Forget the convention fight: McAuliffe says it's over by June 15

[BeyondGeography]

Of course, he also says the nomination will be Hillary's by then...

McAuliffe's Promise: It's Over By June 15

This past weekend, at a pre-party before the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, I spotted Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign. As always--at least as always in public--he was in an upbeat mood and greeted me heartily. So, I asked, when does this end?

"June 15," he said without a nanosecond of hesitation.

Why then? I asked. The primaries finish on June 3, he noted, and after that there will be pressure on the uncommitted superdelegates (who now number about 300) to commit to one candidate or another. It should not take too long for these undecided insiders to make up their minds and declare their intentions--even if there are some who would rather not choose between the two.

So all done by June 15? You won't contend the nomination contest beyond then? I asked.

"Oh, I'm confident we'll be the nominee," he said, smiling.

But, I added, on the night of the Pennsylvania election, you said, "We're going all the way to Denver." That suggested, I noted, that Clinton would not yield any time before then. Remarks like that, I continued, raise the prospect of a Clinton backroom operation aimed at winning over both superdelegates and pledged delegates in the weeks and months after the primaries.

"What do you expect me to say?" McAuliffe retorted. "I'm chairman of the campaign." Well, I suggested, you could have said, "We're going on to the next primaries and we're going to keep on winning." He didn't have to use the D-word. He shrugged.

So, I asked, I have a promise? June 15? "June 15," he said. You keep it alive beyond that, I noted, and it could be a nuclear war within the party. (In fact, even if McAuliffe and Clinton succeed by winning enough superdelegates in the 12 days after the primaries to trump Barack Obama's lead in pledged delegates, there still could be an intra-party apocalypse.) He didn't take the bait. "June 15," he repeated.

"Talk to you on the 16th," I said.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/davidcorn/2008/04/mcauliffes-promise-its-over-by.html

[tekisui]

1. It will be over by the end of June.

Obama will be the Nominee.

[TheWraith]

2. It could be over before that.

He's not that far from having enough superdelegates to clinch the nomination. In some math as little as 40, others as high as 60.

[City Lights]

3. And he also said it would be over on Super Tuesday.

Terry isn't what I'd call credible, but I agree that it's not going to the convention.