WP: Clinton supporters more receptive to Obama nomination than his to a Clinton win. DU opinion? [View All]

[dajoki]

8 Questions the Potomac Primary Could Answer
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 12, 2008; Page A08
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021102916.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

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2) Will the Clinton-Obama Race Split the Party?

Not until it does. There have been nasty exchanges and low moments, but so far the Clinton and Obama campaigns have managed to pull back from the brink each time they've come close to a major explosion. Most strategists expect that will continue to be the pattern, but the seeds for serious discord exist.

There is a consensus that an Obama victory would be easier for the Democratic Party to accept, that Clinton's supporters would be more receptive to an Obama nomination than his supporters would be to a Clinton win. That reflects the passion of many of his supporters and the fact that they are younger and in some cases newer to the process.

What gives Democrats heart -- and clearly worries Republicans -- is that the Obama-Clinton contest does not reflect a deep, ideological split within the party. The Republican Party appears to be more divided along ideological lines right now.

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3) Will Edwards Endorse Someone Soon?

The candidates have started courting their former rival and he has been receptive to their overtures. That is a sign to Democratic insiders that he's getting ready to declare his support for one of them. The cynical view is that he'll endorse "as soon as he gets what he wants," as one strategist put it, though it's not clear what that is. Another wrote that Edwards would risk irrelevance in the biggest race in decades if he stays on the sidelines now, although that is not a universal view.

An endorsement would make a big splash -- the biggest since Sen. Edward M. Kennedy announced his support of Obama -- but how much it matters isn't clear. Given Edwards's criticism of Clinton during the debates, it would be a blow to Obama to lose him. Edwards could help Obama, particularly among white men in Ohio and Texas. The candidates' competition for his support suggests they believe it would be very valuable.