Barack Obama plans to simply declare victory once he’s passed the 2,025 delegate threshold, David Paul Kuhn asserts in an article that does not cite any sources.
Not long after the polls close in the May 20 Kentucky and Oregon primaries, Barack Obama plans to declare victory in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. And, until at least May 31 and perhaps longer, Hillary Clinton’s campaign plans to dispute it.
It’s a train wreck waiting to happen, with one candidate claiming to be the nominee while the other vigorously denies it, all predicated on an argument over what exactly constitutes the finish line of the primary race.
The Obama campaign agrees with the Democratic National Committee, which pegs a winning majority at 2,025 pledged delegates and superdelegates—a figure that excludes the penalized Florida and Michigan delegations. The Clinton campaign, on the other hand, insists the winner will need 2,209 to cinch the nomination—a tally that includes Florida and Michigan. “We don’t accept 2,025. It is not the real number because that does not include Florida and Michigan,” said Howard Wolfson, one of Clinton’s two chief strategists. “It’s a phony number.”
The media outlets, including CNN, have long bought the 2,025 figure so it will likely stick.
Clinton supporter Armando, though, is incensed by the very suggestion.
So let me get this straight — the first act of the self declared Democratic nominee Barack Obama will be to state that Michigan and Florida will not count? This is insane. Two key states in November will be dissed in the first act of the newly crowned Democratic nominee.
Although I’d argue that they’ve already been “dissed” by the party by having their delegates stripped for holding early elections in violation of the long-established rules. Why non-existent delegates would be counted in determining who has a majority is, to say the least, unclear. Indeed, one could argue that not declaring victory after passing the 2,025 threshold would be a tacit admission that Clinton is right.
