PrintMay 31, 2008
Compromise Close on Seating FL and MI Delegates?
Sam Stein of Huffington Post is reporting that two top level sources are saying that a compromise on seating the Florida delegation at the Democratic convention has been reached:
Two sources, including a high-ranking official with the Florida delegation, have confirmed that the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) reached an agreement last night and will seat the state's entire delegation but give each delegate half a vote. The result would be a net gain of 19 delegates for Sen. Hillary Clinton, though there is no word yet on how the superdelegates from the state will be allocated. It is, the official says, a compromise that Sen. Barack Obama will be willing to make. "There will be theater but not much fight."Moreover, the impasse over what to do about Michigan's delegation may be approaching resolution.
The Michigan compromise would involve seating all the delegates based on Hillary Clinton getting 55% of the vote and Obama receiving all of the "uncommitted" delegates. Clinton had objected to that because there was nothing in party rules that allowed for all the uncommitted to go to one candidate.
If this holds, Clinton will pick up a net 29-32 delegates on Obama - a significant gain but not nearly enough to cut into his substantial lead.
Is the fight over? Most analysts are saying Hillary will go on. Allow me to go against the grain here and predict that she's out of the race before the middle of the month. I believe the remaining Superdelegates will break heavily for Obama and perhaps many of her own supers will switch allegiances.
She may "suspend" her campaign until the convention, hoping against hope that something else emerges from Obama's problematic past to torpedo his campaign. But that's a pipe dream and she knows it. That's why I think the chances are good that she will be out of the race officially in a fortnight.
