Richard Tafoya
May 8th, 2008, 10:22 AM
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign9-2008may09,0,1443049.story
As talk swirled this morning over when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton should end her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, her campaign chairman predicted the party would have a presumptive nominee in June and, if it's not Clinton, she would campaign for Sen. Barack Obama.
The comments by Terry McAuliffe seemed aimed at persuading superdelegates and Democratic Party leaders that Clinton would not hurt party unity by pressing her campaign through the final June 3 primaries in Montana and South Dakota.
"She can win the states we need to win in the general election," McAuliffe said on NBC's "Today" show. "Until there is a nominee with the number of necessary delegates, why should she get out?"
Obama, meanwhile, was spending the morning on Capitol Hill wooing superdelegates even as he picked up a significant new supporter -- David Bonior, 2008 campaign manager for John Edwards, who has yet to endorse either of his rivals for the Democratic nomination.
In a statement released through the Obama campaign, Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan, described Tuesday as "a critical moment in this race," with Obama winning North Carolina by a wide margin and narrowly falling to Clinton in Indiana.
"Because Barack Obama continues to run a positive campaign that focuses on the issues that matter to ordinary Americans, he has won a commanding lead in this race, and I believe he can and will defeat John McCain in November," Bonior said. "Now is the time to unite behind Barack Obama so we can end business as usual in Washington and fulfill our moral obligation to America's hardworking families."
Late Wednesday, former President Carter said Democratic superdelegates should back whichever candidate won the most states, votes and delegates -- which right now is Obama.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign9-2008may09,0,1443049.story
As talk swirled this morning over when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton should end her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination, her campaign chairman predicted the party would have a presumptive nominee in June and, if it's not Clinton, she would campaign for Sen. Barack Obama.
The comments by Terry McAuliffe seemed aimed at persuading superdelegates and Democratic Party leaders that Clinton would not hurt party unity by pressing her campaign through the final June 3 primaries in Montana and South Dakota.
"She can win the states we need to win in the general election," McAuliffe said on NBC's "Today" show. "Until there is a nominee with the number of necessary delegates, why should she get out?"
Obama, meanwhile, was spending the morning on Capitol Hill wooing superdelegates even as he picked up a significant new supporter -- David Bonior, 2008 campaign manager for John Edwards, who has yet to endorse either of his rivals for the Democratic nomination.
In a statement released through the Obama campaign, Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan, described Tuesday as "a critical moment in this race," with Obama winning North Carolina by a wide margin and narrowly falling to Clinton in Indiana.
"Because Barack Obama continues to run a positive campaign that focuses on the issues that matter to ordinary Americans, he has won a commanding lead in this race, and I believe he can and will defeat John McCain in November," Bonior said. "Now is the time to unite behind Barack Obama so we can end business as usual in Washington and fulfill our moral obligation to America's hardworking families."
Late Wednesday, former President Carter said Democratic superdelegates should back whichever candidate won the most states, votes and delegates -- which right now is Obama.