Apr 5, 2008 5:51 pm US/Pacific
Clinton Ramps Up Call To Count Fla., Mich.
HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) ―
Democrat
Hillary Rodham Clinton Saturday strengthened her pitch to allow disputed
primaries in Michigan and Florida to be counted in the nominating
contest, noting the vote totals had been officially recognized in each state.
"Some
say their votes should be ignored and the popular vote in Michigan
and Florida
should be discounted. Well, I have a different view," Clinton said at a rally here. "The
popular vote in Florida and Michigan has already been counted. It was
determined by election results, it was certified by election officials in each
state, it's been officially tallied by the secretary of state in each state,
and the question is whether those 2.3 million Democrats will be honored and
their delegates seated by the Democratic party."
Both
the Michigan and Florida primaries were essentially nullified
after they were moved into January in violation of national Democratic party
rules. The party voted to strip both states of their delegates and all the
candidates, including Clinton and rival Barack Obama, signed a pledge not to
campaign in either state.
Obama
and several other Democratic candidates also removed their names from the Michigan primary ballot.
Both
states saw record turnout in their primaries and the former first lady won both
contests. Her campaign has pressed hard for the results to be recognized, even
as the Obama campaign has argued Clinton
is trying to circumvent rules she agreed to long ago.
Clinton's latest
comments came a day after Michigan Democrats announced there would be no
do-over of that state's Jan. 15 primary, vastly dimming the New York senator's chances of catching Obama
in the popular vote and in pledged delegates. Democrats in Florida had already announced there would be
no revote there.
Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has been conferring with party leaders
in both states, hoping to find a way to seat their delegations. The Obama
campaign has proposed a 50-50 split of both states' delegations, an option Clinton advisers have
resisted.
Obama
spokesman Bill Burton dismissed Clinton's latest
call to recognize Florida and Michigan's results.
"Senator
Clinton herself said these contests 'didn't count for anything.' But now that
it serves her own political self-interest, she's trying to change the rules and
count the results of contests where she and every other candidate pledged not
to campaign," Burton
said. "In Michigan,
Senator Obama wasn't even on the ballot. Our focus should now be on seating the
Michigan and Florida delegations in a fair manner."
It
was Clinton's first campaign visit to Oregon, whose primary is
May 20. The state holds a largely vote-by-mail primary with ballots mailed
starting April 28.
At
a rally in Eugene, Clinton
tangled with an Obama supporter who asked whether she feared her criticisms of
the Illinois
senator would damage his chances if he bacame the party's nominee.
"I
obviously see it differently," Clinton
replied. "For those who are new to politics, you can take very personally
anything anybody says. I have to tell you that there have even been some things
said about me. I don't take any of it personally, or most of it seriously.
That's what happens in politics."
Also Saturday, Clinton
campaign officials acknowledged that an anecdote Clinton has made a staple of her stump speech
in recent weeks may not have been true and wasn't thoroughly checked for
accuracy before she began repeating it on the campaign trail.
Since
competing in Ohio's March 4 primary, Clinton has shared the story of an Ohio woman who worked in a pizza parlor and
died after giving birth to a stillborn child. The woman was uninsured, Clinton said, and twice
denied medical care at a local hospital because she couldn't pay a $100 fee.
Clinton said she
learned of the story from a deputy sheriff whose home she visited while
campaigning in Ohio.
She told the story as recently as late Friday, at a rally in Grand Forks, N.D.
Officials
with O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens,
Ohio, have disputed the story,
saying the woman, Trina Bachtel, was insured and did receive care through an
obstetric practice affiliated with the hospital, The New York Times reported
Saturday.
Hospital
officials did not immediately return phone calls Saturday from The Associated
Press.
Clinton
spokesman Mo Elleithee acknowledged that the campaign had tried but hadn't been
able to "fully vet" the story before she began repeating it on the
campaign trail.
"She
tells the story as it was told to her by the deputy sheriff. She had no reason
to doubt his word," Elleithee said. "If the hospital claims it didn't
happen that way, we certainly respect that and she won't repeat the story. She
never mentions the hospital by name and isn't trying to cast blame."
Elleithee
noted that candidates often retell stories they are told by voters they meet on
the campaign trail.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
