Delegates for Clinton Back Obama, but Show Concerns
By JOHN M. BRODER and DALIA SUSSMAN
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention arrive in Denver having largely put aside the deep divisions of the primary fight between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, although some hold lingering concerns about Mr. Obama’s level of experience, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.
More than half of the delegates that Mrs. Clinton won in the primaries now say they are enthusiastic supporters of Mr. Obama, and they also believe he will win the presidential election in November, the poll found. Three in 10 say they support Mr. Obama but have reservations about him or they support him only because he is the party’s nominee. Five percent say they do not support him yet.
The poll, which was taken before Mr. Obama selected Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware as his running mate, also suggests that Mrs. Clinton’s 1,640 pledged delegates are evenly split over whom they plan to vote for on the floor of the convention during the roll call vote on Wednesday evening.
Mrs. Clinton’s name will be placed into nomination as a symbolic gesture to honor her strong showing in the primaries and the historic nature of her campaign. She has said she will vote for Mr. Obama in her capacity as a superdelegate.
Forty-two percent of Mrs. Clinton’s pledged delegates surveyed say they would vote for her. But 43 percent say they would vote for Mr. Obama while another 15 percent have not decided what they will do when Mrs. Clinton’s name is put into nomination.
These numbers suggest the party is coalescing around its nominee, although not completely.
Mr. Obama spoke with former President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton late last week to discuss the campaign and their role at the convention, in part to assure that the three most prominent figures in the Democratic Party are all on the same page when they address the delegates and voters.
Whether the Clinton supporters follow through to vote for her or leave their grievances behind and cast their roll-call ballots for Mr. Obama remains to be seen.
“If Barack is the nominee, he is the nominee,” Diana Carpenter-Madoshi, 62, a retired nurse from Rocklin, Calif., and a Clinton delegate, said in a follow-up interview. “I’m still pledged to Hillary because I was elected by my district to be her pledged delegate and I’m honoring the voters who voted for her.”
She said she backed Mrs. Clinton because of her clear message on issues and her specific plans for solving them. “I want to know how Barack will address the issues that matter to me, how he will address economic issues and health care, and the issue of equal pay and gender bias,” she said.
Another pro-Clinton delegate, Betty L. Julian, a lawyer from Turlock, Calif., said she found Mr. Obama an inspirational leader and agreed with him on most issues. “I just thought Hillary was a stronger candidate,” Ms. Julian said, “ |
