Obama Pays Surprise Visit to House Posted on May 9th
Obama Pays Surprise Visit to House
Sen. Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the House floor this morning, acting and treated as, the party’s new Prince.
Entering by a side door and mobbed by House members, Obama is clearly seen as the new party leader, despite Sen. Hillary Clinton’s attempts to continue her campaign.
“I wanted to see what’s going on over here,” a beaming Obama told reporters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the race will continue, but there is no question among the big pot of super delegates in Congress who the Democratic nominee is.
The extent of Clinton’s struggles were made clear by one of her most committed and loyal super delegates, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose comments yesterday rocked whatever foundation Clinton’s campaign rests on.
Feinstein had said she wanted to talk to Clinton to find out directly what she thinks the strategy now is, adding that the race was reaching the point where it is paying “negative dividends” by causing “strife within the party.”
Other Clinton super delegates from California, such as Walnut Creek’s Ellen Tauscher, and uncommitted Rep. Sam Farr of Monterey, are remaining mum for now, probably out of respect for the candidate to leave on her own terms.
It is hard for any candidate — as we saw earlier this year with Mike Huckabee, John Edwards and others — to pull the plug on their hopes and dreams after so much effort. But plenty of Democrats are worried that her continuing campaign is damaging the party and delaying efforts to take on Republican John McCain.
Obama spent about a half hour on the floor, talking to supporters such as Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, as well as Clinton supporters such as Rep. John Murtha, from Clinton-country Pennsylvania.
Some conservative Democrats, hailing from the Bubba demographic where Obama has struggled and Clinton has shined, have said privately that they are worried that having Obama at the top of the ticket will hurt their re-election chances.
Resolving their concerns is Obama’s next challenge.
Posted By: Carolyn Lochhead (Email) |
May 08 2008 at 09:04 AM
Listed Under: Campaign ‘08 | Comments (3) : Post Comment
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