How to Win in a Knife Fight
The Credentials Committee inevitably becomes the arena where the nominee is settled. This time, the issue will be Michigan and Florida. Democratic Party rules say they can't be seated at the convention because their primaries were held too early. If Democrats don't find a way to seat Michigan and Florida that's acceptable to both Clinton and Obama, the Credentials Committee will become a war zone and the states' 44 electoral votes put at risk. And don't forget the Arrangements Committee. Being able to decide what delegation sits where, who stays in which hotel, and who's able to get a pass to the gallery can help set the mood and tone of the delegates. Put your best delegations where they can hoot and holler for the cameras. Friends? Nice hotel near the convention center. Unfriendly delegation? How about that comfy Motel 6 near the airport?
Be wary of overkill, though. Remember, the losers and their supporters are looking to play the victim. In 1912 the heavy-handed rule of the Taft forces gave the loser the excuse he needed to walk out with his delegates to lead a third-party bid. And while Theodore Roosevelt didn't win, he doomed Taft's re-election.
Rule #2: Watch the Platform. Party platforms were once the most important statement of the presidential campaign. No more. But they can still get you in trouble with your own party, or with the public. Put your best policy nerds on this—but make certain they have some charming pols and crafty negotiators along as well. You'll need to make compromises—sometimes to smooth hurt feelings, as Carter did in the negotiations with the Kennedy forces in 1980, feeling certain changes wouldn't make a real difference but would help heal deep wounds. Other times, nominees agree to make platform changes because they've sewn up the nomination but can't prevail in this particular fight. This was the case for President Ford in the 1976 GOP battles over the foreign-policy plank.
And sometimes a platform battle is useful for a candidate and his party. At the 1948 Democratic convention, for example, Southern Dixiecrats were already angry with Harry Truman, who was on his way to winning the nomination. Then the young mayor of Minneapolis, Hubert Humphrey, staged a floor fight to pass a plank on civil rights rejected by the Platform Committee. By winning this battle, Humphrey gave the Dixiecrats the excuse they were looking for to bolt the party and nominate Strom Thurmond. But it also gave Truman an issue that allowed him to win Northern blacks and moderates who might otherwise have voted for Dewey. The platform fight changed and modernized the Democratic Party while retaining the loyalty of the Solid South for another 16 years.
Rule #3: It's All About Delegates. Delegates are political junkies. This is their moment in the spotlight. Don't take them for granted. Make every effort to attend to their every legitimate (and legal) need. By now your campaign should have a massive set of binders with information on every delegate—their birthday, pet peeves, hobbies and interests. If not, get them started.
Have whips for state delegations and deputy whips for groups within each delegation. Have them live, eat, drink and socialize with their charges. And have a fast, nimble system in place to report any concerns, because in a close contest, small groups of delegates matter. In the 1952 GOP contest, Eisenhower received critical support from the 19 delegates pledged to Minnesota's Harold Stassen, then in his second of ultimately nine presidential bids. The 26 delegates committed to John Edwards may be critical to this year's outcome.


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Member Comments
Posted By: foodnotbombs @ 05/11/2008 11:49:12 PM
Comment: rove is a war criminal and belongs in a prision cell.
Posted By: 47rusty @ 05/06/2008 3:02:42 PM
Comment: To "Not stupid",
Does the fact that Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina did not change the approved primary order by having their primaries on unapproved dates matter? My perception is that this is the real issue, that Michigan and Florida "cut the line", and not just that they had their primaries on unapproved dates.
Posted By: Not stupid in Alabama @ 05/06/2008 4:13:55 AM
Comment: If Obama steals the nomination, it will be the end of the democratic party. Hillary has the most popular votes and she has won the states the dems have to win to get into th ewhitehouse. Obama won't win those states.
The only way EITHER of them can win the nomination is with superdelegates, and it is up to the superdelegates to decide. They must count all the votes and take into account whether some of Obama's popular vote is due to republicans crossing over to vote against Clinton (which it is), and whether the "Reagan democrats" with vote for him given what the voters already know about Obama, and what will probably become issues focused on by the republicans, including Obama's years of cocaine use.
While Hillary's economic strength would expose McCain's weakness, Obama's "shouldn't have voted to authorize force in Iraq" plays into McCain's strength, as indicated by the new 527 ad already being used in NC where so many democrats have endorsed Obama, and the Republicans see an opening to challenge them at the state and national office level for making that endorsement.
Hillary is winning. If the democrats had a winner take all system like our country uses to elect a president instead of this stupid proportional division of delegates that has created so much confusion and controversy, she would be ahead of Obama by 321 delegates, without the superdelegates by 320 delegates.
Total delegates including Supers:
Hillary - 1937
Obama - 1616
Total delegates not including Supers:
Hillary - 1588
Obama - 1268
These totals do not include Michigan or Florida.
If we include Michigan and Florida:
Hillary - 2304
Obama - 1616