All over but the crying

[northhunter]

Clinton set to concede delegate race to Obama

2008-06-03 11:04:46
By BETH FOUHY Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.
The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.
Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.
The advisers said Clinton has made a strategic decision to not formally end her campaign, giving her leverage to negotiate with Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her. She also wants to press him on issues he should focus on in the fall, such as health care.
Universal health care, Clinton's signature issue as first lady in the 1990s, was a point of dispute between Obama and the New York senator during their epic nomination fight.

I'm suprised she stayed with it as long as she did. I almost admire her determination.

[kinggovernor]

This isn't necessarily the end of her campaign. The DNC meeting over the weekend was a complete undemocratic sham and she should fight it, if nothing but for principle.

[northhunter]

You may be right. CNN is quoting the Clinton camp as "absolutley not" prepared to concede.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton's is "absolutely not" prepared to concede the race for the Democratic presidential nomination to Sen. Barack Obama, her campaign chairman said.
Sen. Hillary Clinton trails Obama by 159 delegates and is 201 delegates shy of capturing the nomination.




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Terry McAuliffe rejected as "100 percent" incorrect an Associated Press report that Clinton is preparing to acknowledge that Obama has the delegates to win the nomination Tuesday night as the five-month Democratic primary process comes to a close.
Obama "doesn't have the numbers today, and until someone has the numbers the race goes on," McAuliffe told CNN.
Clinton continues to fight Obama in the Democratic primary season. Some 61 contests over six months will end Tuesday as Montana and South Dakota hold primaries. Watch McAuliffe say the 'race goes on' »
Only 31 pledged delegates are at stake in those two contests.
Obama is just 42 delegates shy of the 2,118 now needed to clinch the nomination. There are not enough pledged delegates at stake in Montana and South Dakota to put Obama over the top, but a rush of endorsements by the remaining undeclared "superdelegates" could allow him to claim victory when he takes the stage in Minnesota Tuesday evening.
Superdelegates are the approximate 825 Democratic governors, members of Congress, and party officials who each get to vote in the delegate nominating process. Around 200 of them have yet to endorse either Obama or Clinton.
In a bit of symbolism, Obama will spend Tuesday night at a rally at the Excel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the same arena which will house the 2008 Republican National Convention in September. Clinton will spend the night at an campaign event in New York City. What she will say is the question of the night. iReport.com: See what cartoonists think of the interminable race
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Obama is looking more and more toward a likely general election matchup with John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. And while not taking anything for granted, it appears he's starting to look at Clinton as less of a rival and more as an important ally who can help him win in November.
"We're getting very close to the number that will, that will give us the nomination and if we've hit that number on Tuesday night, then we will. We will announce that and I think even if we don't, this is the end of the primary season, and I think it's very important for us to focus on the clear contrast that's going to exist between Democrats and Republicans in this election," Obama said this weekend while campaigning in South Dakota.
"Sen. Clinton is an outstanding public servant, she has worked tirelessly on this campaign, she has been a great senator for the state of New York and she is going to be a great asset when we go into November to make sure that we defeat the Republicans," Obama said on the campaign trail Sunday in South Dakota, adding Monday in Michigan that "she and I will be working together." Watch Obama vow the party will come together after the primary »
Clinton's road to capturing the nomination is much longer and more difficult. She trails Obama by 159 delegates and is 201 delegates shy of capturing the nomination. Her main shot at winning now appears to depend on a mass wave of superdelegate support, which seems unlikely. See what's next for Clinton »
Clinton's been making the case for weeks now that she's ahead in the popular vote in the primaries and caucuses to date. Much of this argument hinges on how Michigan's disputed primary is counted. If Obama is awarded no votes, since his name wasn't on the ballot, Clinton leads by 194,000 in the popular vote count. If Obama is awarded the 40 percent who voted uncommitted in the primary, he's ahead of Clinton by 45,000 votes in the overall count. Watch Clinton outline her optimism »
"The Clinton campaign is making every effort to convince superdelegates she is the best qualified and most electable Democrat to take on John McCain in November. The problem for Clinton is that it seems a little bit too late for her argument to stick even if these superdelegates did embrace her assertion that she is the leader in the popular vote," said Mark Preston, CNN political editor.




CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reported that "only a handful of people at the inner core of the Clinton campaign knows what she's thinking about doing when Tuesday's dust settles, adding that "those who have been with her since nearly the beginning are saying she will not push this into the convention. As one close Clinton supporter put it, she's acutely aware of her place in the party. She will not ruin the party."
Clinton scored a large victory Sunday in Puerto Rico's primary. It could be a different story in Montana, where Obama is ahead in the most recent polls. Obama campaigned in the state late last week, before stumping over the weekend in South Dakota. Clinton spent Monday in South Dakota. A new poll out Monday in that state puts Clinton up by double digits. But regardless of the results, Tuesday night is much more about the big picture than about who won which primary.

[thewise1]

I was halfway waiting for a third party announcement I still almost am

[JaJae]

Well, Obama is expected to receive a swarm of superdelegates to put him over the magic number today.

A tsunami of superdelegates is poised to rush to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over the next 12 hours, giving him a mathematical lock on his party’s presidential nomination.

The superdelegate surge is likely to swamp a few holdouts within the camp of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) who have been resisting a prompt concession.

Even if she argues it And gets more votes from MI/FL I don't think it would help her once Obama meets the magic number and she doesn't. She only picked up 35 delegates from MI/FL. Even if you gave her 100% of the vote in both MI and FL it would only give her an additional 35 delegates. And then even if you use her warped logic and remove all delegates from Obama from MI she would only pick up another 60 delegates. So in other words, best case scenario if they gave FL/MI 100% vote value and removed Obama from gaining delegates in MI, Hillary would only pick up 95 delegates which would still leave her shy 50 delegates from Obama... not counting the swarm he's expected to get tonight. Her campaign was done weeks ago. She's just getting obnoxious now.

[JaJae]

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

Obama is 40 delegates shy of clinching the nomination, but he is widely expected to make up the difference Tuesday with superdelegate support and votes in South Dakota and Montana. Once he reaches the magic number of 2,118, Clinton will acknowledge that he has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee.

The party will send 796 superdelegates to the convention in Denver, and most of them have already committed to Obama. The ones who haven't committed to him or to Clinton have various reasons.

For Superdelegates, 'Huge Relief' at End of Primary Season

After tonight all the states would have voted and Obama is likely to take the nomination.

[JaJae]

Even some of her biggest feminist supports are telling her it's time.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Major Hillary Clinton supporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday the final primaries mark a “moment of truth” for the New York senator, who should end her campaign.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Clinton backer Feinstein says it’s time to end « - Blogs from CNN.com

In reality her campaign was defeated in March. The result we see today was just the inevitable.

[kinggovernor]

its interesting that Obama wrapped up the nomination coming in on a whimper, he won the race in February but ever since the "bitter" comment and Rev. Wright Hillary has been on a winning streak

[7960]