BREAKING NEWS: Dean, Pelosi, Reid set Friday deadline for superdelegates' choices, move to force end to Clinton bid

With the final primary concluded barely hours before, top Democratic Party leaders in Washington early this morning ratcheted up the pressure to force all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their choice of candidate known by Friday -- and thus end the now hopeless, onetime front-running campaign of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The joint statement was obviously pre-planned and timed for issue shortly after Clinton refused to concede the presidential nomination victory to Barack Obama, who's gained sufficient delegates to clinch the party's nomination.

Howard Dean, right, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Assn., issued the brief statement for unity just minutes ago:

"The voters have spoken," they said, adding later, "Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week, so that our party can stand united."

The carefully worded statement, which does not urge the superdelegates to go one way or the other, is a clear step to force an end to the effort by Clinton, who said Tuesday she would take a few days to consider her options and protect the voices of the nearly 18 million voters who cast ballots for her in recent months. Her hand is now being forced by the Friday deadline.

The move is also a sly one politically, since it leaves Obama free of any appearance of forcing Clinton to quit and thus alienating her millions of supporters, whom the Illinois senator will badly need in the general election come Nov. 4.

In exit polls throughout the just-concluded primary season, an unusually high number of Clinton voters indicated they were likely to reject Obama and vote for the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

A complete text of the Democratic Party leaders' joint statement is available by clicking the "read more" line below.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo Credit: Associated Press / Manuel Bolce Ceneta

     Joint Statement by Democratic Leaders on the End of the Presidential Primary Process

"We have come to the end of an exciting primary and caucus process -- the voters have spoken.  As the Democratic leaders of the Senate, House of Representatives, the Governors and the Democratic National Committee we commend all of the participants of the 2008 primary process, especially Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for making this such a transformational election. 

"Because of the enthusiasm our candidates have inspired, our party has brought record numbers of voters to the polls, gained millions of newly registered Democrats and now has advantages in states many thought were difficult to win.  We are grateful to the millions of Independents and Republicans who have crossed over to vote for a Democratic candidate for President.

"Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election.  To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week so that our party can stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country.

"We once again congratulate all of the candidates for their leadership and dedication to providing this country with a New Direction. We look forward to working with them and with all Democrats to win the White House, congressional seats and state capitals so we can deliver the change the American people deserve and demand."

Comments

[Norma J.]

Too much ugly baggage that Obama has, I will vote
for John McCain.

[Michael Snyder]

Hillary needs to go back to Arkansas and take her "legacy" with her. As for her "supporters" who said they'd vote for McCain if she didn't get the nomination; please pick up your toys and put them away before you go. Her refusal to concede and the rest of her speech last night demonstrated the kinds of behaviors (along with the occasional crocodile tear) that keep the "glass ceiling" in place.

[John]

Clinton was the best and smartest candidate for the Democratic Party...she lost the nomination because she could not control her husband. So now we have a Marxist as the nominee from our party.

The junior senator from Illinois lacks experience, and is not able to think on his feet. If he does not have his cue cards and speechwriters he isn't able to respond to any issues.

McCain is a liberal in the mold of Joe Lieberman...that would be a great ticket...and he will get my vote, my financial support, and my earnest efforts to convince fellow Democrats to support him.

[Joe Bento]

Fellow Obamanots relax the stake was driven through her candidacy June 3rd and that is a solid four days before David Plouffe predicted when I met with him at an event in Miami two months ago.

Hillary displayed her delusional narcissism to the maximum with her lack of grace. She is incapable of admitting a mistake or defeat. She cannot admit the mistake of voting to authorize the war in Iraq or that she was soundly defeated by Barack Obama who deployed superior strategy and stayed on the high road.

Stay focused on the big prize and get ready to rumble with John Mc War and his hit men. They will be coming at us with all sorts of other lies to make us fear Barack Obama being our President.

You know what to expect:
Barack is too young
Barack is a Muslim
Barack will surrender to terrorists
We wont be safe America
Life begins at inception
We know the economy better than Barack
he will talk to bad guys

Blah Blah Blah. they will put up as many boogeymen as Hillary put up lies.

Barack Obama scares the hell out of the status quo because it is their power that will be usurped and ours as the people will be restored. Thank god he has assembled he best political campaign team in the history of our country. Plouffe, Axelrod and the 1.7 million of us out there pounding the pavement and making the calls for change are unstoppable. Rest you won the first battle against the biggest name in politics and we will need the energy between now and November.

God Bless you and God bless the United States of America the only country where all this could happen. We are truly the people we have been waiting for.

[jeanvaljean]

It's about time for Bull Moose II. If Teddy did it so can Hillary as President and Bill as Vice President. All this rancor will thus be set aside. Triangulation will be put to the test. This is a serious proposal.

[rlp-politcal]

We have been dealing with you blue eye devils all our lives - it is not different now.

Obama have beat you at your game - no he should pick hilary she is a monster and the Dem leadsership is weak.

Obama is going to change that and get in some real folks to run the party.

Tell Hillary to shut up and move own she lost !!

[AZgal]

What I don't understand is why and how Democrats can say, "If Hillary isn't the nominee, I'm voting for McCain."

McCain's policies and beliefs are completely different from the Democratic party. Hillary and Obama's views are similar. I believe they're both good people, and they have the country's best interest at heart. So why vote for McCain out of spite? Doing so won't get this country on the right path.

Also, it doesn't matter what Dean and Pelosi say and it doesn't matter if Hillary concedes - Obama has surpassed the target number of delegates, making him the Democratic nominee. It's time for the democrats to unite. Lets leave the pettiness aside and do what's best for the country. We need to get out of this 8-year funk.

[rlp-politcal]

I am very much AGAINST the sentiment that Senator Clinton be on the Democratic ticket as Vice President. There are many reasons:
1) It undercuts the message of change in Washington. Hillary is part of the establishment and part of the problem.

2) The Obama campaign can win the hispanic vote WITHOUT senator Clinton. Bill Richardson is a better advocate to help win the hispanic vote than Clinton.

3)Senator Clinton showed poor managerial talent in the process of her campaign. Her campaign was wracked with internal turmoil and poor money management.

4) Senator Clinton feels entitled to a position of power. She ran a poor campaign because she assumed she was the inevitable winner. What kind of leader does that? She brazenly spent contributor's money on unneccessaries and lavished herself rather than run a positive and thorough campaign. Her campaign style is evident of her personal view of her role in politics. We have no room for Royalty in washington.

5) Including Senator Clinton on the ticket shows weakness and a willingness to cave to the establishment. If you can't stand up to the powers that be now how can you in the Whitehouse? Including Clinton on the ticket looks like capitulation. SHE DOESN'T DESERVE to be rewarded for running such a shameless campaign.

6) Having the Clinton machine (Bill Included) present in the Whitehouse would undercut and cause difficulties for your presidency (big egos don't play well in little spaces). Senator Clinton and former President Clinton would likely take advantage of every opportunity to upstage you as possible (probably even create some).

7) Clinton may try to have him assassinated (or at the very least scandalized out of office). What would be better than being vice president? How about 12 years as president (serving out the remainder of Obama’s term, plus an additional 2 terms of her own)? I don't trust her and neither should you.

8) He does not need Senator Clinton to win the "big" states. As we all know Democrats turned out in numbers dwarfing the Republican support during this campaign season. Senator Obama WILL win the Democratic strongholds. Senator Clinton is far from welcome in NY, don't make the assumption that she's a necessity to carry any specific constituency.

9) No one person will mobilize the conservative right-wing more than Hillary Clinton. As it stands Bob Barr will put Georgia in play, Ron Paul’s supporters may cause him to be the Ralph Nader of 2008. The electoral map will be far different with Obama vs. McCain. Include Clinton and it will be the same political map as always. The Republicans who support Obama won't likely support an Obama-Clinton ticket.

10) Her behavior is indicative of her narcissism. No matter what she says this election has never been about the American people. It’s been about her. Even now she refuses to concede the nomination. She doesn’t outwardly congratulate Senator Obama on this historic victory. She’s stubborn, conceited and petulant. She’s just like George W. Bush. Hillary Clinton DOES NOT belong on the democratic ticket

I believe that there are better Vice Presidential candidates available for Senator Obama to choose from. I feel that Senator Joe Biden and Governor Bill Richardson make much better Vice Presidential choices. Each of these two men ran much more positive campaigns and exhibit much more integrity than Senator Clinton.

The Democratic "Dream-ticket" is exactly that. A dream; but more like a NIGHTMARE than anything. Please continue the message of Change, Hope, Integrity, Vision, Judgment and Leadership that your campaign has so valiantly advocated.

[Scott]

I think America is ready for a woman president. I think America is ready for an African-American president, or an Asian-American president, or a president from any minority. I know that I am. The fact that Hillary appears to have lost this campaign--the very first serious try by a woman running for president--does not mean that "...women can never stand a chance in a man's world," to quote McGee above. Likewise, if Obama loses, it doesn't mean that the presidency will always be a "white boy's club" and that he lost because he is not white. If he loses, it's because people didn't want him to be president. The United States will have woman presidents and presidents who are not white men. Nothing says it MUST happen this time or we are doomed forever. If you vote for John McCain simply because he is a white male, you're wrong. If you vote for Hillary Clinton simply because she's a woman and you think it's time for us to have a woman president, you're wrong. If you vote for Barak Obama simply because he's African-American and you think it's time for us to have a black president, you're wrong. Let's focus on what's important...who is the best person to lead this country for the next four years?

[ladiesfirst]

What a bunch of manipulators. Dump the corrupt Democratic party, Hillary and run as an independent. Your voters are yours, not the party's.

http://www.PresidentShe.com

[Resist Libearlism]

I hope all HIllary voters will cross the line and vote for John McCain in November. We cannot have another lying, fraudulent, election stealing thief in the white house. (We have one already).

[ron]

from all the vile coments that come from the obama fans I can see that a lot of you must have spent a lot of time at trinity united church.

[Not-so-smart]

Once again, a lot of smart poeple have been fooled by a crafty politician.
We need a leader for this diificult time not a motivator.
I now fear what the future will bring !!!!

[No longer a Democrat]

I'm disgusted by what's happened to the Democratic Party. Few superdelegates deciding who should be the nominee? How could Hillary win South Dakota, yet all of its superdelegates throw their support behind Obama? Why even bother to vote? And what about what happened in Michigan? How could the DNC allocate all 40% of the uncommitted votes to Obama, when there were 6 other democratic candidates running at that time? Are we to assume that all of those who indicated they're uncommitted wanted Obama? Did none of them want Edwards, Biden or Richardson? It makes no sense to me.

[David White]

As I pondered all the above myself last night I finally came to one question. Had the tables been turned, would Hillary asked Obama to be her VP? I really truly believe NOT. I kinda picture Hillary telling Bill to ask that nice young colored boy to leave the room and not let the door hit him in the rear. She wouldn't have had him on her ticket in a MILLION years. I believe the woman is such a socialist with nationalist tendencies that well, she might just revive that party again, what was it called, oh yeah, the NAZI party.

[Master Yoda]

How can any one possibly stomach the idea of a republican in office after 8 years on recession? How can any on believe that John McCain is a TOLERABLE choice when Bush himself is running fund raisers for the man? Do you mean to tell me you are willing to let your children suffer another term of recession and war because you are to selfish and prideful to let go of your sexist agenda for the better good of the country. Hilary and Obama have mostly the same exact policies. The only difference is Race, Gender, and a $25 million dollar debt. How can you expect someone who cannot manage her own budget to manage ours? How can you expect someone who cannot manage her own home to manage the country? Why do you hold Obama responsible for what his pastor said and ignore what McCains pastor said? Oh and for all of you who think Bill was such a great president, Who do you think signed the free trade act of 1999 that allowed all of your jobs to be shipped over seas? You keep telling us to look at facts, well maybe we are. Maybe these facts are the reasons we are not voting for them. I have no problem with a woman president. And I am sure I am safe to say that all my fellow Obama supporters would proudly vote for a women president as long as it is the RIGHT woman. But a woman who leads a campaign into negative numbers is not the right woman. A woman whose husband was impeached is not the right women. A woman who claims to take imaginary sniper fire is not the right woman.

[JAMIE]

This whole "Hillary's supporters won't vote for Obama" thing is a hoax. All just to make Hillary relevant. The people answering this poll question will say they won't vote for Obama in an attempt to keep Hillary's campaign alive.
Obama may lose some of her votes, but the majority of those will never vote for a Republican.

[cyneyy]

To Freedom_ diva 5:56am Before you start judging Mr.Obama, do yourself a favor and watch the documentary "The Black Wallstreet" it started in the early 1900’s in Tulsa Oklahoma. You nit-wit.

[TodW]

How can any thoughtful person fliply switch to McCain from Clinton? WIth what's at stakes in terms of the issues -- as opposed to some infantile cult of personality contest -- I just don't understand a sudden switch from Democrat to Republican. I must believe that most voters are a lot more thoughtful and mature than many of the posters on here!

[Clarke D]

Like many "politicans" Hillary Clinton is purely a corporatist with no allegiance to a political party. The "Democratic" label is just a front. If she really was a Democrat and gave a damn about the party, she would have bowed out gracefully months ago. But, since she isn't, and the corporations that Hillary represents feel threatened by Obama, she continues to stay in even after she has lost, humiliated herself and slimes the Democratic Party name.

[fougasseu]

Another resounding defeat for Talk Radio. Limbaugh & Co. (Hannity, Ailes, Levin, et al) tried to stop McCain...and failed. They then worked equally hard to stop Obama, knowing Clinton was the easier target...failed again.
Keep up the good work, Talk Radio! And Fox, keep Karl Rove's face front and center throughout the campaign!
You're doing more damage to the GOP than any Democrat ever could.
As James Dobson has sound, forget the scoundrels and liars in Washington. Focus on the community, focus on the family.

[Bitter Sweet]

It'd be nice if the Obama supporters weren't so venomous with their comments. Okay, Clinton lost. Okay, she's taking her time to do whatever she needs to do after losing the nomination. Let's give her her time and space to handle her affairs. All of you Obama supporters are like vultures, picking and prodding at her like a bunch of carrion predators. Get off her back. Sheesh. That's why it's difficult to support Obama if he's got wretched people like yourselves with your forked tongues on his team.

[thinkresults]

jill wrote:
that I am "falsly still claiming that Obama won the popular vote. It is very sad to think that these young voters can't count and are so easily misled by TV fools like Matthews, Olbermann and Russert."

- I am in my 40s, can count and have been around long enough not to be "misled" by cable "TV" - especially since I don't even have cable "TV". I do hear that the one known as Bill O'Reilly seems to be a favorite of your ex-candidate.

- Besides being irrelevant to the way that HRC and her team agreed that the nomination would be run, your reference to RealClear Politics vote tallies is interesting as they do not count Michigan in their first selection - likely since that would be like giving credibility to the vote for Castro or Stalin.

The nomination contest is over. There are no more primaries left. Now there is an opportunity to rise above your circumstances or wallow in them through blame, self-righteousness and self-pity. As one commenter, Maung Maung Nyo, put it: "There should be some grace and respite for the loser". That opportunity was given last night. That opportunity was fumbled. The only person to blame for that is certainly not Dean, Pelosi and Reid. Hopefully HRC can salvage some of that grace, with whatever "decision" she makes, in the next few days.

[Paul F.]

Some win, some lose. Let's get on with it. I can't believe people would vent their sour grapes by voting for McBush in Nov. Come on folks, lets's get with it! We have a good man! Let's win!
l

[Sid Davis]

Does it matter? Really what is the difference between Obama and Clinton, or McCain for that matter? Government will grow in size under any of the three, and freedom will continue to wain. Obama or Clinton might bring troops home faster from Iraq than McCain, but all three think it is the role of the US to use military force to manage the world. All the government interference in the economy that plunders the majority in favor of special interest will not end. This insane idea that government can provide for us all and just print the money to do so will prosper under any of these three stooges. And none of them can create energy out of thin air like the faulty debt based monetary system can create checking accounts out of thin air. We are near financial collapse and near the end of the oil age, the first of which will cause depression, and the second of which will end the industrial age, pulling the rug out from under an unprecedented world population dependent for life on its output. What we should be discussing is peacefully liquidating the greater part of the federal government, not sending one of three inadequate figure heads to expand it.