Hillary nudges supporters towards Obama at DNC
Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama greets supporters at the Democratic National Convention 2008 at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado on Monday. The Democrats formally opened their convention to crown Barack Obama as the first black presidential election nominee.Photo: AFP
Hillary Rodham Clinton, formally abandoning her presidential dream for now, is urging her supporters in a fractured Democratic Party to do the same and line up behind the man who wrested the nomination from her grasp.
A year ago, Clinton was the front-runner, ahead of Barack Obama and the rest of the crowded Democratic field. Tuesday, with a prime-time address before the Democratic convention, she is effectively playing middlewoman passing a torch from her husband, the 42nd president, to Obama, who wants to succeed him as the next Democratic president.
But not without some Clinton-style political dealmaking and drama.
The Clinton and Obama camps agreed to limit Wednesday's divisive nominating process for president, allowing some states to cast votes for both Obama and Clinton before ending the roll call in an acclamation for the Illinois senator.
In one scenario, Clinton herself would cut off the voting and urge the unanimous nomination of Obama, according to Democratic officials involved in the negotiations. They discussed the deal on condition of anonymity while final details were being worked out.
But some Clinton delegates said they were not interested in a compromise, raising the prospect of floor demonstrations that would underscore the split between Obama and Clinton Democrats.
"I don't care what she says," said Mary Boergers, a Maryland delegate who wants to cast a vote for Clinton.
"There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this is Barack Obama's convention," Clinton told reporters. And yet, she said, some of her delegates "feel an obligation to the people who sent them here" and would vote for her.
As part of the deal, Obama and Clinton activists teamed up and circulated three petitions on the convention floor Monday night supporting Clinton, Obama and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Each needed 300 signatures.
Clinton said she wouldn't tell her backers how to vote, but she told them she would cast her own vote for Obama. "We were not all on the same side as Democrats, but we are now," she said.
The lineup for the second day of the convention features 11 governors and prominent House and Senate leaders. The convention's keynote address will be given by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a former supporter of Hillary Clinton's.
Comments