Clinton and Michigan About To Be Cheated!

WASHINGTON (AFP) — As they fight for every precious delegate, White House hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are trading shots on how to resolve the dilemma of Michigan and Florida, barred from the Democratic Party's nominating race.
"It's a game of political chicken," said Michigan University professor Mike Traugott, saying neither of the candidates wanted to be the first to give in.
Florida and Michigan were punished by the Democratic Party for violating its rules by holding their primaries too early. As a result, delegates from the two states will be absent from the party's August nominating contest in Denver.
But Clinton, who won both the primaries, has argued the Democratic voters of Florida and Michigan should not be disenfranchised.
"I do not see how two of our largest and most significant states can be disenfranchised and left out of the process of picking our nominee without raising serious questions about the legitimacy of that nominee."
But Obama, who is currently ahead in the all-important delegate stakes after a series of wins in the nation's primaries, appears to be playing for time as he seeks the Democratic nomination for the November presidential elections.
"Senator Clinton, I have to say on this, has been completely disingenuous," Obama told CNN late Wednesday saying she had initially supported the party's ruling.
"Then as soon as she got into trouble politically and it looked like she would have no prospect of winning the nomination without having them count, suddenly she's extraordinarily concerned with the voters there."
Obama's campaign spokesman Bill Burton said Thursday: "We support a fair solution that allows Michigan Democrats to participate at our national convention this summer, and we look forward to working with the Michigan Democratic Party and the DNC to achieve that goal."
According to the latest estimates, the former first lady is trailing behind Obama in the delegate stakes with 1,493 delegates to his 1,628. But both are still a long way from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.
In normal times, Michigan would have 156 delegates and Florida some 210 at the convention.
Clinton is banking on repeating her January wins in the states' primaries to help narrow the gap with Obama.
But Florida has already ruled out a new vote, and Michigan's state legislature also appeared unlikely to debate the option of holding a new primary before its Easter recess.
Asked if such a bill would be brought to the state senate, Senator Michelle McManus, chairwoman of the campaigns and election oversight committee, said: "I don't foresee that happening."
"We had a primary, and unfortunately the Democrats choose not to participate. The Republicans did, and John McCain has said he'll seat all the Michigan delegates," she told AFP.
The stalemate has led supporters on both sides to try to find an acceptable compromise.
"It will get down to serious negotiations about this, and then it will turn on whether or not Hillary Clinton wants to make a concession," said Traugott.
"The real issue here is that Obama has a lead in the delegates that she has to cut into and overcome ... so the only opportunity she has is for a re-vote. He doesn't really have an incentive to go along with this."
Obama supporter Chris Dodd suggested Thursday splitting the Michigan delegates 50-50 as the only fair solution given that Illinois senator's name didn't even figure on the state's ballot paper.
While a Clinton backer proposed that half of the Florida delegates should be allocated based on results of the January 29 primary, and the other half on other criteria such as the national results. Obama about to cheat Michigan out. Obama wants to split Michigan's delegates 50-50. This way he can't lose. Why should Michigan suffer over his mistakes? YES! HIS FAULT! He could of gotten his act together and been on Michigan's ticket. Hillary did! Obama choose not to be in that primary. Was he trying to save money? Was he trying to save face by not taking the risk of losing to Hillary? It is his fault, and , I believe it is not fair to Clinton or Michigan.

Obama is Stalling! Democrates Going to Revolt?

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign accused Barack Obama on Tuesday of standing in the way of a second presidential primary in Michigan, as several state lawmakers expressed concerns over suggested rules governing any revote.
Aides said the former first lady would make a hastily arranged appearance in Detroit on Wednesday to make the argument for going ahead despite the obstacles.
Mo Elleithee, a spokesman, said Clinton would "make the case for counting the people of Michigan, that every vote must count and that Senator Obama is standing in the way of a revote, and that snubbing Michigan would hurt the Democratic party in November."
Even before Clinton announced her travel plans, Obama's spokesman accused her of merely looking out for her own political interests.
"As others in Michigan have pointed out, there are valid concerns about the proposal currently being discussed, including severe restrictions on voter eligibility and the reliance on private funding," said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. "We have raised these concerns, as legislators in Michigan did today, and we're waiting to see if these issues can be resolved by the Legislature."
Michigan is one of two states that violated Democratic Party rules by holding primaries too early in the year. As punishment, the party stripped both states of their delegates to the national nominating convention.
Plans for a revote in the other state, Florida, collapsed over the weekend, leaving the future of its delegation unclear.
Originally, Michigan was to have 128 delegates; Florida's total was 185. Clinton is about to have a melt down. Can you blame her? While Michigan Democrats are getting the cold shoulder from Obama and Dean. If Michiganites do not get their voice heard, than they should get pissed. This is becoming one of the biggest cluster *ucks I have ever seen. How can the Democratic party be taken seriously? If this is how they run their primaries, then God help us if they take over the White House.