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| In this July 10, 2008, file photo Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, is introduced by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., during a campaign stop in New York. Clinton's name will be placed in nomination along with nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama at the Democratic convention in Denver, a move intended to unite the party after a divisive primary fight. Democrats will officially nominate Obama at the convention but the state delegations will do a traditional roll call for his vanquished opponent as well. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Turns out Democratic primary loser Hillary Rodham Clinton will get time to shine at the party's national convention after all - and quite a bit of it. Democrats officially will choose Barack Obama to run against Republican John McCain this fall.
But in an emblematic move meant to heal divisive primary wounds, the vanquished Clinton name also will be placed in nomination alongside his during the traditional state-by-state delegation roll call vote at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
And, she gets her own plum speaking slot.
So does her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
All that high-profile Clinton action, spread over at least half of the convention's four prime-time speaking nights, ensures an enormous presence for the couple who have been national fixtures in the Democratic Party since 1992 - and whose latest White House bid, hers, split the party into for-them or against-them camps.
Among the risks: past leaders of the party overshadowing the current standard-bearer.
In fact, the party has a history of other Democrats showing-up the guest of honor.
The keynote speaker four years ago - Obama - seemed to get more love and better reviews during the 2004 convention in Boston than hometown nominee John Kerry, who selected the up-and-comer to speak. Jesse Jackson stole Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis' show in Atlanta in 1988, and Ted Kennedy's "dream will never die" speech brought down New York's Madison Square Garden during Jimmy Carter's 1980 soiree.
To guard against that, Obama's keynote speaker - Mark Warner of Virginia - will deliver his address the same day Clinton does - Aug. 26 - while the ex-president shares the next day - Aug. 27 - with the as-yet-named vice presidential running mate. On the final convention night, Aug. 28, Obama will accept the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination before a much bigger crowd at a separate venue.
Historically, the roll call has occurred on the convention's third night. That's still likely, although Democrats say the mechanics of how the vote will play out still are being determined. When it occurs, Clinton - herself a superdelegate who gets a vote - is expected to release her delegates to Obama, announce her support for him and ask her backers to do the same.
Fierce rivals then but wary allies now, Obama and Clinton agreed to put both of their names into nomination after weeks of negotiations. They made the announcement Thursday in a collegial joint statement that noted that some 35 million people participated in the primary and that both wanted to "honor and celebrate these voices and votes."
"I am convinced that honoring Sen. Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," said Obama, an Illinois senator.
Added Clinton, D-N.Y.: "With every voice heard and the party strongly united, we will elect Sen. Obama president of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again."
The symbolic move was intended to help the Democratic Party come together after a bruising primary and acknowledge the former first lady's groundbreaking presidential run. She was the first woman to compete in all the Democratic Party primaries, though she fell short of becoming the first to achieve a major party nomination for the White House. Obama finished the race with a 364-delegate lead over Clinton, according to an Associated Press tally.
"Both sides have something the other wants," said former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Democrat who had previously urged Obama and Clinton to unite and run on the same ticket. "He needs her support."
Of the Clintons, Doug Muzzio, a professor of politics at Baruch College in New York, said: "In a sense, they've got Obama hostage and are exacting their ransom" with their convention involvement.
Clinton is ever mindful of her legacy and surely wants her accomplishment noted. She also has been trying to raise money to pay off roughly $13 million in campaign debts, and she has said that Obama could help her further. She also may be positioning herself for a reprise run; a strong national performance could help her repair some of her own political damage from the bare-knuckled primary.
Obama, for his part, no doubt wants a rancor-free convention. He also needs to mollify still-disgruntled Clinton backers, including working-class whites who are skeptical of him and women who are angry that their trailblazing candidate failed. He needs their support to beat McCain. While polls show that Obama has won over most of the Clinton faithful, some simply don't like Obama or still feel Clinton was treated unfairly during the primaries.
His critics have indicated they would make their voices heard during the party's Denver party in less than two weeks. One group intends to paper the city with fliers, promote a video detailing what they contend were irregularities in the nominating process and unleash bloggers to give their take on the proceedings. Others, like the pro-Clinton PUMAPAC, had called for such a roll call vote.
"I'm very pleased and I'm somewhat surprised," said Darragh Murphy, the group's executive director. "In my view, she's sticking up for her delegates, and she's going to take a lot of heat for this." Sam Arora, a spokesman for the now-dormant Vote Both said of Obama: "He is giving former Clinton supporters more and more reasons to support him."
