Dem leaders: Persistence by Clinton will aid party unity

Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — For the last few months, the story of the Democratic race has been Barack Obama, his victories, his setbacks, his associations and his words.

Now the focus is on Hillary Rodham Clinton and how she handles the final stages of her quest for her party’s presidential nomination.

Confronted by tough arithmetic, Clinton has opted to keep going, playing for time and hoping that someone or something comes along to transform the contest.

And no one, it seems, has any intention of trying to stop her, so long as she doesn’t do anything to damage Obama’s prospects as the party’s likely standard-bearer — which she hasn’t thus far.

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, Aliquippa, Pa., voiced the views of many congressional Democrats by saying that Clinton has “earned the right to continue to campaign to see if she can close the gap.”

The sentiment among some Democratic leaders goes beyond that.

They have come to believe that Clinton’s staying in the race — if only through the end of the primaries three weeks from now — may well be the preferred scenario for party unity, assuming everyone stays on best behavior.