What led to Clinton's decision? Reports say it was her supporters' urging

[Douglas Carpenter]

What led to Clinton's decision? Reports say it was her supporters' urging

link: http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/06/what-led-to-cli.html

Please go to this article and take this poll:

Should Barack Obama ask Hillary Rodham Clinton to be his vice presidential running mate?

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/06/what-led-to-cli.html



• Ben Smith at The Politico -- "Clinton had convened a conference call with congressional supporters Wednesday to plead for time. Instead, a Clinton backer said, her supporters laid down the law: Time had run out , and she needed to leave the race this week."

• CBS News -- "On the telephone call with impatient House supporters, Clinton was urged to draw a close to the contentious campaign, or at least express support for Obama. Her decision to acquiesce caught many in the campaign by surprise and left the campaign scrambling to finalize the logistics and specifics behind her campaign departure."

• USA TODAY -- "Top party officials, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, released a pointed statement saying that 'Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. "

• The New York Times' The Caucus blog -- "Her decision came after a day of conversations with supporters on Capitol Hill about her future now that Mr. Obama had clinched the nomination."

• The Los Angeles Times -- "She made the decision after reaching out to donors and supporters from Congress and unions who urged the action for the sake of party unity."

• Chicago Tribune -- "Several of Clinton's supporters, notable among them Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, were critical Wednesday of the tone of Clinton's speech after the conclusion of primaries Tuesday, and a flood of Democratic superdelegates pledged their support to Obama, leaving Clinton with limited options."


link:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/06/what-led-to-cli.html

[dkf]

1. Close campaign advisors called congressional members and asked them to intervene.

I must admit, hearing that kind of floored me.

[lligrd]

2. Intervention And A Realization That The VP Was Slipping Away

too. I hope it slipped completely away.

[Boz]

3. Mondale.

That signaled an inner circle broke and was going to be as destructive as a levee failing.

That came directly on the heels of 66 supers yesterday, half of which were considered by the Clinton Campaign as solid in their column through the convention. She essentially got beheaded after the liberator made it through the gates and people she thought were loyal, because she had them under iron control, finally broke the shackles.

Loyalty can not be forced it is earned, that was her downfall.

[Honeycombe8]

4. Conf. call w/23 key supporters, incl. Rangel...it was more than "urging."

They more or less told her that they had to be released to endorse Obama. If she didn't release them, they'd be forced to endorse him by Friday. So for her own dignity, she needed to withdraw now rather than later, so everyone could focus on the GE.

Rangel said, per reports, that he'd committed himself to support Hillary "until the end." The problem is, he said on TV, when IS the end? When is it coming? What will end it?

The party leaders and her key supporters had not been told that she would not concede Tuesday night. And that fact, plus the things she said in the speech, and McAuliffe introducing her as "the next President of the United States" angered the big whigs big time.

So they gave her a day, and then brought her into reality.

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. one kick for the next shift