WP, pg1: Clinton Resists Calls To Drop Out

[DeepModem Mom]

Clinton Resists Calls To Drop Out
Dean Says Nomination Should Be Set by July
By Anne E. Kornblut and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 29, 2008; Page A01

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed back hard yesterday against calls for her to withdraw from the presidential race, with aides saying she remains more determined than ever to remain in the contest until the end of the primary season.

Allies of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) have sought to increase pressure on Clinton (N.Y.) to drop out of the race in recent days, arguing that, because of his lead in pledged delegates, her only path to the Democratic nomination lies in a divisive campaign that drags to the party's convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday offered what may have been the starkest challenge to Clinton from a prominent Obama supporter, saying in an interview with Vermont Public Radio that she should avert a potentially bloody and ultimately futile battle by stepping aside.

Uncommitted Democratic leaders also stepped up their demands for a speedy resolution to the fight, arguing that the party cannot afford to be distracted from targeting the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, in a round of television appearances, sought to calm increasingly anxious Democrats by setting a target date of July 1 for concluding the nominating process....

The internal Democratic tumult over the battle, now in its 14th month, is the latest challenge for Clinton. Her best hope for victory lies in extending the process until she can overtake Obama in the popular vote. She hopes to make strides in the 10 remaining contests, the biggest of which are Pennsylvania on April 22 and Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.

Yet since winning the mega-prize state of Ohio on March 4, Clinton has given no signal that she is considering dropping out. Campaign advisers said the pressure has only hardened her resolve and has created a backlash among supporters who feel she is being unfairly attacked. To counter the impression that Clinton is prolonging the race, her campaign has begun describing what they say is a pattern of trying to force her to "the sidelines" every time she appears on the verge of victory. In an e-mail to her supporters, Clinton asked: "Have you noticed the pattern?"...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803573.html?nav=hcmodule

[AX10]

1. Leahy can go to hell!

[John Q. Citizen]

3. I guess you don't agree with his analysis. So you hate him!

[AX10]

4. No. Too many have been beating up on her from..

day one and that includes much of the party. I am not going to stand for this crap.

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Pointing out her chances are very low is "beating up on?" So if I said Hill's chances are slim, I'd

be beating up on Hill?

Wow, she's so fragil.

[tularetom]

5. What goes around comes around

The klintons have crapped on their supporters for ten years while they enriched themselves and spent time rubbing elbows with poppy bush and weaseling their way into the corporate and financial elite. Now they fucking whine about "loyalty".

You are correct - they can kiss my loyal ass.

[Lautremont]

2. Some will say she's gone completely b'kaw. (nt)

[jgraz]

8. The preferred term is "Koo-koo for CocoaPuffs"

[Benhurst]

6. As I recall, Edward Kennedy was trailing by almost 1,000 delegates

when he took his fight for the nomination to the floor of the convention in 1980.

:shrug:

Is Senator Obama such a weak candidate he can't run the full primary course to its finish and go on to successfully challenge the likes of John McCain? I don't he is; but obviously many of his strongest supporters harbor such doubts about his electability .

[jgraz]

7. And that worked out GREAT for the party, didn't it?

:eyes:

[Benhurst]

9. The current primary is a virtual tie, especially given the crazy and

contradictory systems under which the elections are held and the delegates distributed, sometimes awarding more "elected" delegates to the loser than the winner.

Kennedy was nowhere close to Carter when he made his challenge, but was nonetheless entitled to do so.

In the end, Carter was brought down by the hostage crisis (with Ted Koppel sounding off every night on what was to evolve into Nightline, "Day X of The Hostage Crisis") and would, if the Republicans hadn't conspired with Iranians to delay the release of the hostages, probably have won. 2000 wasn't the first presidential election to fall victim of the Bush Crime Family's machinations.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. So, you believe chaos and infighting are good for the party? We lost in 1980.

And Ted became unelectable for President.

So Hill continuing may have a silver lining (end of Hill) with a high price to pay; McCain.