Backs turn on Clinton

The tide turned against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as even some of her supporters said she should consider ending her White House bid.

Some uncommitted Democratic superdelegates refused to meet with the beleaguered candidate when her campaign approached them in the hope of wooing them. Reps. Brad Miller (N.C.) and Lincoln Davis (Tenn.) said they were invited to meet Clinton but declined to attend.

{mosads}Nevertheless, Clinton’s campaign pushed back hard against growing sentiment that she cannot win the nomination.

The senator scheduled meetings to woo superdelegates and at least forestall them from endorsing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Most pro-Clinton lawmakers clung to the disappearing hope that she could pull off a come-from-behind victory.
One, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), invoked the image of a quarterback with just enough time for a final 90-yard drive for the winning score, saying, “We’ve got to play the fourth quarter.”

But uncommitted superdelegates such as Miller say they now expect Obama to win the nomination.

The sense of inevitability led some Clinton backers to question her continued resistance. One of her most respected supporters, former Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, announced early Wednesday that he was switching his endorsement to Obama and said the time had come to unite the party.

Rep. Dale Kildee, a Clinton supporter from Michigan, which Clinton won with 55 percent of the vote, said she should halt her campaign and carefully consider whether it makes sense to keep going.

“I urge her to take the day off and think very seriously about doing what’s best for the country and best for the party,” said Kildee.

He added, “I got straight A’s in math,” implying that Obama’s delegate lead is impossible for Clinton to overcome in the few primaries left.

Clinton is expected to fall even further behind Obama in the delegate race after losing North Carolina by 14 percentage points and only just winning Indiana by a few points.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a prominent supporter from California, which Clinton also won, said Clinton needs to explain how the nomination remains within reach and why her presidential ambition has not now become damaging to the party.

“I, as you know, have great fondness and great respect for Sen. Clinton and I’m very loyal to her,” said Feinstein. “Having said that, I’d like to talk with her and [get] her view on the rest of the race and what the strategy is.

“I think the race is reaching the point now where there are negative dividends from it, in terms of strife within the party. I think we need to prevent that as much as we can.”

The next primary contest will take place May 13 in West Virginia, where senior advisers to Clinton say she will do very well. Kentucky and Oregon will follow with primaries on May 20; Puerto Rico votes on June 1; and Montana and South Dakota hold their primaries on June 3.

Feinstein said Clinton has not yet responded to a phone call to discuss the campaign.

Members of Congress supporting Obama seized on Tuesday’s primary results to call for Clinton to end her candidacy.

“It’s obvious that the nomination process is over,” said Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who has endorsed Obama. “I hope that she and her campaign will move forward and wrap this up.”

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), another Obama backer, said, “I hope she is considering it. I think it’s time for us to stand together and start attacking the position that the Republican nominee has taken.”

But there was no unanimity among undeclared superdelegates, a bloc of lawmakers whose votes have become putatively crucial to the party’s choice.

{mospagebreak}Miller stopped short of advising Clinton to drop out. But he said Tuesday’s results convinced him that Obama will be the nominee: “I expect that more strongly today than yesterday.”

Obama’s growing delegate lead means Clinton needs an overwhelming majority among superdelegates — members of Congress and other party officials — to win the nomination. Obama aides estimate that Clinton will have to win the backing of more than two-thirds of pledged delegates and undeclared superdelegates, which would be difficult.

Clinton’s allies sought a meeting late Wednesday between the candidate and neutral Democrats such as Rep. John Spratt (S.C.) and Rep. Zack Space (Ohio). But other uncommitted superdelegates such as Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and John Olver (D-Mass.) were not aware of any effort by Clinton to contact them.

{mosads}Prominent Clinton supporters who declined to call for her to re-evaluate her candidacy nevertheless acknowledge she faced a tough road to the nomination.

“It’s an uphill battle,” said Rep. John Murtha (Pa.), one of the most influential Democrats in the House.

“She has to win the popular vote to convince the superdelegates to vote for her,” said Murtha, who gave Clinton crucial support before Pennsylvania’s primary. “Superdelegates will decide on the popular vote.”

Obama leads Clinton nationwide by about 700,000 votes, not counting Michigan and Florida, according to RealClearPolitics.com , a website that tracks election results. National Democratic officials invalidated the results of the Michigan and Florida primaries because they held contests on dates that violated party rules.

Counting the results from Michigan and Florida, Clinton trails Obama by only 85,000 votes or so, giving her a chance of catching him in the remaining primaries.

Several Clinton supporters said that every state deserves to vote in the primary and that withdrawing from the race now would not provide much benefit to the party.

“We should allow these primaries to be held,” said Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.).

Several neutral superdelegates agreed with these Clinton allies.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an uncommitted Democrat from Ohio, said her constituents have urged her to let every state finish voting.

Crystal Strait, an uncommitted superdelegate who represents the Young Democrats of America for the Democratic National Committee, said she was not moved any closer to a decision Tuesday night because she has been encouraged by the level of Democratic participation she has seen in other states.

“I want to let it play out,” Strait said. “I don’t understand the people who say that this is a problem for the Democratic Party.”

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) who was previously uncommitted, is backing Clinton because she won his district on Tuesday.

J.Taylor Rushing contributed to this report.