Obama: No victory declaration Tuesday

[DeepModem Mom]

Politico: Obama: No victory declaration Tuesday
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 5/19/08


Barack Obama looks out on a sea of supporters at a campaign rally on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, Ore., May 18, 2008. (AP)

MILWAUKIE, Ore. — Concerned about appearing presumptuous or antagonistic towards Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama will not declare victory in the Democratic nomination fight Tuesday in the event he wins enough pledged delegates to claim a majority. Rather, he'll tiptoe right up to the line, without explicitly asserting the race is over. While it may sound like an exercise in hair-splitting, the conscious decision not to declare victory is a revealing measure of the sensitivity surrounding overtures that appear to disrespect Clinton and her supporters.

It's also a reflection of the Obama campaign’s supreme confidence in the delegate math at this juncture — the campaign now appears secure enough in its commanding position that it no longer feels compelled to declare victory in an attempt to marginalize Clinton.

That marks a departure from the stance the Obama campaign took after his blowout win in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana May 6. An Obama senior adviser, who asked that his name be withheld to speak candidly, told Politico the next day: "On May 20, we're going to declare victory."...

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Obama aides have spent the last week trying to reverse the perception that he will declare victory May 20 — saying instead that he will simply recognize a milestone — in an attempt at message-shifting that underscores the sensitive nature of this phase of the campaign....

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Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the senator will campaign in the two remaining primary states and perhaps Puerto Rico — a move that contradicts suggestions that he views the race as over.

At the heart of the bid to steer reporters from the he-will-declare-victory narrative is a recognition that Clinton, who trails by a historically small margin, claims millions of supporters who don’t want her unceremoniously pushed out of the race. And the Democratic party views its chances in November as dependent upon its ability to reunite these opposing camps....

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0054762E-3048-5C12-00C401601B73AC69

[MrModerate]

1. Hugely encouraging. Lest we forget . . .

Obama (and a lot of his campaign staff) have never run for president before. They continue to learn, to get better at the job, to handle the nuance, etc., etc.

McLame continues to stumble from pothole to low-hanging branch to tripwire to . . . the abyss?

All the electoral math (i.e., "How will Obama get to 270") will be meaningless if McLame continues his downward spiral and Obama gets *more* capable and *more* inspiring and *more* competent.