SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Hillary Rodham Clinton was jolted Thursday by the defection of one of her longtime superdelegate supporters, a former national party chairman who urged fellow Democrats to “reject the old negative politics” and unify behind Barack Obama. “A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue” a long, self-destructive Democratic campaign, Joe Andrew added in a letter designed to have an impact on the turbulent race nationally as well as in his home state of Indiana, site of a primary next week.
“A vote to continue this process is a vote that assists John McCain,” Andrew wrote. In response, Clinton told
ABC’s “Nightline”: “I think this has been good for the Democratic Party. … People can decide however they want to decide. That’s up to them. But anyone who believes this is bad for the party I just think is not paying attention, because the level of enthusiasm to be part of this process is, from my perspective, helping us build a stronger and deeper Democratic base.” Andrew’s defection came at a particularly opportune time for Obama. The front-runner in the race, he has won more states than his rival as well as more of the popular vote, and he has an overall lead in delegates, 1736.5-1602.5. It takes 2,025 to clinch the nomination.
But he has struggled in recent days to limit the political damage caused by controversial comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Clinton’s hopes of stalling Obama’s drive to the nomination rest on a strong showing in the remaining primaries, beginning Tuesday in Indiana. At the same time, she hopes to persuade superdelegates that she would be a stronger candidate for the party this fall against McCain and the Republicans.
A top aide to the former first lady, Harold Ickes, sent a memo to superdelegates during the day making the case. Among the polls cited was a recent Associated Press-Ipsos survey that found Clinton leading McCain by 9 percentage points, while Obama was virtually tied with the Republican. Andrew was one of five superdelegates to swing behind Obama during the day, compared to four Clinton netted. The result was to trim the former first lady’s once-imposing advantage among party luminaries who will attend the convention to 268-248.
In his letter, Andrew not only challenged Clinton’s claims about electability, but he also bluntly denounced the type of campaign tactics practiced by some in the Clinton circle. “If the campaign’s surrogates called Governor Bill Richardson, a respected former member of President Clinton’s cabinet, a “Judas” for endorsing Senator Obama, we can all imagine how they will treat somebody like me,” he wrote.
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