Sleepless in Seattle, for Delegates

SEATTLE, Wash. Feb. 8, 2008— -- In a packed Pier 30 at the Port of Washington in Seattle Thursday evening, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., made her case to supporters that she's more qualified than her opponent in the presidential nomination race, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., suggesting that his lofty rhetoric about hope and unity is empty and meaningless.

"I am hoping to unify the country," Clinton said, "but to unify it to do the work of the country. Not to unify it just for the sake of saying we are unified. In the meantime more and more people lose health care. More and more kids can't afford college. We need to be unified with a common purpose."

Clinton also seemed to be saying that her opponent's desire for change was misleading Americans about how difficult such change would be.

"What is it we want to see in our country again, what kind of feeling and hope and dreams and aspiration — and reality and practicality, because they go hand in hand?" Clinton asked. "We don't want people just thinking we can do something, we have to be prepared …we have to be able to take the steps."

Clinton and Obama both flew to this Pacific Northwest state Thursday in preparation for Saturday's caucuses. Both campaigns had assumed that by now one of the candidates would have taken the lead, but instead the the two fought to a draw in the 22 Democratic contests on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

There are 78 delegates up for grabs at the Washington state caucuses, along with 19 superdelegates. All told, about 161 Democratic delegates are at stake Saturday in Washington , Louisiana, Nebraska and the Virgin Islands.

Washington's two Democratic Senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, have endorsed Clinton — endorsements that mean all the more because the two are also superdelegates. Clinton made sure to send them a strong shout-out Thursday night. Superdelegates can change their votes any time they want, for whatever reason they want.

Another superdelegate here, Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, endorsed Obama on Friday.