http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/us/politics/27checkpoint.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=sloginYet the Clinton campaign in 1992 used some of the same tactics that Mrs. Clinton and her supporters now decry, like declaring the nomination secure early and encouraging party leaders and the news media to climb on board.
In the weeks before the California primary that year, much of the attention was already focused on the general election, with Mr. Clinton treated as the presumed Democratic nominee challenging President George Bush. Sights were set on November, with speculation about how Ross Perot, a well-financed independent candidate, would affect the prospects of the two men.
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Mr. Clinton soon made a victorious visit to Capitol Hill, where he began trying to rally to his side the party leaders with automatic convention seats known as superdelegates.
And party members reported an effort by Clinton allies and ranking party officials to pressure uncommitted superdelegates to line up behind Mr. Clinton, a strategy he decried this past weekend when he accused “them” of bullying superdelegates early to choose sides between Mr. Obama and his wife.
<snip>
In 1992 Mr. Clinton’s strategy drew some support for his candidacy, including former Representative Don Edwards of California, who said on the day of Mr. Clinton’s Capitol Hill visit, “He’s going to be the nominee, so good Democrats are getting on board.”
The message was also shared with the news media, with Ronald H. Brown, the party chairman and Mr. Clinton’s close friend, telling The New York Times that April, “I cannot imagine a set of circumstances that would keep Bill Clinton from having a majority of the delegates by the end of the primary season.”
Why am I not surprised.
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