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Clinton, Obama and Edwards Join Pledge to Avoid Defiant States
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Sep 02, 2007 07:47pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Monday, September 3, 2007 01:45:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | New York Times.
"Three of the major Democratic presidential candidates on Saturday pledged not to campaign in Florida, Michigan and other states trying to leapfrog the 2008 primary calendar, a move that solidified the importance of the opening contests of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Hours after Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina agreed to sign a loyalty pledge put forward by party officials in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York followed suit. The decision seemed to dash any hopes of Mrs. Clinton relying on a strong showing in Florida as a springboard to the nomination.
“We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process,” Patti Solis Doyle, the Clinton campaign manager, said in a statement.
The pledge sought to preserve the status of traditional early-voting states and bring order to an unwieldy series of primaries that threatened to accelerate the selection process. It was devised to keep candidates from campaigning in Florida, where the primary is set for Jan. 29, and Michigan, which is trying to move its contest to Jan. 15.
The Democratic National Committee has vowed to take away Florida’s 210 delegates — and those of any other state that moved its nominating contest before Feb. 5 — if it does not come up with an alternative plan.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Obama said he believed that the calendar put forth by the national committee was “in the best interests of our party and our nation.” At the same time, though, the pledge allows him to focus on a handful of states in an effort to gain ground on Mrs. Clinton, the presumed front-runner.
Mr. Edwards, who has said his candidacy cannot be successful without a strong performance in Iowa, said the four states chosen by the national committee “need to be first because in these states ideas count, not just money.” |
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