Reid, Dean, & Pelosi Promise That Nomination Battle Won't Go To Convention

Posted by Ashish on 05.29.2008

Will they be able to control an increasingly desparate Hillary Clinton? And Obama speaks on the possibility of Clinton never quitting, and doesn't seem to bothered by the idea...

Yesterday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to not let the Democratic nomination battle go to the convention, and today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also jumped in. From ABC News:

Uncommitted superdelegate and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., visiting San Francisco, told KGO Radio today that he spoke this morning with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and last night to DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "We agree there won't be a fight at the convention," he said, later adding that "simple math indicates" Barack Obama is likely to become the Democratic nominee.

CNN is also reporting that Pelosi has started to call undecided superdelegates, urging them to make up their minds.

Pelosi, Reid, Dean, and Al Gore are probably the most powerful people in the party at this point and would have the most influence in terms of forcing Clinton out of the race if she tries to wreck things for the party by refusing to withdraw.

And to make matters even more interesting, Obama himself doesn't seem to be that concerned about the idea of Clinton staying in until the convention even if he reaches the magic number of delegates to win the nomination. From McClatchy:

In a question and answer session Wednesday night with reporters on his campaign plane between Denver and Chicago, the Illinois senator dismissed the idea that rival Hillary Clinton's stated willingness to take her fight for the nomination to the party convention in late August would matter.

"When Dukakis won the nomination, you know, Jesse (Jackson) was still running until the convention," Obama said. "When Bill Clinton was running, Jerry Brown was still technically in it. As far as I can tell, this is fairly standard fare."

According to the article, Obama is planning on declaring victory next week once he sures up the number of delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. Under current rules, he will clinch on Tuesday when Montana and South Dakota vote. If the magic number changes on Saturday due to a new deal with Florida and Michigan, and it probably will, he could still clinch on Tuesday, and if not, probably by the end of the week.