Chief
08-07-2008, 04:58 PM
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-uscamp0808,0,5954707.story
BY TOM BRUNE AND JANIE LORBER | tom.brune@newsday.com
6:07 PM EDT, August 7, 2008
WASHINGTON - Egged on by die-hard supporters, Hillary Rodham Clinton is giving every indication that she will not go quietly or meekly into the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month.
Even as she heads to Las Vegas Friday in her first solo trip to campaign for Obama, Clinton is holding out the prospect of a drawn-out nominating vote at the convention that experts say at best would be a distraction and at worst a disaster.
Though Barack Obama is to be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate in just three weeks, Clinton Thursday refused to say whether she'll demand that roll-call vote to highlight the delegates she won in the hotly contested primaries earlier this year.
Some experts say Clinton's action might stem from lingering hard feelings from the primaries, but others say she's probably just pressing her case in negotiations with the Obama camp.
Obama Thursday acknowledged that a roll-call vote, with Clinton's name placed in nomination next to his, is still in play for the convention, which opens Monday.
The vote is to be held on Wednesday, the day before Obama is to deliver his acceptance speech at Invesco Field.
"As is true in all conventions, we're still working out the mechanics, the coordination," Obama said Thursday. Asked if he's amenable to a roll call vote, he said, "I didn't say that."
In a Web chat Thursday, Clinton pointedly evaded a question from a supporter about whether her name should be placed in nomination.
"I know that there have been a lot of questions on this subject," Clinton replied. But her answer was, in effect, that she and Obama are working on it.
"I want to assure everyone we are working together with Senator Obama's campaign and the DNC," she wrote, "and I am confident we will have a successful and unified convention in Denver."
That echoed a joint statement Obama and Clinton put out Wednesday night after a video showed Clinton hinting a roll call vote might be useful.
"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,'" she said on the tape.
But Obama said, "I don't think we're looking for catharsis. I think what we're looking for is energy and excitement."
Clinton suspended her campaign June 7 after winning 18 million votes but trailing by 129 pledged delegates.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has given lukewarm support for Obama. Hillary backers are planning a march for her in Denver.
Hillary Clinton is expected to deliver the keynote address to the convention Tuesday.
"She's is definitely going to play a critical role in the convention," said Obama and convention aide Jenny Backus.
But the mood is reminiscent of 1980, when President Jimmy Carter and challenger Sen. Edward Kennedy ended a bitter primary fight with a convention roll-call vote, and Carter's loss in the election, experts say.
**SCHNIPP**
Gawd! Will this be fun to watch, or what??!!
mrgrn
BY TOM BRUNE AND JANIE LORBER | tom.brune@newsday.com
6:07 PM EDT, August 7, 2008
WASHINGTON - Egged on by die-hard supporters, Hillary Rodham Clinton is giving every indication that she will not go quietly or meekly into the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month.
Even as she heads to Las Vegas Friday in her first solo trip to campaign for Obama, Clinton is holding out the prospect of a drawn-out nominating vote at the convention that experts say at best would be a distraction and at worst a disaster.
Though Barack Obama is to be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate in just three weeks, Clinton Thursday refused to say whether she'll demand that roll-call vote to highlight the delegates she won in the hotly contested primaries earlier this year.
Some experts say Clinton's action might stem from lingering hard feelings from the primaries, but others say she's probably just pressing her case in negotiations with the Obama camp.
Obama Thursday acknowledged that a roll-call vote, with Clinton's name placed in nomination next to his, is still in play for the convention, which opens Monday.
The vote is to be held on Wednesday, the day before Obama is to deliver his acceptance speech at Invesco Field.
"As is true in all conventions, we're still working out the mechanics, the coordination," Obama said Thursday. Asked if he's amenable to a roll call vote, he said, "I didn't say that."
In a Web chat Thursday, Clinton pointedly evaded a question from a supporter about whether her name should be placed in nomination.
"I know that there have been a lot of questions on this subject," Clinton replied. But her answer was, in effect, that she and Obama are working on it.
"I want to assure everyone we are working together with Senator Obama's campaign and the DNC," she wrote, "and I am confident we will have a successful and unified convention in Denver."
That echoed a joint statement Obama and Clinton put out Wednesday night after a video showed Clinton hinting a roll call vote might be useful.
"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,'" she said on the tape.
But Obama said, "I don't think we're looking for catharsis. I think what we're looking for is energy and excitement."
Clinton suspended her campaign June 7 after winning 18 million votes but trailing by 129 pledged delegates.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has given lukewarm support for Obama. Hillary backers are planning a march for her in Denver.
Hillary Clinton is expected to deliver the keynote address to the convention Tuesday.
"She's is definitely going to play a critical role in the convention," said Obama and convention aide Jenny Backus.
But the mood is reminiscent of 1980, when President Jimmy Carter and challenger Sen. Edward Kennedy ended a bitter primary fight with a convention roll-call vote, and Carter's loss in the election, experts say.
**SCHNIPP**
Gawd! Will this be fun to watch, or what??!!
mrgrn