As Time Runs Short, Clinton Claims Lead in Popular Vote (2008)

[XemaSab]

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is entering the Kentucky and Oregon primaries on Tuesday with one of the most pugnacious political messages of her campaign: That she is ahead in the national popular vote when all votes are counted, including from the unsanctioned primaries in Michigan and Florida, and that party leaders who have a vote as super-delegates should reflect this level of appeal.

This argument is of a piece with Mrs. Clinton’s increasingly populist image, as a fighter on behalf of average people, but it is also a debatable claim: Most tallies of the national popular vote put Mr. Obama in the lead, especially when Michigan and Florida are not counted.

Mr. Obama has declared his own lead in the national vote and is solidly ahead in the overall delegate count, and he intends to use the results of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries to declare on Tuesday night that he has secured a majority of the pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses.

While that does not guarantee the nomination, his campaign argues that it is an important moment and crucial for superdelegates to consider as well.

Yet Mr. Obama does not plan to declare outright victory, his advisers say, because he does not want to appear to be pushing Mrs. Clinton out of the race. At this stage, his advisers say, he wants to treat her gracefully as a worthy Democratic fighter, not as a stubborn nemesis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/us/politics/19cnd-clinton.html

[pacalo]

1. Obama is leaps & bounds a classier person than she is -- any day of the week.

[eastwestdem]

2. This exactly proves the difference between 2008 and today. Hillary was leading in the popular vote.

Today, Sanders is not leading - or even close - in any parameter. He needs to stop saying that Hillary stayed in equally long under similar circumstances in 2008. Clearly circumstances were not similar.

[hedda_foil]

3. No, she was cheating even then.

Michigan and Florida primary votes were not included in the official tally because they broke the DNC rules and held their primaries before New Hampshire despite being told that if they went ahead with those dates their primary votes would not be included in the delegate totals. They were so firm about it that all the candidates removed their.names from those ballots ...all that is but.Clinton, who made noises acknowledging the ruling. So come election day, there's just one.name on the ballot for president. Guess who then insisted on counting those states in delegate totals.

And that is how she argued that she had more delegates than were officially allowed. This was during Dean's tenure as DNC chair, when rules were impartially observed.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. You need a new calendar.

[Demsrule86]

5. At the end though

She supported him completely...and Bernie has nothing...no popular vote...not enough delegates..nothing. She also had delegates that could not be seated in Michigan and Florida...punished by the DNC...And Bernie what kind of person is he? Not the person I once thought he was for sure: he is angry and spiteful.

[Bad Thoughts]

6. "he wants to treat her gracefully"

Great strategy.

[madokie]

7. Big difference between the two

for most of the last 7 years those of us who supported Obama have had to put up with a lot of shit from our fellow du members who were clinton supporters too. I remember this very well. I used to wonder why it was allowed here but now I know why that is.

Ms Clinton will never be a President of these United States of America. That fact can be taken to the bank as collateral
Nothing I'd love more than to see a woman President but she is not going to be that woman. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble but reality is reality