Hillary Clinton’s recent talk about “catharsis” was in large part about having her name being placed in nomination during the Democratic National Convention. It’s largely a symbolic move, but it appears that’s precisely what’s going to happen.
The decision was reached this week, according to Democratic officials, and will be announced later today. It comes after long negotiations on both sides, with many backers of Mrs. Clinton vigorously pushing for her candidacy to be validated by giving her delegates the chance to support her through a roll call vote.
For Democrats inside the convention center in Denver, as well as the television audience at home, it could create some interesting moments. After the state-by-state roll is tallied, Mrs. Clinton is expected to turn over her cache of delegates to Senator Barack Obama.
So how will Mrs. Clinton, who is a superdelegate herself, vote? Associates say she will throw her lot behind Mr. Obama and ask her supporters to follow suit. To see if it unfolds as the Obama campaign hopes — free of acrimony — tune in on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
According to the various reports, this wasn’t exactly the result of a “negotiation,” per se, but was simply the move both camps saw as the right way to go. A Democratic Party operative familiar with convention plans told CNN that the Obama campaign hopes the move will bring “peace in the kingdom.”
Does this have any substantive significance? Well, no. But there was a genuine (and legitimate) fear that if Clinton’s name was not placed in nomination, her most enthusiastic supporters would have perceived it as a disrespectful “snub,” and the likelihood of intra-party strife at the convention would have been considerably greater.
A party source told Greg Sargent, “This will recognize the historic nature of the primaries, honor the voices of everyone who participated, and help with party unity.”
In the broader context, it’s worth keeping in mind that things seem to be coming together pretty well in advance of the convention. Ben Smith noted
, “Despite the occasional tensions both at the tops of the campaigns and among their supporters, the actual convention planning appears to be coming off without major controversies.”
What’s more, Marc Ambinder notes that today’s announcement came together even easier than expected, and the rumored acrimony hasn’t materialized.
Reports of strife between negotiators for Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are exaggerated and the two sides are nearing an agreement on how Clinton’s delegates will participate in the formal nominating process at the Democratic National Convention, according to advisers to both Democrats.
Although Clinton had resisted pressure from donors, allies and supporters to accept demands to allow her name placed in nomination, she and aides to Obama seemed to realize independently that doing so would be the best way to incorporate and welcome Clinton’s supporters into Obama’s general election campaign, both symbolically and practically.
According to several people who have spoken with her, Clinton originally believed that if her name were included in the roll call on Wednesday, August 27, she would inevitably wind up with fewer delegates than the 1896.5 she earned from the primaries. That would look bad and could demoralize her supporters.
In negotiations this summer with Obama’s campaign, Clinton’s team did not ask for Clinton’s name to be submitted.
But within the past week, Clinton advisers informed the Obama team that many of Clinton’s staunchest supporters felt strongly that something had to be done, and that Clinton had concluded that, in part for the sake of unity, their wishes ought to be respected. They heard back immediately: the Obama campaign had always been open to having her name placed in nomination alongside his.
I suppose I should note that, in theory, by having her name placed in nomination, Hillary Clinton could actually become the Democratic presidential nominee. In reality, however, that’s not going to happen, and would be dependent entirely on Obama delegates switching their support to Clinton.
I mention this because there’s bound to be at least some kind of effort, on the part of Clinton’s most ardent and enthusiastic backers, to try to make this happen. It won’t.