WASHINGTON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the final
three primaries in June, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are facing a
high stakes contest Saturday as a Democratic party panel decides whether to
reseat the Florida and Michigan delegates.
The Democratic National Committee
(DNC)'s rules and bylaws panel is set to begin a day-long meeting in Washington
Hotel at 9:30 a.m.
Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama hosts a discussion on home ownership at the College
of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas, Nevada May 27, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
It was dubbed "Decision Day" as it was seen as
pivotal not only to the two states, but to the party's presidential nomination
race that has lasted for almost five months.
On its website, the DNC has warned against any
banners, signs, handouts or noisemakers, but supporters of seating Florida and
Michigan delegates are still planning to stage rallies outside the hotel.
Longtime dispute
A total of 368 delegates should have been yielded
from the two populous states, but they were overridden, as the state Democratic
parties violated the DNC's rules by moving forward their primary dates ahead of
Super Tuesday on Feb. 5.
Although the decision was made at the end of last
year without opposition from any presidential candidate, Clinton, as an
exception, was actively involved in the two primaries.
In Michigan, Clinton was the name
on the voting ballot, while other rivals removed their names to show their
agreement with the DNC's decision. In Florida, no candidates were allowed to
campaign in the state, while the New York senator appeared at a "thank-you"
party after its primary.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate
Sen. Hillary Clinton waits to be presented at a campaign event at Casa
Cuba in San Juan May 25, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Since she won Michigan with 55 percent of the votes
and beat Obama in Florida with 50 percent to 33 percent, Clinton and her
campaign have pushed for reseating full delegates of the two states at the
national convention in Denver, Colorado, in late August.
However, the DNC and the two state parties failed to
reach an agreement on redoing primaries and other options.
In view of the slim chance that Clinton can overtake
Obama before the primary season ends, her supporters and the two states'
Democratic parties have launched the second round of efforts to make their votes
counted.
Obama's campaign, on the other hand, found themselves
caught in the dilemma between maintaining their upper hand and appeasing voters
of the two states that are key to the November general elections, and said they
are willing to cede some delegates to Clinton, but not all of them.
Indecisive
"decision day"
Clinton's hope on "Decision Day" was diminished as
DNC lawyers ruled Wednesday that Florida and Michigan must forfeit at least half
of their delegates, 187, as punishment for their violation of the party's rules.
Some analysts even considered the DNC's decision on
"Decision Day" as not decisive to the presidential nomination race since Obama
has 1,981 delegates, only 45 short of the 2,026 needed to secure his nomination.
Clinton is lagging behind with 1,782 delegates, according to CNN's statistics.
Mathematically, no matter how large a share Clinton
gets from the 187 delegates, she can hardly change her current situation as the
No. 2 candidate.
But some other analysts said that if Saturday's
ruling is favorable to Clinton, it would help reduce Obama's delegate advantage
and bolster her argument to uncommitted super delegates taken by the party's
elected officials and senior members that she, winning a majority of popular
votes, should be in a better position to win in November.
Post-primary season fight
The Democratic nominating battle has only three
primaries left, in Puerto Rico Sunday and in Montana and South Dakota Tuesday,
which Obama's campaign already sees as their victory day.
It is still uncertain if Clinton will concede after
Obama collects 2,026 delegates since she also counts on her lead in the number
of popular votes.
So far, Clinton has won 47.9 percent of popular votes
including those in Florida and Michigan, compared with Obama's 47.4 percent.
Some Democrats fear if the popular vote match-up
really weighs on race, the infighting will drag on, attenuating the party's
power to meet the challenge from the Republican rival, John McCain, in
November.
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic
leaders were pushing for the end of the party's presidential nomination race by
urging uncommitted superdelegates to make their endorsement, said a TV report on
Friday.
Citing a senior Democratic aide, the CNN reported
that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat, was already calling uncommitted
superdelegates, asking them to publicly express their support between now and
next week to Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the presidential
nominee. Full story
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter has urged Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to
"give it up" when the primary season ends early June, a CNN report said Monday.
Carter, in an interview with Sky News Sunday,
defended Clinton's "perfect right" to keep running in the three remaining
primaries in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana. Clinton's 21. Full story
WASHINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic
presidential hopeful Barack Obama has started searching for a running mate,
sources closed to him said Thursday.
A veteran Democratic activist was quoted by U.S. TV
networks assaying that former Fannie Mae executive Jim Johnson has accepted
Obama's request to begin a screening and selection process for a vice
presidential candidate. Full story
BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Hillary Clinton and
her advisers say she wants to be president and is not interested in the vice
president slot, but friends of the political pair say former President Bill
Clinton is toying with the possibility.
The reports about Bill Clinton's musings have come to
light as the Barack Obama camp has quietly begun the process of searching for a
partner on the Democratic ticket. Full story
