Related Posts with Thumbnails

Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Florida and Michigan Democratic parties got what they wanted today. It's time for unity -- and the pressure is on Clinton to let Democrats unite.

The Clinton era is over. They no longer control the Democratic party. Here is what Chuck Todd just said on MSNBC:

You know, there is a big thing we should be getting out of this party tonight, and that is the Democratic National Committee is not somehow controlled by the Clintons. Not by the Clinton campaign any more. We may have started this campaign believing that the Clinton campaign controlled, but this is Barack Obama's party now. He's already been winning the outside game, he now won the inside game. Yes it's true that Harold Ickes can threaten this stuff about the credentials, but Don Fowler really did signal today by being for the Michigan compromise that, "Guys, it's over."
Today, the leaders of the Democratic parties from Michigan and Florida came to the DNC's Rules Committee with proposals to end the dispute over their state delegations.

Both state parties got what they wanted. But not without a fight. The Clinton campaign decided to fight the Democratic leaders from Michigan and Florida. Both states proposed compromises that they could live with. The Clinton campaign objected, and the Clinton campaign lost.

It's over. This was Clinton's last, best hope. Today's meeting was the way the ultimate insider should win. But, Clinton and her ace insider, Harold Ickes, lost. There probably was a time when threats and curses from Harold Ickes, like he publicly offered today, intimidated people. Not anymore.

So, the new magic number for the nomination, according to Chuck Todd, is 2118 for Obama. Our presumptive nominee will reach that benchmark in the next three or four days. Here are the projections via Jed:
Chuck Todd's quick math is that Obama is now 65 delegates away. Less the 43 Todd predicts for the next three primaries, Barack would need just 22 delegates to hit the magic number. If he gets those before Tuesday, Montana will put him over the top. I'd bet heavily in favor of him getting all the superdelegates he needs to seal the deal on Tuesday evening.
After the Rules Committee voted, the always brilliant Rachel Maddow said, "The Clinton campaign is going to try to keep this unresolved." She's right. They can try. But, it's over. Florida and Michigan have been seated to their satisfaction. Hillary no longer speaks for them. Their states have spoken. We're going to have to watch to see if Hillary Clinton can now rise to the occasion -- or whether Clinton keeps up the drama and the gutter politics.

Clearly, most members of the DNC Rules Committee -- even many Clinton supporters -- want unity. The Democratic leaders in Michigan and Florida want unity. Most Democrats want unity. And, most of us want to win in November. That's the priority now. Going back to the anecdote we heard from Howard Dean this morning, how in 2004, Al Gore told him, "This is not about you, this is about your country." Who will say that to Hillary Clinton? And, will she listen?

blog comments powered by Disqus

Recent Archives