Clinton makes closing argument after Puerto Rico win
— -- Hillary Rodham Clinton and her allies argued Sunday that she would be more likely than Barack Obama to win the White House this fall, so Democratic VIPs should buck primary-season results and back her for the nomination.
Clinton's closing arguments came during what could be the waning days of her campaign, despite her big win Sunday in the Puerto Rico primary.
The primary capped a weekend of frenetic political activity. Front-runner Obama said he had left his controversial Chicago church, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) resolved disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan.
The DNC rules panel voted late Saturday to seat the two states' convention delegates at half strength rather than the full strength sought by Clinton. The 24 delegates she netted Saturday, even combined with gains from her Puerto Rico win, were not enough to prevent Obama's progress toward the nomination.
Jenny Backus, a neutral Democratic strategist, said the DNC decision signified "the beginning of the public end" of Clinton's campaign. "Her once rock-solid hold on the party insiders has slipped away," Backus said in an interview Sunday. "She found a party very much ready to transition into general-election mode."
Delegates are the measure of success in the nomination race and Obama is closing in rapidly on the 2,118 he needs to win. Clinton is talking up electability and popular vote in hopes of influencing superdelegates, the party officials and insiders who are free to choose a candidate and who will ultimately decide this year's nominee.
In her victory speech in San Juan, Clinton claimed 17.6 million in popular votes from this primary season, before adding in Sunday's results. She's starting a new ad today in South Dakota and Montana that says "more Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton than anyone in primary history."
That assertion, however, is disputed. Florida and Michigan broke party rules by moving their primaries to January. Last year the DNC stripped them of their delegates, the candidates agreed not to campaign there and Clinton was the only major candidate to leave her name on the Michigan ballot.
RealClearPolitics.com, an independent political website, calculates the popular vote six different ways. Clinton was ahead Sunday with 17.6 million votes — but only if Michigan was counted and Obama was awarded zero votes there.
On the Sunday morning talk shows, Clinton strategist Harold Ickes, campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe and other Clinton allies attacked the Michigan deal adopted Saturday and said Clinton might fight at the convention to net nine instead of five delegates.
They repeatedly said she was the stronger nominee while stopping short of saying Obama could not win. "I believe this party is nominating its weaker of two fine candidates," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said on CBS's Face the Nation.
Obama allies countered that their candidate had won more contests, delegates and votes. "This remarkable leader has come on the scene and challenged a political dynasty in this country, and succeeded," Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said on CBS. "He is winning because he's the stronger candidate."
Skeptical moderators challenged Clinton's popular-vote and electability claims. George Stephanopoulos on ABC and Bob Schieffer on CBS noted some polls show Obama doing as well as Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
Tim Russert on NBC said superdelegates are "not buying the argument" about electability because 157 superdelegates had moved to Obama since Feb. 5 and only 33 had gone to Clinton. His numbers did not include two superdelegates who backed Obama on Sunday.
In the midst of the tumult at the DNC meeting, CNN reported that Obama was breaking from Trinity United Church of Christ. The separation came after months of controversy over his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and a new flare-up last week when guest pastor Michael Pfleger — a Catholic priest — mocked Clinton as crying in New Hampshire because "there's a black man stealing my show."
Obama said Thursday that he was "deeply disappointed" in Pfleger's remarks. On Friday, he and his wife resigned from the church. Obama told reporters Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D., that "we don't want to have to answer for everything that's stated in a church" or to have Trinity subjected to scrutiny because of his campaign. He said the family would seek a new church.