Edwards'endorsement of Obama might shrink Hillary's FL delegate lead by one-third

[madfloridian]

An interesting aspect of Edwards'endorsement as pertains to Florida delegates.

Clinton's margin over Obama might shrink by one-third

WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton insists that counting Florida could still help her net the party's presidential nomination, but that net has developed some holes.

Sen. John Edwards' endorsement this week of Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination puts 13 Florida delegates in play, assuming the state's delegation is eventually seated at the party's convention.

If those delegates follow Edwards' lead and support Obama — and at least half already have decided to do so, according to a survey by the St. Petersburg Times — Clinton's margin over Obama would shrink by one-third, undermining one of her key arguments for remaining in the race.

Some more from the article which shows it might help negotiating between the candidates.

Some Edwards delegates say their support will make it easier for Obama and Clinton, along with the state and national parties, to reach a compromise for seating Florida's delegates.

"If the delegate count is more balanced, I think you're going to find more acceptance from everyone," said E. Alan Brock, 27, of Wakulla County, an Edwards' delegate and president of the Florida Young Democrats.

One interesting point in the article states that "counting Michigan and Florida gives Clinton a slight edge in the popular vote tally, though that's a little imprecise because in caucus states a solid figure for voter turnout is hard to come by."

I hope the resolution comes before the May 31 meeting. There is way too much tension in our area of Florida.

The tension is being fed by party leaders unfortunately, and it will be a relief for it to be over.

Four Polk County delegates to the Democratic Presidential Convention still don't know whether they will be seated and their votes counted in selecting their party's nominee. County party Chairwoman Nancy Simmons, who is not a delegate but who deals with the state party on almost a daily basis, said she fears voter anger over the Democratic National Committee's punishment of Florida at the convention could cost the party a win in Florida on Nov. 4.

Simmons says she has received numerous calls from registered Democrats who are "furious" that not all the delegates will count, and therefore their votes from the primary won't count.

A city commissioner helps spread the anger also.

Troller was more adamant about the need for Obama and the Democratic National Committee to let the delegates from the two punished states be counted. "If Florida and Michigan are not counted, the Democratic Party cannot win the presidency in November, and that blame will rest solely with (DNC Executive Director) Howard Dean, who is responsible for this mess. Some (registered Democrats) will stay home and some will cross party lines to vote (for McCain) out of spite," he said.

He knows that is not the truth. He is an intelligent man, and he should not say things like that.

The anger toward the national party and Dean would not be there if people were told the truth of what happened. Unfortunately many in the Clinton campaign are manipulating the issue.

For more than six minutes, (Bill)Clinton went through the timeline of how both states lost their delegates, and who was to blame. While he has made the case before, he placed new emphasis on it today, as it becomes clearer that seating the delegates from both states is one of the few remaining options to help Hillary Clinton defeat Obama.

“Hillary offered a revote in Michigan; we offered a revote in Florida,” Clinton said. “In both cases, the other campaign said, ‘Nope, no re-vote, we will just see what to do when this thing is over.’ Why would we put Michigan at risk and pretend that these people didn't show up and pretend that somehow she is responsible and the voters themselves are responsible and she should be punished for what intermediaries did?”

First off, let's get something straight. Howard Dean OFFERED the two campaigns a chance to have a revote. He even asked them to do so. He did NOT keep them from having a revote. Other entities stopped it.

Florida Democrats reversed course Monday and declared dead their plans to hold a do-over presidential primary to settle the dispute over whether their delegation to the national convention in Denver will be seated.

Karen Thurman, Democratic Party chair in Florida, announced the decision in an e-mail message Monday afternoon, saying thousands of people had responded negatively to her proposal for a vote-by-mail primary in early June.

"We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn't want to vote again," she wrote. "So we won't. A party-run primary or caucus has been ruled out, and it's simply not possible for the state to hold another election, even if the Party were to pay for it."

Maybe the endorsement by Edwards will play an unexpected role in Florida, by giving leverage in negotiating.

Maybe the leaders of the Democratic party in Florida will decide that it is time to heal, time to quit pushing the anger toward the national party which only enforced the rules.