Many have been hoping that party leaders would step in and encourage superdelegates to endorse Obama and end the primary process. However, according to the Associated Press, Gore at least doesn't have any plans to do so:
Democratic icon Al Gore said he won't step in as broker or peacemaker in the venomous nomination battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
"I think it's going to resolve itself. But we'll see," Gore told The Associated Press, referring to the possibility of one candidate dropping out before the party convention in August. [...]
Gore dismissed party worrywarts who say the Democratic infighting only helps Republican John McCain.
"What have we got, five months left?" he said when asked about his endorsement.
Meanwhile, both Obama and Clinton continue to slide in key state general election match-ups with McCain, and the number of Democratic primary voters refusing to vote for either Obama or Clinton continues to rise. I think Gore underestimates the amount of animosity building in the Democratic party.
"I think it would be nice to have this all done by July 1," Dean said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "If we can do it sooner than that, that's all the better."
Excuse me? July 1st counts as a deadline? That's the best we can do? A full month after the final primary is held on June 3rd? Huh?
There is a certain irony that Democratic members of Congress who haven't shown the political courage to force an end to the war in Iraq have now failed with their superdelegate status to force an end to the Democratic primary fight.
I guess as the old saying goes: I don't belong to an organized political party, I'm a Democrat.
We all know that this play looks increasingly like a Greek tragedy. I've already suggested the worst-case scenario. That's the "Train Wreck in the Station" that turns the Denver Democratic Convention into a modern-day "Chicago '68". There is also the more insipid, but similarly destructive possibility for which there is already evidence in the tone of the campaign and polls of Democratic voter attitudes. That is, the nominee is selected "free and fair", but fails to win a significant share of the other contender's support, allowing McCain to slide through in November. The chances for this outcome could improve the longer this race drags on.
No wonder the pundits are now wringing their hands in search of an elder statesman to save the day. Albert Hunt sees the need for someone to sort out the Michigan/Florida mess. After all, if George Mitchell can hammer out a plan for Northern Ireland and the Middle East, as well as professional baseball, he can certainly work out something for the DNC. I concede that these renegade states are important to the Democrats’ electoral total in November. But solving the problem created by the queue-jumpers may not solve the Clinton-Obama stalemate, only prolong it.
Dodd will announce Friday that he will remain neutral in Tuesday's Connecticut primary.
A Democrat close to Dodd, who requested anonymity because no formal announcement had been made, says the former Democratic presidential contender plans to talk about his decision at a late-afternoon news conference in Hartford.
A Richardson consultant let it be known that the Governor would also be remaining neutral in New Mexico's Tuesday primary.
John Edwards has already said that he plans to sit down with both candidates before making an endorsement, meaning it's highly unlikely that an endorsement would come before Tuesday.
And as for Al Gore, an endorsement looks unlikely.
So it's safe to say that there won't be anymore game-changing endorsements before February 5th. Keep looking, however, for unions and congresspeople who had supported Edwards to shift to Obama. Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota joined them this morning.
In the weeks leading up to the 2004 general election, I had several arguments with Republican friends, acquaintances, and neighbors about the choice between Kerry and Bush. Most of these arguments were about the Iraq War, and I didn't make headway on much (immorality, criminal activity, deliberate sabotaging of federal agencies, fiscal irresponsibility) with these committed Republicans.
But there was one argument that did sink in. These Ohio Republicans were worried that George W. Bush lacked one crucial virtue of a president: competence. They happened to believe John Kerry did not demonstrate competence either, but they were worried about their own guy.
In the years since, the price of an incompetent president has grown more dear to the people of the United States; so much so that competence threatens to become an issue in the 2008 presidential race.
