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New Backing for Obama as Party Seeks Unity •
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Obama's Penn State Rally Draws 20,000
By Devlin Barrett
The Associated Press
Sunday 30 March 2008
University Park, Pennsylvania - Shivering in blankets of Penn State's colors,
some 20,000 people filled a campus lawn Sunday to hear Barack Obama say he can
win the Democratic nomination even if rival Hillary Rodham Clinton stays in
the race.
Supporters stood in long lines for hours to hear Obama ahead of the April 22
Pennsylvania primary.
On a sunny day with temperatures in the low 40's, most bundled up for the type
of large-scale rally that has become the candidate's trademark.
"It's been a while, and it's a little cold, but we really like Barack.
He's inspiring," said 19-year-old Caitlin McDonnell, wrapped in a blue
Nittany Lions blanket.
Pennsylvania's primary is the next contest in the Obama-Clinton fight for the
Democratic presidential nomination. The Keystone State, which will allocate
158 delegates, is the biggest single delegate prize remaining in the Democratic
primaries.
Some Democrats, particularly Obama's supporters, have voiced concern that the
hard-fought, drawn-out race is already hurting the party's chances to win in
November.
The Illinois senator told the crowd not to worry.
"As this primary has gone on a little bit long, there have been people
who've been voicing some frustration," Obama said.
"I want everybody to understand that this has been a great contest, great
for America. It's engaged and involved people like never before. I think it's
terrific that Senator Clinton's supporters have been as passionate as my supporters
have been because that makes the people invested and engaged in this process,
and I am absolutely confident that when this primary season is over Democrats
will be united."
Clinton's husband, the former president, said Sunday that those voicing concern
about the duration of the nomination fight should just "chill out"
and let the race run its course.
Obama's rally drew an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people, according to university
official Richard DiEugenio - by far the biggest in a weekend of smaller,
face-to-face campaign stops since Obama launched a six-day bus tour through
the state on Friday.
From Penn State, he traveled to the state capital of Harrisburg, where he delivered
the same call for party unity. He also took aim at Republican nominee-to-be
John McCain, saying the Arizona senator undercut his own credibility by supporting
the lengthening of Bush administration tax cuts he previously opposed.
"The wheels on the Straight Talk Express came off," Obama said, referring
to the nickname for McCain's campaign vehicle. "He wants to extend those
same tax cuts that he said were irresponsible."
Earlier in the day, he visited a university-run dairy farm and fed a slurping
one-month calf, laughing as the calf sucked hard on the nipple of the bottle,
eventually draining it. "She chowed that sucker down," Obama said.
His weekend of campaigning also included a comical trip to the lanes at a bowling
alley in Altoona, where he was, by his own admission, terrible.
"My economic plan is better than my bowling," Obama told fellow bowlers
Saturday evening at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center.
"It has to be," one man called out.
As he laced up his bowling shoes, Obama let everyone know he hadn't bowled
since Jimmy Carter was president.
He shared a lane with Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who endorsed him Friday
and joined him on the bus tour, and local homemaker Roxanne Hart. As the game
went on, several small children bowled with Obama as well.
Obama's first ball flew well off his hand but ended up in the gutter. On his
second try, he knocked down four pins.
About five lanes over, a young man in a T-shirt that said "Beer Hunter"
fell on his backside while bowling and still recorded a strike.
The crowd of regulars pressed in to take pictures, get autographs and rib him
on his poor skills.
Obama did improve, nearly getting a strike in one frame, and in the seventh,
picking up a spare, giving him a score of 37. Casey had a score of 71 after
getting a strike, and Hart, with one less frame, racked up a score of 82.
"I was terrible," Obama laughed as he shook hands with people in
a crowd that gathered outside once word spread he was there.
Asked about his game, Hart sounded like a politician, saying: "He has
potential."
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New Backing for Obama as Party Seeks Unity
By Jackie Calmes
The Wall Street Journal
Monday 31 March 2008
Washington - Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking
Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure
on Hillary Clinton to give up.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to endorse Sen. Obama Monday, according
to a Democrat familiar with her plans. Meanwhile, North Carolina's seven Democratic
House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group - just one has so
far - before that state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say.
Helping to drive the endorsements is a fear that the Obama-Clinton contest
has grown toxic and threatens the Democratic Party's chances against Republican
John McCain in the fall.
Sen. Clinton rejects that view. Over the weekend, she reiterated her intent
to stay in the race beyond the last contest in early June - and all the way
to the party's convention in Denver, if necessary.
"There are some folks saying we ought to stop these elections," she
said Saturday in Indiana, which also has a May 6 primary. "I didn't think
we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it
was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted."
Sen. Obama told reporters, "My attitude is that Sen. Clinton can run as
long as she wants."
In earlier eras, the standoff between the two candidates might have been resolved
by party elders acting behind the scenes. But no Democrat today has the power
to knock heads and resolve the mess. Party Chairman Howard Dean says he was
"dumbfounded" at the suggestion by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy Friday
that Sen. Clinton should pull out.
"Having run for president myself, nobody tells you when to get in, and
nobody tells you when to get out," Mr. Dean said. "That's about the
most personal decision you can make after all the time and effort you put into
it."
New York Sen. Clinton still hopes that by turning in strong performances in
the final primaries, she can blunt the momentum of her rival from Illinois and
make the case that she is best-positioned to take on Sen. McCain. With Mr. Dean,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and other party leaders
remaining neutral, the question is whether the trend of party figures endorsing
Sen. Obama will build enough momentum to tip the race.
The expected move by Minnesota's Sen. Klobuchar follows Friday's endorsement
of Sen. Obama by Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April
22.
Both senators had planned to remain neutral, according to party officials,
but decided to weigh in as the Democrats' campaign became more negative and
Sen. McCain was free to exploit the confusion looking to the November election.
One North Carolinian confirmed that at least several of the state's House members
would go public in favor of Sen. Obama before long. Meanwhile, elected officials
in other states with upcoming contests, including Indiana, Montana and Oregon,
are weighing whether to endorse Sen. Obama.
What makes such endorsements significant is that they're from superdelegates.
These delegates - members of Congress, governors and other party officials
- can vote for whomever they want at the Democratic convention in August. Sen.
Obama has a slight lead over Sen. Clinton in the pledged-delegate count - the
delegates won during primaries and caucuses - but neither can amass enough
pledged delegates for a majority. That makes the vote of the superdelegates
decisive.
Since the "Super Tuesday" primaries on Feb. 5, Sen. Obama has won
commitments from 64 superdelegates and Sen. Clinton has gotten nine. Sen. Obama
has a total of 217 superdelegates in his camp while Sen. Clinton has 250, and
her margin has been shrinking with each week. Sen. Clinton would have several
more in her tally, but they're from Michigan, and delegates from Michigan and
Florida won't be seated - at least for now - because both states defied party
rules and held their primaries earlier than permitted.
"I think that says a lot about just where people are and what they're
thinking," says former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, an Obama
supporter. "And I think the numbers are just going to keep getting better"
for Sen. Obama. Counting Sen. Klobuchar, Sen. Obama leads 13-11 among their
Democratic colleagues in the Senate.
Even raising the prospect of a convention fight could backfire for Sen. Clinton
by antagonizing the superdelegates she needs. Many superdelegates are on the
ballot themselves this year, and the last thing they want is a chaotic convention
that plays into the hands of Republicans.
In interviews, some House Democrats said Sen. Obama has the edge in the chamber.
They noted that he has proved himself the stronger fund-raiser and has attracted
more new voters to the party than anyone in recent memory - both advantages
that could benefit other Democrats. They worry that Sen. Clinton's high negative
ratings in polls would incite more Republicans to mobilize against her and the
Democratic ticket.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a former presidential candidate and a past
party chairman, told National Journal Friday that Sen. Obama's nomination is
"a foregone conclusion" and "enough is enough." Sen. Dodd
has endorsed Sen. Obama.
Mr. Dean, the party chairman, is urging uncommitted superdelegates to take
sides no later than July 1, and effectively name the nominee. "If we go
into the convention divided, it's pretty likely we'll come out of the convention
divided," he said.
Democrats across the board, he said, "are haranguing me to show leadership."
But they're often partisans for one candidate or the other, he added. Meanwhile,
he said he is conferring with other party leaders, including Mrs. Pelosi, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada; former Vice President Al Gore; civil-rights
veteran and Clinton confidante Vernon Jordan; former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo;
and Jesse Jackson and his son, Chicago Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
"Most of their advice is, 'Let this play out, let's get through the primaries,'" Mr. Dean said. "And I think that's right.... Voters have to have
their say. It's painful, because that means we've got another two months of
this."
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