Mar 30 2008
Obama says let her stay in
Obama: Let the Contest Continue Into June
Clinton / ObamaMany of his supporters may be growing impatient, but Sen. Barack Obama said today that he wouldn’t nudge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton out of the race.
“My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants,” Obama told reporters in Johnstown, Pa. “Her name’s on the ballot, and she is a fierce and formidable competitor, and she obviously believes that she would make the best nominee and the best president.”
He added, “I think that, you know, she should be able to compete and her supporters should be able to support her, for as long as they are willing or able.” And that could be into early June, through all 10 remaining primaries, Obama said. “We will have had contests in all 50 states plus several territories. We will have tallied up the pledged delegate vote, we will have tallied up the popular vote, we will have tallied up how many states were won by who, and then at that point I think people should have more than enough information to make a decision. ”
He downplayed the notion that an extended contest could bruise the eventual winner, to Republican Sen. John McCain’s advantage. “I think that the notion that the party’s been divided by this contest is somewhat overstated,” Obama said. “There’s no doubt that, among some of my supporters or some of her supporters, there’s probably been some irritation created. But I also think, every contest you’ve seen, in every state — huge jumps in Democratic registration, including independents and Republicans who are changing registration to vote in the Democratic primaries. You know, those are people who are now invested in what happens. And I think that bodes very well for us in November.”
Hey, he’s the one who is going to have to face John McCain and the Republican slime machine come fall. If he says her staying in it until June isn’t going to hurt him in November, then I say let her stay. He’s obviously a lot closer to the situation than I am (or you or you or you).
P.S. The states/territories yet to vote and the dates on which they will vote are:
Pennsylvania (April 22nd)
Guam (May 3rd)
Indiana (May 6th)
North Carolina (May 6th)
West Virginia (May 13th)
Kentucky (May 20th)
Oregon (May 20th)
Montana (June 3rd)
South Dakota (June 3rd)
Puerto Rico (June 7th)
Update: It now appears that the nomination will most likely not be decided in June. Mrs. Clinton says she plans to stick around until the convention in August. “Clinton Vows To Stay in Race To Convention.” She wants the invalid primaries in Florida and Michigan to be “resolved.”
I’m going to now do something for which you may thank me later. I am going to resolve the Florida and Michigan primaries. Barack Obama wins all delegates from both states. Resolved. (That’s about as “valid” as it’s going to get. Sue me.) Can we move on now, please?
