Wednesday, April 16, 2008

tydepavlinik

Pressure is building on Hillary Clinton to ace her noon concession speech Saturday, as Democratic leaders expect her to heal the divisive wounds of the primary and at the same time signal to the 18 million voters who backed her that it’s time to close ranks behind former rival Barack Obama.

Clinton drew the ire of her party after she failed to acknowledge Obama’s historic achievement Tuesday, when the Illinois senator earned the delegates to be the first black presidential nominee of a major party.

And so she is expected to be many things when she bows out in Washington, D.C.: gracious, conciliatory, authentic, self-less and 100 percent behind her former rival.

“As she keeps reminding us — 18 million voted for her, and some of them are still waiting for a signal. And she has to give them that signal,” said Ted Sorensen, former adviser and speech-writer for President Kennedy.

Sorensen, an Obama supporter, told FOXNews.com Clinton should “admire and salute” her former opponent, and urge her donors and supporters to follow.

Sorensen was also an adviser to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s 1980 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. And Clinton may look to the tone set by Sen. Kennedy’s concession speech, given under similar but more extreme circumstances.

The speech, delivered after Kennedy took his underdog fight against incumbent President Carter all the way to the August convention and lost, didn’t lead Carter and the Democrats to victory but was widely praised and well-received. Kennedy congratulated Carter while still acknowledging a hard-fought campaign.

There were concerns that Kennedy upstaged Carter, but with Obama’s oratorical reputation Clinton probably will not run that risk.

Kennedy’s speech, a broad statement on party and country, ended memorably with the line: “For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”

Clinton has been admonished to leave no question about her support for Obama.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Clinton should give a “very positive statement of support” on Saturday.

“The biggest problem Hillary Clinton has is she has to alter the perception that she’s not interested in party unity. I think she reinforced that perception with her non-concession concession Tuesday night,” said Kevin Madden, former spokesman for Mitt Romney during his campaign against John McCain for the GOP nomination.

Madden consulted Romney on his concession speech, delivered after a bitter battle against McCain.

“There’s an old saying in politics: If they’re gonna run you out of town, get in front and make it look like a parade,” Madden said. “And I think that’s what she’s going to try to do.”

Madden said Clinton has to acknowledge the obvious divisions of the primary race, but then show her unwavering dedication to getting Obama elected. He said she’ll have to project the image of a sunny, enthusiastic surrogate.

Republicans are already starting to use the Democrats’ primary battle against Obama, circulating videos of Clinton’s criticism of him — touching on everything from the Illinois senator’s supposed inexperience to his ties to unsavory characters.

But Madden said Republicans are engaging in “mutually assured destruction” with that tactic, since there are just as many videos in cyberspace showing Republicans hammering McCain.

Obama and Clinton moved to patch up some of their differences when they held a secret meeting Thursday at the Washington, D.C., home of Clinton supporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

They released few details, but Feinstein said they emerged from the hour-long meeting “laughing.”

Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters Friday that Clinton will give a “great speech” Saturday.

“She will do anything. She has made that clear. She will do anything she can to help Barack Obama. … If he wants her to travel every day she’ll do that,” McAuliffe said.

He spoke as Clinton’s staffers gathered at the New York senator’s D.C. home Friday for a good-bye party.

Meanwhile, Obama has shown growing confidence since clinching the nomination.

He was buoyant Friday when he showed up for an event celebrating the selection of Chicago as a finalist city for the 2016 Olympics.

“In the interests of full disclosure, I have to let you know that in 2016, I’ll be wrapping up my second term as president,” he told the cheering Chicago crowd.

Obama may be seeing a bump in the polls after being released from his fight with Clinton.

The Rasmussen Reports tracking poll Friday showed Obama with a lead of 5 percentage points over McCain, 45 to 40 percent. That’s up from a 2-point lead earlier in the week. Obama was trailing McCain last week in that poll.

Democratic congressional leaders are expected to come together next week to formally endorse Obama as their candidate.

The next big question facing the presumptive Democratic nominee is whether to tap Clinton as his running mate, something Clinton’s backers are lobbying for vigorously.

Feinstein and others say she’ll help him carry certain constituencies — working-class, female and Hispanic voters — especially as McCain works to court frustrated Clinton supporters for the general election.

Clinton’s campaign announced Thursday that she “is not seeking the vice presidency.”

But her performance Saturday also could play a factor in whether she’s considered for a role in an Obama administration, as running mate or in some other post.

Sorensen, the former Kennedy adviser, said Saturday’s address will be a chance for her to lift her reputation, and Clinton probably should decide soon what she really wants.

But, he said, “the first thing she should do is take a long, restful vacation.”

No comments: