By seating the contested Michigan and Florida delegations to the Democratic National Convention in Denver but awarding each delegate from the two rule- breaking states just a half vote, the Democratic Party was trying to reunite its warring factions to get ready for Republican John McCain in the fall.
But party unity won’t come until Hillary Clinton puts the good of her party and the causes she has championed above her own burning desire to become president. That could come as early as tonight, after the last ballots are counted in the final two contests in South Dakota and Montana.
Clinton has repeatedly said, “Let every vote count.” Well, within a few hours, they will all be counted.
Even if she pulls an unlikely upset and wins most of the 31 delegates at stake today, it is clear that the votes of the party faithful, when converted into delegates, amount to a close but still decisive victory for Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee. And superdelegates have been defecting to Obama over the past few weeks.
The rules and bylaws committee Saturday voted 27-0 to seat Florida’s delegation, giving Clinton 52.5 delegates and Obama 33.5. The panel voted 19-8 to similarly seat the Michigan delegation, giving Clinton 34.5 delegate votes and Obama 29.5.
The result was a net gain of 24 delegates for Clinton, who picked up another 21 net delegates Sunday by winning Puerto Rico’s primary. All told, the weekend brought a gain of 45 delegates for Clinton, who went into the weekend trailing Obama by about 200 delegates.
Even if the Democrats had given the Florida and Michigan delegates full votes — despite the fact that their states defied party rules by holding early primaries — it would have added just another net 24 delegates to Clinton’s tally, leaving her more than 125 behind Obama. At that point, the New York senator would have had to win more than 80 percent of the remaining superdelegates to upset Obama, an all but impossible task.
There were signs Monday that Clinton has begun to do the math and accept the inevitable. She is reportedly planning to meet with her advisers at her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., today. If tonight doesn’t bring a concession to Obama, coupled with a ringing call for party unity in the fight to come, such a speech may be forthcoming soon.
As a newspaper that endorsed Clinton before the Colorado caucuses, we urge her to show as much grace in defeat as we expect Obama will show in victory.
Clinton has run a more than respectable race, pushing forward solid plans for health care reform and the war in Iraq, and can be proud of her accomplishments. But a majority of Democrats are looking for new leadership.
We hope she will remain a major force in national politics for years to come.
