Clinton vows to stay in race; lends her campaign $6.4 million

Thursday 08th May, 06:00 AM JST

WASHINGTON —

Her money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama.

After a wrenching primary outcome Tuesday in which she was routed in North Carolina and barely won Indiana, Clinton made a hastily scheduled trip to West Virginia to show her determination to fight on. The state holds a primary next Tuesday.

“I’m so happy to be here in West Virginia and excited about the next week as we campaign here in this beautiful state about our country’s future,” Clinton told an audience at Shepherd University.

She planned to return to the state Thursday, then fly to South Dakota and Oregon, which also have upcoming contests.

Also Wednesday, aides disclosed that Clinton had lent her campaign $6.4 million since mid-April, on top of a separate $5 million loan in February. She contributed $5 million on April 11, $1 million on May 1 and $425,000 on May 5.

Spokesman Howard Wolfson said the New York senator made the investment to keep pace with Obama, who has shattered all fundraising records and vastly outspent her in recent contests. The loan also reinforced her belief that the campaign must continue, Wolfson said, suggesting she would be willing to spend more of her own wealth if necessary.

“This is a sign of her commitment to this race, her commitment to this process and her commitment to ensure the voices of her supporters are heard,” Wolfson said.

Nonetheless, Tuesday’s results drastically reshaped the dynamic of the campaign, positioning Obama as the all-but-certain nominee and casting Clinton as a dogged but deluded also-ran. At least one prominent Democrat, Clinton supporter and former South Dakota Sen George McGovern, called on Clinton to quit the race. Others held back, allowing her to assess the landscape and draw her own conclusion about how to proceed.

But at a news conference in West Virginia, the former first lady showed no sign of going anywhere. “I’m staying in this race until there’s a nominee,” she declared.

Clinton barely mentioned Obama but insisted, as she has throughout the race, that she would be the stronger candidate against Republican John McCain. While Obama has run strongest among blacks, college educated and younger voters and has produced record turnout among all three groups, Clinton pointed to her own strength among Hispanics and white, working-class voters, especially women. She noted they are the swing voters Democrats need to win a general election.

“What we have not been able to count on in the last elections are the voters that I’m getting,” she said.

Wolfson and chief strategist Geoff Garin echoed that argument in a conference call with reporters. They also described a scenario they said would keep her candidacy alive, including resolving disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan. Clinton won both contests but the results were voided because their timing violated Democratic Party rules.

But Clinton’s team acknowledged that even if both states’ delegations were seated, she would still not close the gap with Obama, who leads Clinton by about 150 delegates.

Garin sought to put the best face on a bad turn of events, touting what he called a “come from behind” win in Indiana and saying the campaign had long expected her to lose North Carolina.

In fact, the campaign made an aggressive play in that state, nearly matching Obama in television ad spending in the closing days. Clinton also campaigned extensively in the state and her husband kept a separate, packed schedule of appearances — all to little avail.

Another sign of trouble came as a much-hoped for spike in Internet fundraising didn’t materialize after Tuesday’s results. After winning Pennsylvania decisively on April 22, the Clinton campaign said it raised about $10 million in 24 hours; aides Wednesday said they had seen a bump in online cash but nothing close to their post-Pennsylvania success.

Clinton brought in about $20 million total in April, aides said.

She planned to attend a women’s fundraiser Wednesday night, expected to yield about $500,000 for the campaign. She has a Mother’s Day fundraiser scheduled with daughter Chelsea Clinton in New York Saturday. She also signed a new fundraising email sent to supporters.

The candidate also met with superdelegates on Capitol Hill in an effort to woo the undecided and keep her own supporters on board. But few had many words of encouragement.

New York Sen Charles Schumer, an early and enthusiastic Clinton backer, was uncharacteristically quiet when asked whether she should soldier on.

“It’s her decision to make and I’ll accept what decision she makes,” Schumer said. “This is still a close race, and you know, the decisions that Hillary Clinton makes are the decisions that, as a supporter of hers, I will abide by.”

For his part, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada refused to speculate on whether Clinton had any chance of winning the nomination.

“That’s not for me to judge,” Reid said.

Said Clinton supporter Sen Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif: “I think we’re at a point where I would like to know what the strategy is, how it becomes doable, and that’s all I’ve been trying to say to people.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s campaign on Wednesday sought to increase pressure on Clinton to wrap up the drawn-out Democratic nomination race as it mapped out a general-election strategy that will involve early campaigning in battleground states that have already held primaries.

“We’re going to put a lot of states in play,” said David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager. He suggested this would include stepped up efforts in Florida and Michigan “to get them up to par with the other states.”

Obama’s drive to nail down the party nod was buoyed with a double-digit win in North Carolina and a stronger-than-expected run in Indiana on Tuesday, where he almost overcame Clinton.

Obama was expected to compete for the six remaining Democratic contests, which offer a total of 217 delegates, but to also turn attention to general election states, aides said.

Obama was enjoying a rare down day in his hometown before returning to Washington, DC, late Wednesday

He is expected to travel later in the week to Oregon, where he appears to hold the advantage, and then head to the Appalachian coal-states of West Virginia and Kentucky, where Clinton seems to have the edge.

Likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain has “run free for some time now” because of Democratic preoccupation with the ongoing primary fight, said Obama strategist David Axelrod. “I don’t think we’re going to spend time solely in primary states,” he said. “We have multiple tasks here.”

Obama’s campaign arranged a conference call for reporters with prominent Democratic elected officials who are Obama supporters in a clear effort to nudge Clinton to step aside as she faces a daunting mathematic challenge to wrest the nomination from Obama.

“Now is the time for superdelegates to start bringing this process to a close and announcing their preferences,” said Arizona Gov Janet Napolitano.

Sen Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, told reporters the message of Tuesday night’s primary votes was that Obama’s march “cannot be contained.”

Meanwhile, in an email to supporters soliciting contributions, Obama called his North Carolina showing “a decisive victory.”

As for Indiana, “we did much better than all the pundits predicted, despite Republicans changing parties to support Senator Clinton, believing she would be easier for Senator McCain to defeat,” Obama wrote. “Now is the time for each one of us to step up and do what we can to close out this primary.”

___

Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.

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Latest 15 of 48 Total Comments Show All

Zurg at 05:32 AM JST - 9th May

Stay in. Keep up the pressure. Don't give up. Look at Huckabee. He stayed in, but was pressured to get out. How 'bout Ron Paul? I heard he's still in.
WhiteHawk at 06:14 AM JST - 9th May

adaydream:

But it still the fact that the republicans are so thirsty for their democratic opposition to name the candidate they get to slam.

Really? I'm not. In fact, every right-wing pundit I've read has not only cheered the DNC quagmire, they've cheered it on. A few (Rush Limbaugh, most notably) have even encouraged cross-voting (insurgent voting?) to drag the quagmire out even longer.

Dirt Diggers, Inc. New republican money for an old republican tactic.

And Democrats are as innocent and pure as a newborn babe, eh? They would never stoop to dirty tactics such as going through a conservative's garbage, right? Maybe you should ask Michael Steele about that.

SuperLib:

Pastor Wright is just some guy that wouldn't even get in the front door. End of story for me.

Yeah, Obama has finally done what he said he could never do - disown Wright. But, there are plenty of America-hating communists and anarchists in Obama's circle of friends and advisors to keep him and his voluntary team of forum translators explaining, nuancing, a parsing through October.
SuperLib at 01:26 PM JST - 9th May

But whitehawk the US is a nation ultimately governed by laws. And for every Pastor Wright you can find I can probably find a few hundred Bill Richardsons to counter. As I said Wright's comments are relevant but Obama and the Presidency don't live in the vacuum that those critical of Obama would like us to believe.
Madverts at 04:30 PM JST - 9th May

Uhm, heh - super_delegat,

"his opposition to liberating Iraq from a tyrant who killed hundreds of thousands of his own people"

Yeah - and instead they now have terror-filled chaotic lives with no end in sight and the US unable to control the mess it made, hundreds of thousands dead in a much shorter space of time than the tyrant and this will more than likely end up with US withdrawl and a transition to Islamic fundie governance.

Heh, no wonder your future president, Mr Barack Obama, opposed the disaterous invasion. The "liberation" only exists in the minds of the few remaining members of the Mr 20%'s sect.

Clinton should give in now and hope Obama will give her a job.
Sarge at 04:51 PM JST - 9th May

Um, heh, adverts, "this will more than likely end up with US withdrawal and a transition to Islamic fundie governance"

Yeah, if Obama wins. But even he said he'll send U.S. troops back in if he finds out al-Qaida is in Iraq. McCain's already tried telling him that al-Qaida is in Iraq now, but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

"Clinton should give in now"

What for?! Before the super delegates have made their decision? She's not an idiot, you know.
super delegate at 05:37 PM JST - 9th May

Go Barack!

He's winning all over the place!

Who really cares what the numbers look like when you subtract the 90 percent support he gets from that one voting bloc that supports him solely because he is black!

It feels good!

Take that, Bush!
Madverts at 06:57 PM JST - 9th May

Uhm, heh....super - the clifftop beckons.
Madverts at 07:07 PM JST - 9th May

Uh, sarge,

"But even he said he'll send U.S. troops back in if he finds out al-Qaida is in Iraq"

What do you mean "if he finds out" that they're there??

They're already there.

George W Bush's invasion put 'em there.

I guess this is why the many Americans who've managed to extract themselves back to Reality after the last eight years of b/s from Mr 20%'s regime are going to vote for Senator Obama, and not Senator Clinton, and certainly not that other republican guy, heh, whatever his name was.

Oh, and she should give in because she is going to lose. And it would end the suspense and heartbreak on not knowing which Democrat will be the next prez...
Sarge at 08:28 PM JST - 9th May

Uh, adverts,

"They're already there."

You know that, and I know that, and McCain knows that, but apparently Obaama still doesn't know that.

"George W Bush's invasion put 'em there"

No, they took advantage of a power vaccum due to infighting among the various Iraq factions. ( good grief, do I have to explain everything? )

"she ( Hillary ) is going to lose"

Have you cleared that with the super delegates?
Madverts at 08:38 PM JST - 9th May

"No, they took advantage of a power vaccum due to infighting among the various Iraq factions. ( good grief, do I have to explain everything? )"

Yes, like I said and you just confirmed, the so-called war on terror actually put 'em there. Another od Mr 20%'s Miserable Failure's.

Thanks for pointing that out, uh, heh - sarge.
Sarge at 08:52 PM JST - 9th May

Uh, heh - adverts, I didn't confirm anything you said, we didn't put al-Qaida in Iraq, they skittered over there like the cockroaches they are all on their own. And what did the Mod say about using the term "Mr 20%"?
WhiteHawk at 11:18 PM JST - 9th May

SuperLib:

But whitehawk the US is a nation ultimately governed by laws. And for every Pastor Wright you can find I can probably find a few hundred Bill Richardsons to counter. As I said Wright's comments are relevant but Obama and the Presidency don't live in the vacuum that those critical of Obama would like us to believe.

Not to sound too much like a grumpy old man, but there are times when it seems more like the U.S. is governed by people who create laws for everyone but themselves.

In any case, the difference between Wright and Richardson is that Richardson is indicative of the people that seek out Obama, while Wright (and Ayers, Dohrn, Rashid Khalidi, Cornell West, and possibly Rezko - among many, many others) is indicative of the people Obama seeks out.

As for the presidency and vacuums, the Clintons did a pretty good job of creating one for themsleves by surrounding themselves with loyal Arkansas friends and associates, not to mention replacing all 93 federal judges with ones loyal to them.
DanManjt at 02:24 AM JST - 11th May

Before this campaign began, I favored neither Mr. Obama nor Mrs. Clinton. That was then. Now, I fear that Mrs. Clinton and her campaign plan to hold the Democratic party hostage. It seems that they have coldly calculated that her best chance to win the nomination lies in convincing the super delegates that she is both capable and willing to destroy the party to get the nomination. And that Mr. Obama is not.

Do not let her. Write your state super delegates and the DNC. Let them know that you, a voting democrat, will not countenance Clinton's attempt to subvert the primary process and steal the nomination. Let the Democratic Party leaders know that you will bolt if they deny us, the voters, the final say in who we put up. So write your super delegates. You can find those who have decided here:

http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

Write the one's who have not endorsed Obama to do so. Write the ones who have endorsed Clinton to follow McGovern's lead and switch to Obama. Write the ones who have endorsed Obama to say good job, and get them to pressure the previous two to endorse Obama.

Feel free to use the following as you wish:

I am writing to you as a deeply concerned American and Democrat.

It is now clearly time for Hillary Clinton to bow-out for the good of our party. Though Tuesday’s primary results should have ended all debate, Mrs. Clinton obdurately refuses to respect the rules and results of our nominating process.

I reject such cynical machinations. Mr. Obama has secured the most pledged delegates and the plurality of the popular vote. I find Clinton’s disregard of both the rules and results of our nominating process disturbing. Obama is the rightful nominee. I view Mrs. Clinton's placing of private interest above party and national interest odious. Therefore, I have come to the difficult decision that if Mrs. Clinton secures the nomination through super delegates, I will not vote for her this fall. Further, I never again vote for any of the super delegate who appeases Mrs. Clinton in order to prevent her from destroying our party.

You are a super delegate. I ask that you respect the rules and results of our nominating process and endorse Mr. Obama. I also urge you to contact (your) super delegates that have endorsed Hillary Clinton. I ask you to urge them follow George McGovern’s example and switch their endorsement to Mr. Obama. Specifically, please contact:

Only in this way can we concentrate on a unified party capable of winning the White House in November.

With best regards,

XXXX XXXXXX
jpdrag0n at 05:17 PM JST - 12th May

time to quit hillary? YES

statistically she cant catch up in pledged delegates and if shes counting on the superdelegates to switch over and vote for her, shes dreaming. the superdelegates aren't going to vote against the popular vote...if they did that would be the end of the democratic party. i hope she quits soon and saves obama the extra trouble.
mosc1 at 06:02 PM JST - 12th May

SuperLib at 01:26 PM JST - 9th May, But whitehawk the US is a nation ultimately governed by laws.

WhiteHawk at 06:14 AM JST - 9th May, there are plenty of America-hating communists and anarchists in Obama's circle of friends and advisors

SuperLib, where's the Bill of Rights? The Constitution has no mandate permitting the 3 branch of American government to make law without the preconditions of the Bill of Rights! WhiteHawk, what do you want from the poor man? The democratic party has progressively embraced socialism as its Party platform since Wilson made a Central Bank and joined the US to a european alliance, and FDR made the Federal government the largest employer in the country. You people need to stop your knee jerk reactions and do your homework.