Stories related to: Democratic nomination

John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama may “hammer another nail into Clinton’s subterranean coffin,” but it won’t do much to sway primary voters, Andrew Romano writes in Newsweek . Had Edwards taken a pro-Obama stand a few months ago, it might have helped the senator with blue-collar voters. But at this point, the endorsement was inevitable: “Edwards is a Democrat. Obama's the Democratic nominee. It had to happen eventually.” More »

Barack Obama is feeling like a winner but unable to start campaigning like one, the New York Times reports. The almost-nominee can't go after John McCain the way he would if he had the nomination sewn up for fear of infuriating Hillary Clinton's supporters, aides say. He also is still unable to completely write off Clinton's challenge for the Democratic nomination. More »

With the Clinton campaign in death throes, Karen Tumulty runs down its five crucial  mistakes in Time : Mood. In a season when Democrats were desperate for change, Hillary “completely misread the mood” and went with incumbency. Rules. Clinton's inner circle wasn't up on them. Mark Penn thought California's primary was winner-take-all—an early flub that forced them into a big-state strategy. More »

With Barack Obama headed toward the Democratic nomination, the Clintons' long reign over the party looks likely to end, the New York Times reports. That could lead to a bold new era—or a divided party that Obama can’t reconcile. “It’s going to create an upheaval,” said one Democratic organizer. “The Clintons and their allies have been running the show for 16 years.” More »

Barack Obama plans to lay claim to his party’s nomination on May 20, the day that votes in Kentucky and Oregon will net him a majority of pledged delegates, a top aide tells Politico, setting up what David Paul Kuhn calls “a train wreck waiting to happen.” For at least 11 days—until the DNC meets on whether and how to seat Michigan and Florida’s outlaw delegates—the Clinton camp will dispute it. More »

Now that Barack Obama has all but knocked out Hillary Clinton, Rush Limbaugh is calling off "Operation Chaos" and relishing the notion that Obama will be the nominee, CNN notes. Limbaugh has for months urged Republicans to vote for Clinton to prolong the race. Today, he urged superdelegates to publicly back Obama, calling him the "weakest" of the Democratic candidates. More »

Optimism is spreading through Hillary Clinton’s once-dispirited war room, Politico reports, as a series of wins accumulate in their candidate’s column: fundraising has rushed in since Pennsylvania, she's collected some well-timed endorsements, she’s bobbed up in the polls, and Barack Obama is once again afflicted by Jeremiah Wright. All of which makes Clinton’s advisers believe that her comeback-kid rhetoric might actually have legs. More »

Barack Obama has a very long fuse, the New York Times notes, and so his break-up with his pastor and surrogate father has been playing out in slow motion, since even before the day he launched his presidential campaign. It took Jeremiah Wright's direct assault on Obama's credibility in his speech Monday to make the candidate finally snap, Michael Powell observes in a look at why a man so focused and formidable has fumbled in handling the biggest crisis of his campaign.  More »

Joe Andrew, a superdelegate and the Democratic Party chair during Bill Clinton's presidency, has switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama, reports the AP. Andrew had endorsed Hillary on the day she announced her candidacy, but in a lengthy letter to other superdelegates he says they must rally behind Obama to "heal the rift in our party." More »

Barack Obama's angry break with his former pastor marks a dramatic change in tone for the Democratic hopeful—and the party's superdelegates are paying close attention, the New York Times reports. Obama's forceful handling of the furor has impressed many but the revival of thorny racial issues ahead of next week's primaries is causing some to fret. More »

Despite the ubiquitous use of “change” as a rallying cry in the Democratic primaries, the New York Times notes, the candidates might want to reconsider using it ahead of Indiana's May 6 primary. Although they’re dissatisfied with the economic toll taken by the decline in manufacturing, voters generally expressed “queasiness” in response to both candidates' use of the mantra. More »

Until recently, Barack Obama seemed to have quashed concerns about the chances of an African-American winning the White House. But as he inches closer to the nomination, more Democrats are beginning to ask whether white and other non-black voters will elect a black man in November. The question has taken on new urgency since Obama's loss in Pennsylvania, writes the New York Times . More »

Hillary Clinton's 10-point win in Pennsylvania leaves the Democratic Party in the same quandary it was in before the primary, writes Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle, but with the pressure ratcheted up. While the race did not much improve Clinton's chances, it did expose Barack Obama's possible weaknesses as a general election candidate. More »

Despite Democratic dreams of a shared ticket, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may not be able to stand each other long enough to share a campaign. It’s been the first question in several debates, and will be for either as the freshly crowned nominee, but when the Times privately queried the candidates’ aides, the response was laughter. More »

Rocker Bruce Springsteen endorsed Barack Obama today, calling the candidate “head and shoulders above the rest.” The Boss cited Obama’s leadership on the war, economic and racial justice, and the environment, the New York Times reports; he also criticized the “bitter” flap, saying Obama's opponents were exaggerating the remarks to “diminish” him.  More »

The majority of Democrats want Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to battle to the bitter end rather than concede, a Washington Post -ABC News poll has found. The poll also shows Obama has opened a national10-point lead over Clinton among Democrats, and most say he is now the more electable of the two as negative opinions of both Clintons increase. More »

The demotion of Mark Penn in Hillary Clinton's campaign hasn't ended the problem the errant consultant is causing her in Pennsylvania, Bloomberg reports. Unions supporting Barack Obama have pounced on the strategist's advocacy of a Colombian free-trade deal, calling him pro-business and anti-worker. "She has to sever completely with Mark Penn," said Teamsters president James Hoffa. "Her credibility is at stake." More »

John Kerry was mulling a pick for vice president at this time 4 years ago, but Democratic hopefuls today refuse to name a running mate. Still, Politico’s Ben Smith has an early roundup of who could be Clinton’s and Obama’s first choices in the No. 2 slot. More »

Barack Obama's popularity has slipped in the past month, especially among men and rich voters, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. His favorability rating dropped 7 percentage points to 62% during the fallout over inflammatory remarks from his pastor, but the dropoff appears to have leveled off, the Times reports. He and Clinton are in a virtual dead heat, with 46% of Democrats supporting Obama and 43% Clinton. More »

Since his crash-and-burn run for president four years ago, Howard Dean has served as a decidedly low-key Democratic Party chairman, slowly building up state organizations while staying out of the limelight. Yet as the Clinton-Obama race wears on, many are wondering if Dean has the political acumen—or even the will—to rally a party in danger of fracturing. More »