Clinton supporters debate merits of roll call vote

— -- It may be Barack Obama's party, but that may not prevent an emotional show of support for former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention later this month.

Aides to Obama, who will formally accept the Democratic nomination in Denver on Aug. 28, are girding for the possibility that Clinton's backers will force a roll call vote that would demonstrate the extent of support for the New York senator.

"There's no perfect solution for anybody," Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, told USA TODAY this week. But he expressed confidence Democrats will pull together no matter what the outcome. "I think we will end up being just fine roll call or no roll call."

Clinton picked up about 18 million votes and nearly 1,900 delegates in her primary battle against Obama. He got more than 2,250 delegates — more than necessary to clinch. She conceded to the Illinois senator June 7 and threw her support behind him, but hasn't ruled out lending her name to an effort that some ardent supporters are mounting to put her name in nomination at the four-day convention that begins Aug. 25.

At a California fundraiser last month, Clinton suggested that a roll call would be "a catharsis" for her supporters. "I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel their voices were heard and their views were respected," she told a group of Democrats in Los Altos Hills.

"I think it would be excellent," said Lorraine Hariton, who hosted the gathering.

Others are opposed. "I think it would be very divisive," said Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, who also attended the fundraiser. Stone, who said he backed Clinton in the primaries, argued that a convention tally of her support would only help the cause of the presumptive Republican nominee. "John McCain would love it," he said.

At issue is whether a floor vote on the nomination would help heal or further open wounds left by a bruising primary campaign between two history-making candidates. Obama is the first African American to win a major party nomination for the presidency; Clinton is the first woman to have vied seriously for the same post.