With the campaign unofficially over for months, and officially over this past Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton will nonetheless wait till Saturday to formally endorse Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee. Even Charlie Rangel, one of Clinton's most powerful black supporters, acknowledged the Senator should have been "far more generous" toward Obama in her speech and probably should have endorsed then and there.
From Hillary's e-mail this morning:
Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.
Um... many would dispute the truth in that last sentence, Madame Senator.
The Washington Post and other media outlets are already speculating on the meaning of this wait-till-the-weekend strategy.
Advisers indicated earlier Tuesday that the former first lady would publicly acknowledge in her speech that Obama had crossed the delegate threshold. But she changed her mind and refused to do so even after television networks and The Associated Press declared the Illinois senator had sealed the nomination.
And:
Angling for a vice presidential nod, Hillary Rodham Clinton refused to bow out of the Democratic race Tuesday, hoping to maintain leverage as Barack Obama clinched the delegates needed to secure the party's nomination.
In other words, she's holding the party's chances in November hostage in order to bolster her case for the VP shot. However, sources tell us that Obama's inner circle wants nothing to do with this kind of selfishness and is willing to risk alienating her hardcore supporters by not nominating Clinton for the job.
Of course, that doesn't mean they won't cave if Clinton and her fans keep the pressure up...
Via CNN and The Washington Post.
Previously: Top 10 Moments in the Career of Hillary Clinton.