by a margin of 46,000+ votes. The delegate count, at least in my perspective, is a mere reflection of the voters will in this regard. He IS the nominee on that strength alone. To usurp this teeters on cataclysmic if somehow the delegates overturn themselves on some whim presented by ardent Hillary supporters. the vote must stand. Period.

To The Clinton Supporters: For unification of the Party, two things have to happen: The vote must be honored, as mentioned above. Obama is the nominee. That needs to be left intact. The second thing that must be committed is that Clinton should be named his running mate. No exceptions. This would allow a sense of inclusion and relevance to the massive pro-Hillary supporters. To go another direction could cause enough fragmentation among the Party to allow McCain to be elected.

Obama has not been subjected to the kind of scrutiny that Hillary was during the Primaries, but WILL face a more microscopic dissection of his campaign and character after the convention in Denver. By allowing Clinton as his VP will allow unification enough to carry his campaign to a successful election in November. There is no other option, despite what the MSM is speculating, or what any pundit here on HuffPo may surmise.

[Rumba]

Of course what you have written is utter nonsense "No exceptions" indeed!
Unfortunately that inflexibility is the hallmark of the most virulent Hillary supporters. She lost fairly, ran up a $20 million dollar debt in an attempt to fulfill her Presidential obsession.
She and her attack dogs were virulent in their attacks against Obama. Remember their "elitist" charges, among the other falsehoods­?....Compl­etely laughable coming from a silver foot in her mouth candidate supported by her classmates from Yale and Harvard. Remember how Hillary was an attack dog for Barry Goldwater until she decided to follow Bill in his Democrat career and claim all of his experience as her own?
"No exceptions"? I believe that the Vice Presidential nominee is the choice of the President...No exceptions.
To have Hillary and Bill undermining his every move is so foolhardy I doubt that Obama would ever seriously consider it. He will choose a candidate whose experience compliments his own.
As for for the threats of the virulent supporters of Hillary threatening to vote for McCain, who is patently against all women's issues they fought for...that shows how their logic has been warped by the most divisive woman in American politics since the the horror show of Geraldine Ferraro.

[nonconformist2]

BO earned the nomination. The candidate who earns the nomination, also earns the right to choose his VP. If he chooses HRC? Fine. If he chooses someone else? Fine.

As for BO's character? He has already been put through the mill.

As for HRC already being vetted? Maybe. But there may be some serious skeletons in B.ill's closet that could easily hijack all media attention between now and the election. This is a big risk to take. Not to mention that B.ill is pouting like a two year old and refusing to support or endorse BO. Witness his last interview when he couldn't even bring himself to say that BO was "qualified" to be president. He has, sadly, turned into a loose cannon. The media would have a heyday with him.

[Bozwellian]

(ahem, there IS a legal mattering pending regarding Clintons in California...yet to fully ERUPTand scant attention to date on it )

[Mark99]

She doesn't WANT the VP slot. If she did, she would have stayed in the public spotlight and been active in Obama's campaigning. Instead she sulked in a corner. That said, HRC as VP would be a major mistake, as playing second-in-charge is neither her goal nor her style. Given the opportunity she would make every effort to be "co-president" and the administration would all but collapse from the fatigue she would cause it.

She's done. She lost. Deal with it.

[olivia]

It looked to me like the Clintons and their band all had their catharsis starting in Puerto Rico. There was a lot of drinking going on.

[Lu4PUMA]

Who are you kidding? The DNC already knows Obama has lost the election. He is struggling to maintain a 3 point lead over Old Man McCain and will not even start serioulsly campaigning until after Labor Day. Obama maintains just a slight lead over McCain and that is probably because the GOP is letting him. The GOP and McCain are building their resources together and hold similar cash on hand, more than the DNC/Obama combined.

Have you read the two new books that just came out about Obama? It is all comming out. That is just a sample.

The only reason Obama is still in the game is because he has control of the money. Obama’s got the cash while the DNC cannot even pay for the Convention. So he gets to be Convention Host, but if the Democrats want to win the presidential election, they better do something else and they know it.

Clinton has a right to be on the ballot for nomination and America needs her.

[reliant1]

If Clinton wants on the ballot - she can request it. No one is stopping her from making that request except herself. And she does have every right to make that request.

But you are not facing the hard reality - the DNC knows Obama has won. The 3 point lead you so happily spout is meaningless. A construct of the same evil media you blame for treating Clinton badly.

Right now - this morning - Obama has a solid 238 to 163 EV lead.

Add in the leaners and it is 322 to 216. (He's ahead in the leaners too)

McCain needs to keep every single one of his leaners - to still lose. To win he will have to turn some big - really big blue states- red. Which isn't going to happen. Period.

And neither party begins serious campaigning until after Labor Day - everybody knows that!

Personally, I hope she makes the request. I really hope she does. But I don't think she will.
Here's why:

Total delegate count - 2229.5 Obama and 1896.5 Clinton. SD's - 463 Obama and 257 Clinton.
Pledged delegates - 1766.5 Obama and 1639.5 Clinton.

2118 needed to win - she needs to turn about 220 delegates.

Over TWO hundred. Not going to happen but I'd like to watch it anyway.

The DNC will continue to support Obama. He's the winner.

[Lu4PUMA]

Clinton is behind Obama by only about 70 committed delegates. Since he won and was awarded those delegates, he has changed his position on numerous issues of national importance and it has been found out that he is not the "outsider/clean politician" that he represented himself as.

The superdelegates are supposed to vote in the best ineterests of their constituents. Since Obama changed, so can they.

[WFV]

Sure, she has the right to be on the ballot, so do you, so do I. So what.

More scare tactics from threatening supporters of the former candidate is not working to persuade me to support your ideas. Got anything new or positive to share?

[reliant1]

Why the ducking when it comes to the electoral vote lead? Why cite meaningless press polls?

And the debt - you never respond to that. You just wiggle around it. And claim America is calling for Hillary. When America isn't calling for her. An ever shrinking slice of her supporters call for her.


18 million voices/rise Hillary rise has OMG 133 members. NY City - 2568411 registered Dems.

and Central Jersey has 2 confirmed PUMAs for their next meet up.

Our next Meetup
Central Jersey Puma Meetup
Aug 12
2 Yes / 0 Maybe

If you can get 30,000 to the Convention you'll be doing great ( and half will be repubs filler).

PUMA is a shell. 18 million voices is a shell. Empty wishes.

[Lu4PUMA]

I am not sure what poll you are referring to. However, there are alot of resources put into polling because of their known effect on campaign donations and spending. Some polls may be accurate but not valid.

Also, look at what Obama is spending on advertising. Last time I looked it was 3X McCain. (opensecrsts.org) . The GOP saves thier resources for after LaborDay. That is mostly why Obama should have a 10-15% lead right now to expect to win in November.

There are over 200 PUMA/NoBama groups, the largest is around 2 million and the smallest mmay be 1. Best estimates of overall memeberships are 3 to 9 million.

[gwt301]

The golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules. And you thought elections were about the will of the "people?" Wow, who is the naive one?

[olivia]

That bobbing head makes me dizzy. How can she keep it up so long?

I don't trust her. She's not really supporting him.

[stringer]

Why?

That's not going to help anything.

Obama's already getting, what , 76% of her supporters (the sane ones.) Sure he needs more, but does anyone think this first-ballot nomination roll call is going to help at all? Give me a break.

Her sane supporters, who have questions (some legitimate, others not) will probably vote for Obama anyway. The PUMAs will never vote for him.

I've talked to her sane supporters. This would not help any. Does anyone think it will seriously garner him another single vote from them? Or the nutty ones?

Now putting her on the ticket (not an idea I favor, but whatever) THAT might or might not get him more of her supporters. But going through some fake, show first-ballot nomination won't change a single vote one or the other. Or make her the nominee. So again, what's the point?