Washington - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton would consider a possible offer to become Barack Obama's vice
presidential running mate, if her rival secures the party's
nomination, television reports said Tuesday as the last primary
contests were underway.
Obama is projected to clinch the Democratic nomination after the
final primary votes are tallied on Tuesday in Montana and South
Dakota, the last two contests of the campaign. Throughout the day a
handful of superdelegates switched their allegiance to Obama,
bringing him about a dozen delegates shy of the number needed to win.
However, the Clinton campaign appeared conflicted about whether
she would concede the race to Obama later Tuesday.
A top Clinton advisor earlier denied that the candidate plans to
acknowledge Obama has won enough delegates to secure the Democratic
Party's presidential nomination after the polls close in the final
state-by-state contests.
His comments came after a report cited Clinton campaign aides
saying that Clinton would concede Tuesday night that Obama has enough
delegates. In response, the Clinton campaign said in a statement,
'Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening.'
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said on CNN the report
was '100 per cent incorrect.'
But McAuliffe said if Obama does secure the required number of
delegates Clinton would likely acknowledge his win.
'If Senator Obama gets the number, I think Hillary Clinton will
congratulate him and call him the nominee,' McAuliffe said Tuesday on
NBC's Today show. 'She has given her heart and soul to this
campaign.'
CNN reported that Clinton had told New York lawmakers Tuesday that
she would consider the number two spot if asked by Obama.
Obama picked up at least half a dozen superdelegates Tuesday,
according to Bloomberg news service, including Congressman James
Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest ranking black leader in
Congress, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a longtime Clinton
supporter.
With additional superdelegate endorsements expected as the contest
winds down and his share of the 31 pledged delegates at stake in
Tuesday's primaries, the Illinois senator could reach the 2,118
delegates needed to become the party's nominee.
'I think that by 6 o'clock this evening there will be enough so-
called superdelegates endorsing so that the 15 or so delegates that
we expect' from Tuesday's primaries 'will allow him to say in
Minnesota tonight that he's there,' Clyburn said as he endorsed
Obama.
Clinton trails Obama in the delegate count needed to secure the
nomination, but believes she can persuade superdelegates, a group of
Democratic party insiders who cast votes independently of the state-
by-state process, that she is the best candidate to square off
against Republican John McCain in the November 4 election. However,
her chances of overtaking Obama have grown increasingly slim.
Her husband, former president Bill Clinton raised speculation that
his wife was preparing to exit the race during a campaign rally
Monday.
'This may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this
kind,' Bill Clinton said in South Dakota.
'I thought I was out of politics until Hillary decided to run. It
has been one of the greatest honours of my life to go around and
campaign for her for president,' he said.
A group of more than a dozen undecided Democratic senators
reportedly met Monday in Washington to consider their options. The
Washington Post Tuesday reported that the group may endorse Obama
after polling stations close in the two final states.
Clinton gained some last-minute momentum after trouncing Obama
Sunday in Puerto Rico's primary. But the victory by 68 to 32 per cent
could be Clinton's last, as Obama is favoured Tuesday in both Montana
and South Dakota - the final events in the state-by-state intra-party
contests that began on January 3 in Iowa.
USA
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