Calls late last week from supporters of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to end her presidential bid were premature and a bit unsettling. And concerns that a continued battle between the two candidates will hurt the party's chances in November may not be merited.
Clinton should continue to campaign, and the primary process should play out to determine the party's nominee.
Obama leads the race in both the count of pledged delegates and unpledged "superdelegates." He also has the edge in the popular vote in the primaries thus far and now has his largest lead in national polls. It is next to impossible for Clinton to go into the Denver convention this summer with a lead in pledged delegates.
But she can take momentum with her to Colorado, with a strong win in Pennsylvania and in other remaining primary states. If she does that, Clinton may be able to convince enough superdelegates that she's the stronger November candidate to win the nomination. It wouldn't be a pretty victory. It may not even be fair or right. But it remains possible under the party's rules. And as long as that's the case, Clinton should continue to run.
Certainly, Obama and his supporters would prefer she quit. But the suggestions from Obama surrogates that she should is unsettling, because they represent the very kind of politicking that the Illinois senator vows to change.
As for the worries that an prolonged Obama-Clinton battle only helps presumptive Republican Party nominee Sen. John McCain in November? Maybe, but probably not.
Any casual follower of past campaigns knows that polls in March and April mean next to nothing in November. Former President Bill Clinton reminds us that he trailed both President George H.W. Bush and Texas billionaire Ross Perot in the early summer months of 1992. And does anyone remember where McCain was in the polls in late 2007?
The attention the Obama-Clinton battle receives is more likely to help Democrats than hurt them. And whether the party's nominee is determined in June or earlier, or at the Denver convention in August, there will be plenty of time for the candidate to zero in on McCain.
Clinton should continue to campaign, and the primary process should play out to determine the party's nominee.
Obama leads the race in both the count of pledged delegates and unpledged "superdelegates." He also has the edge in the popular vote in the primaries thus far and now has his largest lead in national polls. It is next to impossible for Clinton to go into the Denver convention this summer with a lead in pledged delegates.
But she can take momentum with her to Colorado, with a strong win in Pennsylvania and in other remaining primary states. If she does that, Clinton may be able to convince enough superdelegates that she's the stronger November candidate to win the nomination. It wouldn't be a pretty victory. It may not even be fair or right. But it remains possible under the party's rules. And as long as that's the case, Clinton should continue to run.
Certainly, Obama and his supporters would prefer she quit. But the suggestions from Obama surrogates that she should is unsettling, because they represent the very kind of politicking that the Illinois senator vows to change.
As for the worries that an prolonged Obama-Clinton battle only helps presumptive Republican Party nominee Sen. John McCain in November? Maybe, but probably not.
Any casual follower of past campaigns knows that polls in March and April mean next to nothing in November. Former President Bill Clinton reminds us that he trailed both President George H.W. Bush and Texas billionaire Ross Perot in the early summer months of 1992. And does anyone remember where McCain was in the polls in late 2007?
The attention the Obama-Clinton battle receives is more likely to help Democrats than hurt them. And whether the party's nominee is determined in June or earlier, or at the Denver convention in August, there will be plenty of time for the candidate to zero in on McCain.
