Democrats Observe A Fragile Cease-Fire

Washington Post: Despite Clinton's Promise To Fight On, Both Sides Preparing To Bring Party Together For Race Against McCain

(Washingtonpost.com)  This column was written by Dan Balz.

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Sen. Barack Obama will return to Iowa tonight to celebrate another milestone in his long and sometimes bitter battle against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who shows no signs of dropping her effort to convince party leaders that she would be a stronger Democratic nominee for president.

But the reality is that both sides have declared an effective cease-fire as they prepare to bring the party together for a general-election campaign against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Obama (Ill.) has moved rapidly in the past 10 days to shift away from daily sparring with Clinton (N.Y.) and to begin a general-election debate with McCain that presents a fresh set of tests for his candidacy. His aides insist that he is mindful of doing nothing to suggest impatience with Clinton or to signal that she should end her candidacy before she is ready.

Clinton is soldiering on toward June 3 and the end of the primary season, and perhaps beyond, realistic about the seemingly insurmountable odds but far from giving up. Her campaign indicated yesterday that she would travel to Florida, probably tomorrow, to continue making her argument that the invalidated primaries there and in Michigan must be included to give the nomination process legitimacy. Adding the Florida and Michigan results would also move her closer to her goal of being able to claim an edge in the overall popular vote in the primaries.

But while she presses forward, aides say she is determined neither to be pushed from the race prematurely nor to be seen as doing anything to damage Obama's prospects of winning in November if he emerges as the nominee. Her campaign team believes that is the best way to bring the party together as quickly as possible once the nomination contest is over.

Her advisers say that a major reason she does not want to be pressured out of the race is that she believes it will be easier to bring her supporters over to Obama once the primaries are over if they think she was able to finish the nomination battle on her own terms.

Obama is favored to win the Oregon primary today, and Clinton is an even stronger favorite to win the Kentucky contest. But Obama will not celebrate primary night in either of those states. Instead, he has chosen to be in Iowa, where his victory in the caucuses in January turned the Democratic race upside down. There, at a rally in Des Moines, he is expected to declare that he has secured a majority of the pledged delegates currently eligible to attend August's Democratic convention in Denver.

Obama and his advisers insist the event will stop short of a declaration that he has won the nomination. But it will be seen as another signal to superdelegates to climb aboard his bandwagon as quickly as possible.

The celebration, however, has rankled the Clinton campaign and the candidate herself. They see it as a highhanded effort to embarrass her and to generate renewed calls from others in the party for her to quit the race before anyone has achieved a genuine majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates.

In a signal of how fragile the detente between the two sides is, the Clinton campaign sent out a tart memo yesterday under the name of communications director Howard Wolfson calling the Obama rally in Iowa "a slap in the face of millions of voters in the remaining primary states and to Senator Clinton's 17 million supporters." Then, in language tying the Obama campaign to the Bush White House, the memo continues: "Premature victory laps and false declarations of victory are unwarranted. Declaring mission accomplished does not make it so."

Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman, insisted that the Iowa rally would not be a declaration of mission accomplished. "Are we declaring that we've won the nomination? No." he said. But he called the expectation that Obama will secure a majority of the pledged delegates today "an important moment" that deserves a celebration.

The Clinton campaign memo would have been seen as commonplace a few weeks ago, when Obama and Clinton were in heated and often negative competition. Instead, the memo stood out -- in part because it represented a departure from the tone and rhetoric of her campaign since votes were counted in Indiana and North Carolina.

Those contests dramatically changed perceptions of the Democratic race, even though Clinton won, narrowly, in Indiana. Since then, Clinton has made significant adjustments in her campaign, all designed to signal to Obama that she recognizes the reality of where the Democratic race is heading.

She has stopped running negative ads and, on the stump, has dramatically reduced her criticism of Obama. Last week, when President Bush made comments about appeasement that were seen as critical of Obama, she might have chimed in to say that she, too, disagreed with statements by the senator from Illinois that he was prepared to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without conditions. Instead she, attacked the president and McCain.

A day after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, she was quoted as saying that Obama was having trouble winning the votes of "hardworking Americans, white Americans." The comment was seen as an effort to inject race into the Democratic campaign, but she quickly backed away from it, and that was the last time she said something critical of her rival that captured much in the way of headlines.

Obama advisers were highly irritated by her original comment, fearing that it was a sign that she would continue to hammer him all the way to the end of the race. Since then, they, too, have seen a change in the rhetoric. One Obama adviser noted yesterday that she has stopped attacking Obama for opposing a suspension of the gasoline tax during the summer and that former president Bill Clinton, campaigning over the weekend, had talked more of party unity than the differences between his wife and Obama.

But from Hillary Clinton's perspective, the Obama campaign should return the favor by being as generous to her, and to her desire to keep going until someone has clearly gained the delegates needed to win the nomination.

She suffered a major blow yesterday when Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) announced that he will support Obama, even though Clinton won his home state by 41 percentage points last Tuesday, has worked with him on a measure to de-authorize the Iraq war and has courted him repeatedly.

Clinton's desire to finish the campaign in a way she is comfortable with may explain the pique with which her aides responded to reports -- overblown, according to Obama advisers -- that tonight's rally will become a victory party for the Illinois senator. Although the Democratic race appears headed for a predictable outcome, the next few weeks could determine how rapidly and fully the party comes back together. Clinton and Obama both have to play their parts carefully.

[pepperwood2]

Is that her glasses or false teeth she''s holding up in the photo. CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE

[lordmi]

to RowdyTexas2 seems You are White, with dirty Black soul.
So You want to pay for clinton''s ice cream to add a bit to their 109 mlns?
Go ahead, She will spend it and still will be in debts. That is the way how she handle management and money (on top of other disabilities).
No investor will give her a cent, and you want to let her rule the country? To nowhere? For clintons prosperity?
It is impossible to create something more idiotic.
Go ahead, idiots!

[lordmi]

I do not trust a word this nasty woman said.
She acts and will against Obama, using all possible arguements twisting all facts.
She is running and lieing over and over and over.
This is the way, how she foll low-minded people.
This will go worse.
She will start hysterica on Convention, scandal, that nobody have ever seen.
Just watch.
Clintons - American Disgrace.
What happened to us? In any country person can not pretend on any public cervice office having an open lawsuit. Even small one office. Even very little clerk would not be alloweed to perfor the duties.
WHY there is such Candidate on the ballot??????
Where are we going to with this dirt?????

[pepperwood2]

Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., prior to the Governor''''s endorsement of Obama say she told him flatly, "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win."

Don''t you see, Bill - It''s not fair, I''m the Queen Bee & It''s suppose to be all about me. I''m just warming up. Show me more of your money. I''m in it to win it. I flatly dare you to support him. I don''t get mad I get even. Just so you know The feminists are all behind me and we will stop at nothing to further divide the Democratic Party just to keep Obama from winning the presidential election. So Sad, but what did we expect.

Richardson, who served in President Clinton''s cabinet, disagreed.

[riptide213]

Dear Citizens,

Thank you for giving America an optimistic chance.

Since you conclusively decided during the recent election campaign, I am very pleased to accept your nomination for President of the United States.

Thank you for this altruistic opportunity for me to turn words into deeds. Repeatedly citizens have made me aware of their understandable hankering for reform.

Your trepidations about government have been understood, loud and clear.

I am eager to bring tangible momentum to Washington and make positive contributions to our country and work with everyone for a less narcissistic government.

As promised, my message is one of hope and change.

I may not be perfect and could make some mistakes, but please accept the fact I am only human.

I am also conscientious and energetically ready to accept this challenge.

I look forward to starting in January 2009. If there are any issues we need worked prior to Election Day, please let me know. I will be the Peoples President.

Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

[aldon61]

Rowdy, better take your estrogen, that comment is low, even for you. You''re losing it!

[greatdrivew]

Like all other people, Senator Kennedy is imperfect.

However, unlike his GOP detractors, Kennedy has made a career out of helping the everyday person.

Whether its the Iraq war, health care, the environment, immigration or labor, Kennedy has consistently been on the right side of history.

So while Ted may be nearing the conclusion of his career, he will, with rare exception, always be a candidate of the future.

You can beat this Ted. You just need to fight like Hell. In the meantime, thanks for being one of the good guys!!

[jack3213]

"The celebration, however, has rankled the Clinton campaign and the candidate herself. They see it as a highhanded effort to embarrass her and to generate renewed calls from others in the party for her to quit the race before anyone has achieved a genuine majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates."

YOU MEAN TO SAY SHE ISN''T EMBARRESSED ALREADY? WOW, AMAZING THE LACK OF SELF REGARD SHE HAS EVEN FOR HERSELF- DO YOU THKNKSHE HAS ANY FOR YOU?!

[sgtrds-e4]

"Doctors say Sen. Edward Kennedy has brain tumor; condition discovered after he had seizure."

DA*MN IT!!!!

[realpatriot1]

Hillary has every right to finish out the Primaries and to make whatever arguments she wants to for continuing. I never wanted her to drop out early, I always just wanted her to raise the level of the smut.

She''s on the right path now and she and her supporters
should be treated with respect so long as they show some respect.

[sgtrds-e4]

Clinton is the ones who has ceased firing because Barack was never attacking her. However she''s gotten the message from the DNC higher ups. It''s over. The party has picked Barack and if she hopes to have any future in the democratic party every again then she needs to NOT attack him anymore and HNOT take the chance of doing any more Democratic inflicted damage to the party nominee. She''s falling into line like she''s supposed to.