Unpledged Super-D Suggests Waiting Till Convention
EmailABC News’ Sarah Baker Reports: Uncommitted superdelegate David Parker said Thursday he feels the weight of his super status in the Democratic race to the nomination but that he might wait till August to make his decision saying he’ll have a "better view" come convention time and suggesting that other unpledged Democratic leaders do the same.
"We’re going to have a lot better view in August, in Denver of what the economy…[is] going to look like on November 4th. And that’s the snapshot day. It’s not today, it’s not three months ago, it’s November 4th," said Parker, a North Carolina-based member of the Democratic Party. "I can’t see what’s out there yet. Once I’m able to determine that, and the candidates respond and I think I can make a better decision."
Watch the VIDEO HERE.
On ABC News Now’s ‘Politics Live’, Parker also said Southern superdelegates would be gathering in mid-June and that "a fair number of undecided southerners are going to be talking about this a lot."
Parker pushed back on the idea that Southern superdelegates would vote as a bloc and that the meeting was to serve as a strategy session to discuss how to best help Southern Democrats running for congressional office.
"I don’t think you’ve ever seen the Democratic party do anything in a monolithic matter before. But I think that the South does have a particular agenda," Parker said, "That agenda is trying to elect Southern Democrats to the US Senate and the House.
Parker continued, "I’m looking to see [how] the candidate the top of the ticket will help or hurt our US Senate candidate in NC beat Elizabeth Dole."
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Who is this guy? Is he stupid? We must have a nominee sooner rather than later whoever that nominee will be.
Because of minds like this is that we Democrats lose
elections time after time.
Wait until the convention? What a joke.
Posted by: Danny Boy | May 1, 2008, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
It doesn’t matter who you support. If you think waiting until the convention is a good idea for the Democratic party you are insane.
Posted by: califlower | May 1, 2008, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
Dude, where u been HILLARY GOT 5 SUPERS TODAY INCLUDING MARIO CUOMO!!!!!
Posted by: AL | May 1, 2008, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
but obama got one today, some hack, but go obama gooooo!!!!!
Posted by: tailor marsh II | May 1, 2008, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm
How long has David Parker been involved in politics?
He clearly has no memory of past elections waiting until the convention. It was downright brutal for the party involved.
This would be signing the death warrant to several Democrats running for office this fall.
Posted by: Dan | May 1, 2008, 3:32 pm 3:32 pm
Obama is the man. The man can do politics as usual like no one can. A vote for Obama is a vote for world peace. You can tell by the way he handles his personal relationships. Wright chasing him to the white house…..SCARY!!!!!!!!
Posted by: t marsh | May 1, 2008, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
Yeah Hilliary… who are the 5 supers for her today please.
Posted by: Diane | May 1, 2008, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
Finally some one with brains no drive thru nominee fast Obama for him.
Posted by: Bishop | May 1, 2008, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
These super delegates have to be aware Hillary is what this country needs and badly.. she has won all the large states, she is up in the national polls, she has just recieved 5 more supers today.. she is strong, she has super endurance.. please dont be stupid and miss this opportunity with Hillary.. we dont need Obama. he is nothing but controversy.. he will do this country great harm..
I pray people will be smart and do the right thing and vote HILLARY.
Posted by: patty D | May 1, 2008, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
Patty
I think the Chickens are coming home to roost on Obama I talked to someone thinking of voting for him in NC but voted for Hillary and they said there is something about him thats not right thats what everyone says its over for him
Posted by: staniam | May 1, 2008, 3:39 pm 3:39 pm
Good job, David Parker.
Both Obama and Clinton deserve the time to present their case with the voters.
Both Obama and Clinton also deserve to be thoroughly vetted.
Allowing three months more for that process is entirely appropriate…
Wright?
Posted by: Jayhawk | May 1, 2008, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm
Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson pushed back hard this morning when a reporter asked about her seeming to say that rich people, like herself, deserve all the opportunities they get. During her appearance on Bill O’Reilly’s show on FoxNews, the bombastic host was clearly worried that her pledge to repeal the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy — “I’m a rich guy” — would hit him in the wallet.
Said Clinton: “Rich people, God bless us. We deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue until the next generation.”
Asked about it in a conference call this morning, Wolfson insisted that Clinton had actually said “God blessed us.” The next sentence, he said, was just her talking about how all Americans — rich and poor — deserve good things. Except, of course, that’s not what she said.
Posted by: Becky | May 1, 2008, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
David Parker is sporting a really big set of onions–NOT. C’mon dude, grow a set! Obama in ’08!
Posted by: Kathleen | May 1, 2008, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm
Obama can have Joe Andrew. Who cares– because the FACTS ARE: ALL the super delegates can rally behind Obama, but the common patriotic working American will STILL vote HILLARY or McCain!
Posted by: Steven | May 1, 2008, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
@ Becky
I watched the interview last evening. Based on the context, my impression of what Hillary was saying is that we need to continue America’s prosperity for future generations to come. The context during which she made her comment involved her tax redistribution plan, which would require people that earn more than 250K to pay more. O’Reilly lamented that “as a rich guy” he would have to pay more, and that she would as well because she’s rich. In between O’Reilly interrupting her, Hillary said we need to help take the burden off the middle class and lower income families.
Posted by: Emily | May 1, 2008, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
They dont want it to go to the convention -which is quite humourus because thats what the convention is actually for !!!
They turned it into a HUGE MEDIA EVENT instead . A big love in that was completly staged as they always had the winner worked out beforehand.
So there was little point of all the delegates travelling to the convention to begin with, except to show it on TV to get voters hyped up.
This time they dont it to because they will fight it out on the floor, which will make GREAT media coverage over the fight, but the losing candidates voters will not have enough time to heal and vote for the winner they think.
The reality is that having a convention that actually works like a convention CRAMPS THEIR STYLE now.
Only in america.
Posted by: tomdavie | May 1, 2008, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
Super Delegates please put the Party first and your ambitions second. It does not make any logic having very limited time left and expect people to heal and work on a common goal.
We are divided at the moment and its only time which will make us heal. The more you/we wait, the more our chances of winning will slip away from us.
We still feel the pain of our loss since Al Gore 2000 up to this moment. Please think wisely Super Delegates!
Posted by: Peace | May 1, 2008, 4:39 pm 4:39 pm
Becky – try watching the video and you will see what she said in full context. Specifically, the discussion was between two rich people (Oreilly who doesnt want universal health care paid for by increasing his taxes and Clinton who does.
Parts 1 and 2 of the 4 parts are online. The other 2 parts happen this evening so you can watch for them also. Crying foul about Obama being quoted out of context then quoting Clinton out of context is hypocritical on your part.
Posted by: DCVoter | May 1, 2008, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm
Let’s not forget, Obama with his 2007 tax return showing 4.2 million dollars in income for that year alone is one of the rich people mentioned in the interview. The difference is he claims he is middle class which is a bald-faced lie. As time has passed and more facts are made known, his negatives are rising and his “honest and trustworthy” image is being tarnished in the eyes of Americans. He has no one to blame for that but himself because he withheld the facts intentionally. Clinton has never lied about being rich and donated all 10.5 Million in income from her books to charitable causes per the tax returns over the past 8 years. Divide it up and see for yourself: She averaged 1.3 million per year in income from her books and donated all of it. Clinton is only rich because of Bill and has been forthright in giving back to others while Obama has not. His tax returns show nearly all of his less than 1% donations were to TUCC – a church who spends its money giving Wright a $1.65M home and a $10M open credit line unscrutinized by law. Take off those rose-colored glasses and look hard at the facts. Obama is not who he professes to be and is fooling half the democratic electorate. He is more like Oreilly and Bush by his own actions – make as much as possible and give as little as possible to those who need it.
Posted by: DCVoter | May 1, 2008, 4:52 pm 4:52 pm
Thanks Emily et al – keep up the good work!
Posted by: DCVoter | May 1, 2008, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
“Over 33% of lifelong Democrats WILL vote for McCain if Obama is the nominee.” where do you get this statistic. As life long democrat I can promise you that you did not call me and ask, nor did anyone else. The polls and statistics quoted in the campaign by the news have generally consisted of less than 1000 respondents and have been so horribly curved and biased as to provide the best headlines it has been ridiculous. hate Obama all you want, but be sure to call him Mr. President after he takes the oath.
Posted by: Louis | May 1, 2008, 5:44 pm 5:44 pm
Ray
You’re right.
Hillary could never make you feel cool.
Posted by: dl | May 1, 2008, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
DCVoter
Talk about disingenuous…
but I guess your candidate set the tone…
Hillary has not had to drive herself anywhere for twenty years…thirty maybe. She and Bill gave so much to charity…yeah to the “Clinton Foundation”
why don’t you go look at where that money goes…or where it doesn’t go…but i am sure if you take a look at the books Bill took a lot of trips “for the foundation” …and just happened on those trips (all over the world at very nice hotels I may add) to come back with moneys and support for his wife and his library.
and lets just look at what tax breaks come with this specific income level and this amount of money’s given to the charity of The Clinton Foundation (whose overwhelming predominance of funds are well documented for not being distributed…and what little was, was only distributed once Hillary was running…isn’t that convenient)
So …once again…the clintons put someone elses fortune at level with theirs…
never ahead of theirs.
Posted by: dl | May 1, 2008, 6:20 pm 6:20 pm
just like clinton supporters to put up someone’s personal email because they are angry at the person
I guess you are the dogs he was referring to.
Do you look like the ones on Ghostbusters …because that posting sounds like they may have learned to type.
Posted by: dl | May 1, 2008, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP!!
Posted by: RELD1127 | May 1, 2008, 7:49 pm 7:49 pm
A spate of new public polls out this week confirm Hillary Clinton is the strongest candidate to beat John McCain in November.
The data shows that Clinton not only outperforms Obama in head-to-head matchups, but is also stronger in the all important subcategories that serve as bellwethers for a candidate’s overall strength. In addition, new data out today in three swing states vital to Democratic prospects in November show Clinton beating McCain.
HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH MCCAIN: In a hypothetical general election match-up with McCain, Clinton wins handily (50-41) while Obama is virtually tied with McCain (46-44), according to the AP-Ipsos poll released Monday. A new poll from CBS/NYT show Clinton beating McCain by five points (48-43), while Obama ties McCain (45-45). The new Fox poll has Clinton beating McCain by one point (45-44), while Obama trails McCain by three points (43-46). And in Gallup’s daily tracking poll, Clinton leads McCain by one point (46-45) while Obama trails McCain by two points (44-46).
SWING STATES: New Quinnipiac polls out today show Clinton dramatically outperforms Obama in the critical swing states of Ohio in Florida. In Ohio, Clinton beats McCain by ten points (48-38), while Obama loses to him by one point (43-44). In Florida, Clinton beats McCain by 8 (49-41), while Obama loses to him by one point (42-43). Hillary also tops McCain by 14 points in Pennsylvania (51-37), while Obama’s lead over McCain is in single digits.
CLINTON BEATS MCCAIN AMONG INDEPENDENT VOTERS; OBAMA TIES HIM: The new AP poll has Clinton leading McCain among independents (50-34) while Obama is tied with him (42-42). The NBC/WSJ poll notes that Obama’s negative ratings among independents are they highest they have ever been.
CLINTON IS THE CANDIDATE VOTERS TRUST WITH THE ECONOMY: The economy is the top issue among voters and is likely to remain so through November. In the CBS/NYT poll, Hillary beat both Obama and McCain as the candidate who is talking about the economy most by a margin of 25% to Obama’s 13% and McCain’s 7%.
OBAMA UNFAVORABLES RISING QUICKLY: In the CBS/NYT poll, Obama’s unfavorables increased by ten points in the last month (24 to 34%) while his favorables decreased by four points. In the CBS/NYT poll, Obama’s unfavorables among independents rose to 31%. The Fox poll shows that in the last two months, Obama’s unfavorables have increased by nine points (33 to 42%) while his favorables decreased by seven points (54 to 47%). In the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Obama’s negative ratings increased by five points in the last month (32 to 37%) while his positive ratings decreased by three points in the last month (49 to 46%).
CLINTON STRONGEST AMONG SWING VOTING BLOCS: The new AP-Ipsos poll shows Clinton leading McCain among seniors (51-39) but has McCain BEATING Obama (49-38). She runs stronger against McCain with those under 30 than Obama does, pulling two-thirds of the young vote while Obama gets 55% against McCain. And she wins the Catholic vote against McCain (58-35) while McCain beats Obama (46-43).
Posted by: greg | May 1, 2008, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
You mean people are going to make their own decision within the rules? They are not going to cave in to the pressure to crown someone who is (for the moment) winning by a hair? Whoa! Trip out!
Posted by: irma | May 1, 2008, 10:11 pm 10:11 pm
Hello people….let’s see; we have two Democrats in the news (that’s double time) while no one listens or cares to listen to any stories about McCain. Even Republicans are more fascinated with the Democrats. Advertisement is the best way to keep the Democratic values and agenda in the forefront.
Posted by: irma | May 1, 2008, 10:14 pm 10:14 pm
I for One in Ohio will not vote for Obama in the fall. Everyone I have talked to said if he get the nominee there voting republican. I have been all over the state.
Posted by: sherry lou | May 1, 2008, 10:47 pm 10:47 pm
irma talking about elitism is rich.
Yesterday Hillary admits she does not know how Pay at the Pump works because she’s had a Chauffeur for the last 20 years.
And then, Hills can’t figure out how to pour herself a cup of joe inside the Gas Station.
Ya – real common touch.
Posted by: The Commander Guy | May 1, 2008, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
neither does Obama probably know how to pay at the pump hes still more elitist than she is
Posted by: staniam | May 2, 2008, 12:10 am 12:10 am
Take it to the convention!
Posted by: LOM | May 2, 2008, 12:31 am 12:31 am
At least Clinton knows that the Great Lakes aren’t in Oregon. Obama is definitely the front-runner of “out of touch with America.”
Posted by: LOM | May 2, 2008, 12:33 am 12:33 am
OBAMA IS BUYING THE SUPER-DELEGATES: The arrogant elitist Obama is buying the Super-delegates giving them large sums of money, promising them the moon, stars and the sun in other words Obama is promising very big political favors and perhaps long term income from some of his wealthier supporters. This explains why so many Super-delegates are supporting and switching to Obama plain and simple isn’t it. Every one of the Super-delegates has a price they will accept. It’s all about how much money and power can be given to the Super-delegates. The Super-delegates are just as and greedy as Obama is for power and money. Oh the arrogance and greed of it all.
Posted by: Bob4USA | May 2, 2008, 1:24 am 1:24 am
Why so afraid to take it to the convention.
Posted by: blue Irish | May 2, 2008, 1:31 am 1:31 am
One of Richardson’s camp is already suggesting that Bill should be the VP nominee for Obama. Is that why he endorsed Obama so early and suggested the rush for all superdelegates to endorse early to “save” the Party? To save the Party or to get him on the ticket? It is very disappointing to see some delegates jumping early to help their individual futures. Parker is absolutely right to wait. The voters should be allowed to vote their will before the superdelegates step into the process. We, the people, fit somewhere in this process….I think!
Posted by: georgia | May 2, 2008, 2:09 am 2:09 am
Hi,
I read all the comments. I have met Se. clinton in person and worked with her in Monterey county. I supported Bill.Fromt I know now, I will not vote for her. I would vote for Obama.I am in California and many people are wishing they had not voted for her earlier.
She is not believable. She lost my vote. I am now for Barrack. And if they steal the nomination from him, the Democrats will lose the Presidency.
Posted by: ed | May 2, 2008, 3:53 am 3:53 am