Clyburn Gets Off The Fence
MAJORITY WHIP BACKS OBAMA IN FULL-COURT PRESS TO END NOMINATING FIGHT
FITSNews - June 3, 2008 - On the day that Barack Obama is poised to declare victory in the seemingly interminable Democratic presidential primary, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has ended nearly two years of neutrality by publicly throwing his support behind the freshman Illinois Senator.
Clyburn’s endorsement is part of a full-court press by Democratic leaders to get Hillary Rodham Clinton - the once frontrunner - to drop out of the race.
We have no idea how to compute the confusing and constantly changing Democratic delegate math at this late stage of the race, but by all accounts Obama has an insurmountable lead and has garnered enough delegates to rightfully stake his claim to the nomination.
Clinton backers argue that she has won the most popular votes (some 17 million) and is the only Democrat who can beat GOP nominee John McCain in the fall, but those arguments haven’t translated into the prized “superdelegate” endorsements that she needed to have any chance of upsetting Obama.
Now the only question is when - and how - Clinton drops out.
Many say there are strong signals that it could happen as early as this week, but as of yet there appears to be no organized Kumbaya between the two rivals.
And even if Democrats hold the requisite “I love you, you love me” hand-holding photo op, it remains to be seen whether that will make a dent with white blue-collar voters who dislike Obama - and who hold the key to vital swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In fact, in any other year the Democratic divisiveness would be a tremendous opportunity for Republicans, but from the looks of it the Grand Old Party is poorly-positioned to sow those seeds, seeing as it, too, is rife with division.
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