A New Wave

BREAKING: Clinton Is Not Releasing Her Delegates

Blogger and radio talk show celebrity Taylor Marsh reported on her blog earlier today that Hillary Clinton had released her delegates:

If reporting or word comes in to change what I learned this morning I will post on it. Otherwise, the message is clear: Clinton is throwing her full support behind Barack Obama, which includes asking her delegates to support him as well. If you don't like the word "release," well, pick another one. It's a technicality in the political world right now.

However, in a conference call last night with delegates, Harold Ickes said that there are historical precedents for Clinton not to release delegates:

Playing Catch Up

First, let's backtrack.

Here's Hillary's speech from yesterday - in full. It gets better each time I watch it. It doesn't make the pain any less, but it makes me feel proud, knowing that I support(ed) this dynamite woman. I think she has herself a movement...whether she wants one or not! She's heads and shoulders above those who vilified and demonized her without mercy. And each of us who support her can and should stand tall and stand WITH her now. Any chance we have for progress will be lost if John McCain is elected as POTUS. No matter how you feel right now (and believe me, I'm smarting at the moment, too), those of us who believe in what Hillary Clinton stands for do not honor her or these ideals by voting for John McCain.

Here are excerpts from the speech. And here is her speech in its entirety:

[SNIP]

Hillary Endorses Obama

Hillary speaks at National Building Museum in D.C.

"To all those who voted for me, my commitment to you is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me. You have humbled me with your commitment... Eighteen million of you from all walks of life -- women, and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich and poor, middle class, gay and straight ... you have stood with me..."

"...I am a woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects every one of us," she said. "We must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and mothers."

She also thanked "all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes [this year]"

"This has been a tough fight, but the Democratic Party is a family..."

"We all want a health care program that is universal, high quality and affordable... no exceptions and no excuses."

"We all want deep and meaningful equality; from ending discrimination, to promoting  unionization, to providng help for the most important job there is - caring for our families...lead by the power of our values..."

"Imagine how far we could have come, how much we could have achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House."

"I will continue to stand strong with you ... the dreams we share are worth fighting for," she added.

"...the journey ahead will not be easy, we will be told that it's too hard, that we're not up to the task...it has been the American way to reject "can't do" claims. It is this belief, this optimism that Sen. Obama and I share...so today I am standing with Sen. Obama to say 'Yes we can.'"

"This is now our time..."

Her web site reflects the shift in her endorsement:

The "Speech"

According to MyDD: Clinton will speak tomorrow, er, today! at Noon EDT (that's 9 a.m. for all of us on the "left coast"): It will be covered by all the cable news networks. CNN will start their coverage at 11 a.m. EDT.

She will be speaking at 12pm EDT at the National Building Museum, located at 401 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Maggie Williams sent out this email today: Hillary Clinton's web site will be covering the speech live (in case anybody wants to bug out of the media's version of "I come to praise Hillary, not to bury her.").

There is also a "Thank You" card campaign underway, but I haven't seen any publicity of this outside of Taylor Marsh:

We are trying to get a "Thank you card campaign" started. We want to flood Senator Clinton's DC office with thank you cards. On the front of the envelope we are writing "WE ARE ONE OF 18 MILLION" and we are asking her to take it to Denver. We want to reach as many supporters as possible so it can be effective. THE ADDRESS:

THE HONORABLE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

UNITED STATES SENATE

476 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510-3202

Until later...

Are You Feeling The Unity Yet?

Apparently not everybody is onboard the Unity Train...

PUMA notes that, No one knows what tomorrow’s speech will bring. Speculation is running like wildfire in every direction. Let’s not panic. From our perspective, there are really only two possible outcomes to tomorrow’s speech. Either she will fully and unequivocally withdraw from the race, OR she will not.

If she announces a complete and permanent end to her bid for the nomination, I, for one, do not want to waste any time being depressed. I don’t even want to spend any time feeling bad. If Hillary is out, then our path is clear ...

UPDATE II: Clinton Will Suspend Campaign On Saturday - CNN

UPDATE II: (after the jump)

I haven't seen this widely reported anywhere but ABC (and Reuters) sites. CNN ended "Situation Room" segment with the story displayed as "Breaking News."

Here's the article and the link:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will drop out of the presidential race on Friday and cede the Democratic nomination to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, ABC News reported on Wednesday, without citing any sources.

I'm a little suspicious about this because of AP's sneaky trick yesterday (releasing a story saying  WRONGLY that Clinton would concede the nomination last night in her speech).

UPDATE I:

From CNN's Campbell Brown, Clinton will suspend her campaign. She will not release her delegates. Leverage... She is planning a birthday party for her mother in NYC tonight.

A couple of thoughts:

First, let's take a DEEP breath and think this through. We will have details soon enough, one way or the other. Clinton will release items prior to Friday, especially to those close to her campaign. We'll check in with Taylor Marsh and others later to see if Taylor's privy to anything.

Second, if she does quit, we could all go into speculation mode. But I think that is unwise until we have additional details. Then we can speculate and weigh options, actions, if any.

Third, as a proud supporter of Hillary Clinton I've said from the beginning of her campaign that I'm with her on this journey. I have also said (here) and to her that whatever she decides I am with her. This is HER decision - not the media's, not the boys' club, not the Obama blogs, not ours. There will be time in the next day or two to assess what this might mean and to deal with immediate and (possible) short- and long-term fallout from the decision.

I was stunned to turn on my television to see the "Breaking News" banner at the bottom of my screen (CNN), but the media and Obama's supporters have also been after her like coyotes on a carcass the last 24 hours and I knew last night that the pressure was going to be intense (and had, in fact, already begun).

UPDATE II:

It now appears that Clinton will officially "suspend" her campaign on Saturday, according to CNN:

[snip]

The Clinton campaign said she will make the announcement at "an event in Washington, D.C.," where she will also thank her supporters.

[snip]

A day after the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana, Johnson sent a letter to House Majority Whip James Clyburn to lobby the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Clinton as Obama's running mate.

Saying Clinton would "entertain the idea if it's offered," Johnson said, "This is Sen. Obama's decision. If the Congress members can come together and agree as I do that it would be in the best interest of the party to have Sen. Clinton on the ticket, they carry that petition to Sen. Obama."

"This is not a pressure. This is elected officials giving their best judgment," said Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television.

Johnson's letter to Clyburn says, "You know as well as I the deep affection that millions of African-Americans hold for both Senator Clinton and President Clinton."

It continues, "But most important, we need to have the certainty of winning; and, I believe, without question, that Barack Obama as president and Hillary Clinton as vice president bring that certainty to the ticket."

[snip]

Seems like an appropriate time for a Bette Davis analogy. How about this one from "All About Eve"?

"Fasten your seatbelt; it's going to be a bumpy night."

Better yet, here's the real deal. Enjoy!

Read into this well-known and oft-repeated scene anything.you.like and share your thoughts!

A [Media] Afterthought

Lest anybody forget the other part of tonight's story, there were actually two primaries that occurred. You might have heard about them a few days ago (maybe as recently as Sunday, or yesterday). But they certainly got blown off by most of the media tonight (CNN being the exception). I guess in the rush to crown Barack Obama as the Democratic Party nominee (see my earlier post), superdelegates forgot their obligation to let the voters speak and the media forgot (oh, hell, why don't we just say it?) abandoned journalistic integrity in favor of "thrills".

The Dream Not Realized Tonight

Okay, I admit it. I cried tonight (after crying on and off all afternoon). Big Tent Democrat understands why:

[SNIP]

Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for President. Yes, this is historic - an African American will be our nominee. It is something for our Party to be proud of. But a different dream will die tonight, and I would hope Obama and his supporters will be sensitive to it. The chance of a woman being our Presidential nominee in this election will die tonight. For many women, this is a hard night because of it.

- MORE AFTER THE FLIP -

Lots Of News Tonight

Superdelegates Push Barack Obama Over The Top

They dripped, then drizzled, then flowed in Barack Obama's direction Tuesday. And even before the votes were counted in Montana and South Dakota, SDs gave Barack Obama the nomination. His "over-the-top" moment (2,118 delegates to "clinch") came at 9 p.m. EDT:

Sen. Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN projects as polls in the South Dakota primary closed at 9 p.m. ET.

So much for his campaign's early - and frequent - protests that if superdelegates were to "override" the will of voters it would be seen as an insult.

Another Argument To Superdelegates

An Updated Report

highlights and clarifies significant details about Hillary Clinton's primary state victories (vs. Barack Obama's caucus state victories). This is important information for superdelegates. Here are the highlights:

35.6 million people have voted The 37 primary states account for 97% of the vote. The 13 caucus states account for 3% of the vote. Bottom line: Clinton’s lead is from 34.5 million voters (97%) in Primaries. Obama’s lead is from 1.1 million voters (3%) in caucuses. [More...]

Out of the 50 state elections so far, Clinton has won 20 primaries and Obama has won 17. In comparison, Obama has dominated the Caucus contests by winning 12 of 13, plus the Texas caucus. 42% of his (Obama) wins are caucus states.

...After 50 election contests to date, Obama leads Clinton by 113 pledged delegates. 97.4% of the difference – 110 delegates – is directly attributable to lopsided victories in caucus contests.