Unite the Party

The Time blog covers recent Obama campaign staff additions:

"In a move bound to reignite speculation that Hillary might be offered the vice presidential slot, the Obama campaign announced that none other than Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton’s former campaign manager, would be 'chief of staff to the vice presidential nominee.'"

Patti Solis Doyle had stepped down from Hillary's campaign in February in the middle of a series of losses which gave Obama a strong pledged delegate lead. Reaction seems mixed whether Doyle joining the Obama campaign indicates that Hillary is more or less likely to be asked to be the ticket. If you support a joint ticket, why not post a comment on the Time blog to make your voice heard.

Posted by Manton at 03:32 PM

Now that the Democratic nominee is no longer in doubt, Al Gore will endorse Barack Obama tonight at a rally in Detroit. Back in 2004, Gore had endorsed Howard Dean before the official start of the primary season, after which Dean's campaign derailed and John Kerry swept through the nomination. Many believed Gore stayed neutral in the 2008 primaries so he could help guide and reconcile the party if it become contested, and he may still have a role to play before the convention.

Posted by Manton at 03:23 PM

The last two states voted today, South Dakota and Montana, wrapping up 6 months of voting.

Enough super delegates endorsed Obama today to effectively give him the nomination. In her speech tonight, Hillary congratulated Obama but said a final decision on her campaign will come later.

Dianne Feinstein and many others continued to talk about Hillary accepting the Vice President spot on a unified Democratic ticket.

"I think a decision has to be made about whether keeping this nomination wide open is in the best interest of winning in November. I do not believe that it is, and I’m a very strong supporter of Hillary being placed on ticket as a vice presidential candidate. [...] The reason I say this is because each one of them represents a different constituency. The constituencies are knocking heads at the present time."

Now that the primaries are over, I hope this web site will become even more relevant as we decide the future of the party and the party platform leading up to the convention. Let's not take our eye off the ball. We will win in November.

Posted by Manton at 09:40 PM

Just 24 hours after Hillary Clinton won West Virginia by over 40 points, John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama. Only days before, Edwards had said he would likely stay neutral. His endorsement of Obama seemed by many a response to Hillary's win and not a direct play at Vice President on Obama's ticket, a slot on the dream team that increasingly includes Hillary's name. Edwards flatly denied wanting to be VP.

During his endorsement speech, Edwards had strong praise for Hillary:

"She is a woman who, in my judgment, is made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done."

An interview with both John and Elizabeth Edwards in last month's People Magazine pointed to a divided household, with Elizabeth especially admiring Hillary's healthcare plan. John Edwards is not a super delegate, but he is well respected in the Democratic Party and helps make the case that the nomination is all but wrapped-up. The last primary is in less than 2 weeks.

Posted by Manton at 07:38 PM

In a largely negative opinion piece disguised as news, CNN's Carl Bernstein provides his own analysis of Hillary's possible attempts to force herself onto the Obama ticket. It's a bit all over the map, but worth a read for the anonymous quotes and numerous "landing a plane" metaphors.

"Meanwhile, some of the Clintons' longtime friends and political counselors are intent on trying to talk her down calmly — something almost like a family intervention — to get her concede the Democratic presidential race when the appropriate time comes, in such a way as to heal some of the wounds to the party and to both candidates but allow her to make her best case for the vice presidency."

The race is starting to wind down as West Virginia votes on Tuesday. Bill Schneider covers the West Virginia dynamics and the challenge Obama faces there, wrapping up with another nod to Hillary as Vice President:

"If Obama gets the nomination and it looks like the only way he can win is to get those West Virginia Democrats back, you can be sure he will think seriously about asking Clinton to go on the ticket."

Expect the joint ticket narrative to continue to gain strength over the next week.

Posted by Manton at 10:45 AM

Tommy Christopher of AOL's Political Machine reacts to Ted Kennedy's assertion that Hillary should not be the pick for Vice President:

"There have been signals from the Clinton camp that Hillary would be amenable to a VP nod, and it is my observation that, despite hard feelings, Senator Obama is far too smart a politician not to make such an obviously smart move. This is truly a test for Obama, can he win gracefully and shrug off the rancor of this campaign?"

The comments on that page are equally interesting, if you skip the hateful ones. John in Philadelphia, an Obama supporter, writes:

"Let's let the dust settle. Hillary is still running those 'Send me $5' ads here on AOL. Let her win West Virginia and Kentucky and go out a winner. Let Obama pay off her debts (she's at least doing her part and trying to raise some money) and then let Hillary, the VP nominee, and Bill chew up the Republicans. John McCain won't know what hit him."

I think John nails it. Obama can win alone, but in some states it will be a hard fight, despite the rifts in the Republican Party. Now it is the Democrats who are divided. We must bring all of the Democrats together — the core base, women, African-Americans, young voters, working class, new members, independents, and even people who voted for Bush but who are sick of what his legacy has become. Combined, the full weight and passion of what this party stands for will be strong, but alienate either candidate's supporters and there will be holes in that strength.

Posted by Manton at 05:01 PM

Obama won North Carolina decisively on Tuesday night, and Hillary held on to a 2-point win in Indiana after a late night in which it almost seemed possible that the outcome could go either way. But as Nancy Pelosi said:

"A win is a win. Let's just call it what it is. [...] The people should all have the opportunity to speak as long as two candidates wish to compete in those primaries and caucuses. In a few weeks, we will be on our way to nominating the next president of the United States."

Despite calls for her to withdraw, Hillary sent a message to supporters today that she will see the rest of the primaries out: "Today, in every way that I know how, I am expressing my personal determination to keep forging forward in this campaign."

In their respective victory speeches, both candidates stressed that we will have a united party once a nominee is officially chosen. Hillary also fielded several questions from the press yesterday, saying "I don't buy that" when asked if her supporters or Obama's supporters would shift to McCain. Here's the video on YouTube.

Posted by Manton at 10:44 AM

This close Democratic race may have produced the closest primary contest today in Guam, as Obama won by just 7 votes out of about 4500 cast. CNN reports:

"With all 21 precincts reporting, Obama finished with 2,264 votes, or 50.1 percent. Sen. Hillary Clinton got 2,257 votes, or 49.9 percent."

Indiana and North Carolina are up on Tuesday.

Posted by Manton at 10:36 PM

Hillary won Pennsylvania last week by nearly 10 points and with a record 2.3 million Democratic voter turnout. While it was enough to come within striking distance on the national popular vote totals, it brought just a 10 delegate bump and renewed speculation about how the Democratic nominee will be chosen.

Exit polling from Pennsylvania does nothing to change concern for how many Hillary or Obama supporters will back McCain in November. From the CNN Political Ticker blog:

"Only 50 percent of Clinton voters in Pennsylvania said they would support Obama if he is the nominee. Twenty-six percent said they would back McCain over Obama, and 19 percent said they would not vote at all. Among Obama's Pennsylvania voters, 67 percent said they would support Clinton if she is the party's nomine. Seventeen percent said they would back McCain instead, and 12 percent said they would stay home."

And at Politico:

"Exit polls revealed another reason for Democrats to worry: They suggested that Obama would only hold the support of 72 percent of the core Democratic voters who participated in the Pennsylvania primary. Clinton, the poll suggested, would hold just 80 percent."

I first touched on this issue back in early March. There is a very real risk of not just discouraging Democratic turnout in November, but of alienating the most passionate voters we have this year. By stressing a combined Democratic ticket, we can focus on our shared values and keep as many Democrats as possible involved in the general election.

Posted by Manton at 04:38 PM

Reaction to the Democratic debate last night was mixed. According to most reports, Hillary had the strongest showing, but supporters on both sides criticized the lack of substance in the first half of the debate. If the prolonged primary season is a good opportunity to raise awareness of Democratic issues critical to winning in November, last night was a missed opportunity due to the focus by moderators on the latest Wright or Bosnia "controversy".

The good news is that most of the differences between the candidates were pointed out respectfully, with an overall positive tone that was missing from the last debate in Texas over a month ago.

When asked about a joint ticket, the candidates were momentarily speechless. Afterwards Obama reiterated that it was "premature", and both candidates pledged to unite behind the nominee. Hillary continued:

"I think it's absolutely imperative that our entire party close ranks, that we become unified. I will do everything I can do make sure the people who supported me, support our nominee. I will go anywhere in the country to make the case. And I know that Barack feels the same way."

You can watch video for most of the debate online at ABCNews.com.

Posted by Manton at 01:15 PM

Today I was interviewed by local Austin public radio station KUT for a feature on the KUT Elections site. This was the first interview I've done for Unite the Party, and while I hope I covered the basics there is certainly a lot of depth to this election process that could only be glossed over or which I forgot to mention.

If this is the first time you are visiting the site, here are a few posts you may find interesting:

• Dream ticket
• The cost of a divided party
• Complementary passions
• Howard Dean on delegates
• Record donations and turnout

Comments are not enabled yet, but I welcome your questions or suggestions at feedback@unitetheparty.com. I'm also interested in hearing from people who support both candidates and who would like to cover the campaign or write essays about the candidates on this site.

Posted by Manton at 11:43 AM

CNN.com reports on comments Hillary made in Pennsylvania today when she responded to a question about whether Democrats can come together after the primaries. She said:

"I think we will have a unified Democratic party once we have a nominee, we will go into fall election very committed to taking back the White House. None of the things I talk about will happen if Sen. McCain is elected.

"I think that people that who would have voted for either me or Sen. Obama are going to ask themselves, 'Wait a minute, there are really big differences between the Democrats and the Republicans.' And let’s have a unified party and elect a Democratic president."

This is not the first time she or Barack Obama have been asked this question, and the answer is always the same. We will be united one way or another, because we have to win. The only question is whether we take the easy way — which is to bring both candidates together, let them lead by example with a joint ticket and let their supporters follow — or whether we risk discouraging half the party and will need to work to rebuild that trust after the nominee is chosen.

Posted by Manton at 09:35 PM

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico endorsed Obama today, over 2 months after dropping out of the Democratic race. Although previously conflicted about who to endorse, Richardson still had praise for both candidates, saying that while his "affection for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver", it was time for a new generation. Most importantly, he underscore that we must "stop fighting amongst ourselves" and prepare for the tough fight against McCain.

Posted by Manton at 03:14 PM

Earlier this month I wrote about the record donations and turnout during this primary season. Paul Krugman of the New York Times has also pointed to the strong grassroots support of both candidates:

"Thanks to Tuesday’s results, the nomination fight will go on to Pennsylvania in April, and probably beyond — and rightly so. It’s now clear that Mrs. Clinton, like Mr. Obama, has strong grass-roots support that cannot be simply brushed aside without alienating voters that the party will badly need in November. So the Democratic National Committee had better get moving on plans to do Michigan and Florida over, to give the eventual nominee the legitimacy he or she needs."

While the news media is generally more interested in things they can quantify, like how large a crowd was for a speech or how much money was given in a month, there are hundreds and thousands of people whose impact is less easy to measure. They take time out of their day to put up signs, call undecided voters, or even travel to another state where they hope to make a difference for their candidate. This is an incredible power and we will want these supporters on our side past the nomination process. With a united Democratic ticket we can keep many of the most passionate volunteers engaged and organized until November.

Posted by Manton at 02:15 PM

Jim Dean of Democracy for America sent an email to supporters today:

"A long primary battle is healthy as long as we make the case for how we'll win, not how the other candidate will lose. We need to fight McCain, not each other. Join me in demanding Senators Clinton and Obama keep their eyes on the ball."

I could not agree more. Supporters of either Democratic candidate can talk about why our favorite should be on the top of the ticket, but let's do it respectfully and focus on the real goal: winning in November. Sign the open letter here.

Posted by Manton at 02:03 PM

Obama won the Mississippi primary yesterday, with especially strong support from African-Americans. According to the CNN exit poll, a majority of Democrats think that Obama should pick Hillary as his vice-presidential candidate, with a full 63% of those who voted for Obama in the primary supporting such a move. While mainstream media focuses on a party divided by race, these results also reveal that Democrats are ready to come together as a party and that one of the best ways to do that is a joint ticket.

The next primary is over a month from now, April 22nd in Pennsylvania.

Posted by Manton at 10:20 AM

CNN covers Bill Clinton's comments about a joint Hillary-Obama ticket:

"I know that she has always been open to it, because she believes that if you can unite the energy and the new people that he's brought in and the people in these vast swaths of small town and rural America that she's carried overwhelmingly, if you had those two things together she thinks it'd be hard to beat."

One of the things that makes this race pretty interesting is how Hillary consistently carries women and rural voters and Obama wins big with young voters and in cities. This is a strong argument for a joint ticket and will be critical if Democrats hope to compete in some of the traditionally Republican areas of the country.

Posted by Manton at 08:28 PM

In February, both campaigns announced record donations: $35 million for Hillary and $55 million for Obama. After her wins in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island, Hillary saw another bump of over $6 million in just 2 days.

While an argument could be made that this money would be better spent fighting against Republicans, the fact is that most of these donations are small, from voters who have never given money to a campaign before. At $25, $50, or even $100, these voters will not max out the contribution limits; they can and will contribute again for the general election.

But more than that, it speaks to how fired up this party is. Four years ago, Howard Dean pioneered the use of the internet to raise money and mobilize voters. Today our campaigns have perfected it. The challenge now is to keep that excitement going past the convention.

Turnout is also high across the country. In Texas, which has voted Republican for three decades, more people voted for Hillary than for every single Republican running combined. Polls in Texas show a matchup between Hillary and McCain or Obama and McCain closing in on the margin of error. Daily Kos suggested last week that even Texas is in play, regardless of nominee. Now imagine it in play if we have both.

Posted by Manton at 04:56 PM