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Clinton wins Puerto Rico, goes after Obama superdelegates
> Should Hillary Clinton get out of the presidential race?
Monday, June 02, 2008
RAPID CITY, S.D. — As Barack Obama turns to concentrate on his general election challenge, his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton is mounting a last ditch campaign to stay relevant in what is left of the Democratic presidential contest.
The former first lady enters this week with an insurgent strategy not only to win over undecided superdelegates but to peel away Obama's support from those party leaders and elected officials who already have committed to back him for the nomination.
Extras
"One thing about superdelegates is that they can change their minds," she told reporters aboard her campaign plane Sunday night.
Obama displays no signs of worry, pivoting toward his new contest with Republican John McCain and responding to Clinton with a shrug. And some of Clinton's own backers are saying the time is near for her to fall in behind him.
Obama, campaigning in Mitchell, S.D., confidently predicted Clinton "is going to be a great asset when we go into November."
"Whatever differences Senator Clinton and I may have, those differences pale in comparison to the other side," he said.
South Dakota and Montana, which hold primaries on Tuesday, are the last Democratic nominating contests. Obama is favored in both states and he goes into them with 2,069 delegates, 47 away from the number now needed to secure the nomination. Clinton has 1,915.5 delegates.
Obama has made up most of the ground he lost Saturday when the national party's rules committee agreed to reinstate delegates from Michigan and Florida. The party had initially refused to seat the delegates as punishment for scheduling their contests in violation of party rules.
With 31 delegates at stake Tuesday, Obama could close the gap further and cue undecided superdelegates to come to his side.
But Clinton argues she now leads in the popular vote — a debatable point given that she relies on Michigan and Florida outcomes. None of the candidates campaigned in either state and Obama received no votes in Michigan because he removed his name from the ballot. Clinton also continues to present herself as better able to confront McCain in the fall.
She and her campaign's national chairman, Terry McAuliffe, both made it clear Sunday night that Obama's supporters were now fair to pluck with those arguments.
To drive the point home, Clinton invited Virgin Islands superdelegate Kevin Rodriguez, a recent convert, to travel with her to South Dakota where she planned to campaign Monday. Rodriguez had initially supported Clinton, switched to Obama, and recently returned to her camp.
"This has been such an intense process," she said, "I don't think there has been a lot of time for reflection. It's only now that we're finishing these contests that people are going to actually reflect on who is our stronger candidate."
Her decision, if prolonged, is not likely to sit well with party leaders and some of her own supporters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have both called on the contest to end shortly after the final primaries.
Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor and a national co-chairman of Clinton's campaign, said Sunday: "It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee. After Tuesday's contests, she needs to acknowledge that he's going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him."
Eager to make amends for avoiding Michigan's primary and build general election support, Obama on Monday planned to hold a town hall meeting on the economy in Troy, Mich.
Clinton, meanwhile, said she was still contemplating whether to challenge the decision by the Democratic Party's rules committee to split the Michigan delegates 69-59 in her favor. Each delegate would have a half vote. The agreement granted Obama 55 uncommitted Michigan delegates and four who would have been assigned to Clinton based on the state's results.
McAuliffe Sunday night called the panel's judgment "outrageous."
"People are angry," he said. "This does not unify our party, this crazy, cockamamie thing they came up with in Michigan."
Here in South Dakota, Clinton pressed on against the odds.
In a campaign trail reunion usually reserved for election nights, she was to join former President Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, at her last Monday event in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Associated Press Beth Fouhy in Washington D.C. contributed to this story.
Comments
By kim
June 2, 2008 10:50 AM | Link to this
LKS, the anti-christ has already been in the White House the last 8 years.
By c dean
June 2, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this
I am shocked at the ways that my party find to lose elections.Obama or clinton will lose in the fall.Clinton has to much baggage{hope that is spelled right}and obama can not carry the blue collar vote.I think the republicans have crossed over to get obama where he is so they can have a cake walk in the fall.Clinton for vp?She would be just running for his job for 4 years.She did it to Bill especially the last 4 years.We as democrats are in dire straights.It is going to be interstring .
By Boog
June 2, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this
Yep! The song is over. The rest is just wishful thinking.
By Jim
June 2, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
Do we really want more scandals like: Vince Foster, Travel gate, Marc Rich, Cattle futures, White water, taking items from the White House, the health care debacle, Peter Franklin Fundraiser, etc, etc….. I can’t believe anyone is voting for her to begin with. It just proves what short memories the American public has. Harold Ickes who is now arguing for full Fla and Mich votes, is the same person who argued against it several months ago. Her and her team are nothing but flip artists.
By LKS
June 2, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
No she should stay in. Obama is NO GOOD. he has not even finished his first term as a senator and I want him as our president. I don’t think so, this man has no respect for Israel and says he will pull our troops out NO MATTER what our field commanders say. I have a brother in Irag and he says the military is making progress and they want nothing to do with Obama. What is the american people thinking. He could be the antichrist that revelations speaks about.
By Neonmoon
June 2, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
Sean, Hillary Clinton does NOT represent me. She represents liberal, progressive women. There is very little if anything upon which I would agree with her. Words mean things. Please do not use the term “every woman”. I don’t even respect her.
By Steve C
June 2, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
Like I SAID!!!! ONLY she can win!!! over McCaine!!!!!!! NOT obama, He would never get the popular democratic and republican cross over votes as she will!!
By BYBYEHILLARY
June 2, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
YES LEAVE, YOURE NO GOOD. WHAT KIND OF WOMEN DOESNT LEAVE A CHEATIN MAN.
By Tito Jackson
June 2, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this
Lets gets real here!! The only reason Hillary has not dropped out is because she loaned herself 11 million dollars. If she was to drop out she could no longer accept donations and there fore could not re-coupe the money. She knows that she can’t win, so her only reason for not dropping out is for personal reasons.
By Phyllis
June 2, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
Hillary should stay in to the end of the primaries. She is a very intelligent candidate. If she can’t pull out a win, Obama should make her VP for the sake of the Democrat Party.
By don
June 2, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
Clinton must get out any normal wife would have LEFT BIll, She is in this for herself and will use his status to get what she wants. For me it is Obama and I am Republican. McCain will be second choice.
By Linda
June 2, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
The Clinton’s are trying to damage the Democratic party so bad she will argue that she must be on the ticket in order for the Democrats to win the election. Some Obama supporters don’t want the Clinton’s in office again and those who don’t may turn to McCain rather than vote Clinton in office even as a VP. It seems the Democrats are bound to lose the election one way or another. Hillary needs to go! Now!
By Chris
June 2, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this
Keep on running Hillary…. We love you baby.
By Victoria
June 2, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
If Hillary becomes the nominee..I will have two options. NOT Vote, or Vote MCCAIN. Hillary is a slime ball and I could never vote for her. She is a liar and only wants whats best for herself, not the American people!
By Joe
June 2, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
Well, it’s obvious that Daniel waves a confederate flag and dons a KKK outfit on the weekend. Get a grip loser!!!!!!
By Doug
June 2, 2008 8:05 AM | Link to this
Steve and Shawn, It’s democrats like you that may help McCain win the race. Get on board with Obama, or you will enjoy four more years of Bush policies. Awake up now!!!!
By daniel
June 2, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this
no!!!!! we sure dont want a big known racist and a friend of alot of terrorist !!!! if obama was white they would have thrown he out from running!!!!! if a white went to a church that hates blacks as his does they would have made the white get out!!!! why do they bend over backwards for the blacks ??????????????
By Tom
June 2, 2008 7:56 AM | Link to this
Who cares? Go McCain!!
By Shawn
June 2, 2008 7:45 AM | Link to this
No, she should not get out of the race. She represents every woman in America and staying in for the “long haul” is the right thing to do. She has had my vote from day 1.
By Jason E
June 2, 2008 7:36 AM | Link to this
Of course she should get out! It is becoming clearer day after day that she stays in this that she is only interested in her personal agenda. If she is as the best person to defeat McCain then why is she having such a hard time winning the primaries? And about this whole populuar vote issue, what some people are not realizing is tha she is counting Florida and Michigan and is not giving Obama any credit in MI since there is no true way in knowing.Her time to run was in 04, sorry Hil. Obama 08!!!
By Steve C
June 2, 2008 7:25 AM | Link to this
No Way, should Hillary get out of the race!!!! She will win over McCaine. Obama will lose to him..