Tja, man kan väl ändra sig!

NEW YORK I höstas skrev nationell och lokal press om hur Hillary Clinton förband sig att inte kampanja i vare sig Florida eller Michigan. Hennes stab förklarade då att de respektera partiledningens (DNC's) beslut, d v s att dessa två delstaters primärval inte skulle räknas.

Ur The Washington Post, den 2 september 2007 (mina fetstilningar):

The Democratic candidates have signed a pledge that would forbid them from campaigning in states such as Michigan and Florida that have sought to move their presidential primaries into January 2008.
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Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.), along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, signed the pledge within hours on Friday [31 aug]. By yesterday, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, had joined them.
"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process," Clinton's campaign said in a statement. "And we believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

Ur St. Petersburg Times, Florida, den 2 september 2007:

All of the major Democratic candidates for president abruptly agreed Saturday to boycott Florida's primary because it is scheduled on Jan. 29, too early according to national party rules.
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Now, Clinton, Obama, John Edwards and the others will not make campaign appearances in Florida, or any other state that breaks Democratic National Committee rules by scheduling a primary before Feb. 5. Michigan is considering such a move.
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The Florida primary meltdown started Friday evening when underdog Democrats Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden signed a "four-state pledge" to campaign only in the small states permitted to hold nominating contests in January: Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But on Saturday morning, Edwards and Obama signed the pledge. Florida front-runner Clinton did, too, rather than antagonize voters in crucial states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
"We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process," came the statement from the Clinton campaign at 4 p.m. "And we believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role."

Snabbspolning till maj:

Hillary Clinton, den 21 maj 2008 (källa):
Hillary Clinton compared her effort to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to epic American struggles, including those to free the slaves and win the right to vote for blacks and women.
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"In Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," she said. "The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: if any votes aren't count, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished."
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"If we fail to do so, I worry that we will pay not only a moral cost, but a political cost as well," she said. "We know the road to a Democratic White House runs right through Florida and Michigan. If we care about winning those states in November, we need to count your votes now. If Democrats send a message that we don't fully value your votes, we know Sen. McCain and the Republicans will be more than happy to have them. The Republicans will make a simple and compelling argument: why should Florida and Michigan voters trust the Democratic Party to look out for you when they won't even listen to you."

Jag har ännu inte hittat någon artikel där Clinton konfronteras på allvar med att hon inte i höstas ifrågasatte beslutet att Michigan och Florida skulle skippas. Men jag letar vidare.

Newsweek reder ut varför det inte funkar att bara räkna de röster som man (Clinton) vill ska räknas – läs!

/Gunilla

P S I Michigan drog alla kandidater utom Clinton tillbaka sina namn från valsedlarna. I Florida gjorde de det inte, beroende på en regel som sade att de isåfall ej heller skulle kunna ställa upp i själva presidentvalet i november.
I Michigan är det alltså inte konstigt att hon har fått samtliga röster, eftersom hon à la sovietique var den enda man kunde rösta på – och de andra kandidaternas väljare såg det knappast vara mödan värt att gå till vallokalen (fast minst 200 000 Obamafans gick dit, och valde alternativet "uncommitted).
Det argumentet finns inte riktigt i Florida, där stod flera kandidater på valsedlarna. Men eftersom ingen bedrev kampanj där är det inte konstigt om Clinton vann rejält, eftersom hon på förhand var betydligt mer känd där.
Enligt de senaste opinionssiffrorna från Qunnipiac har Obama hämtat upp sin tidigare så svaga ställning (gentemot såväl McCain som Clinton) i Florida. Han skulle i och för sig fortfarande förlora, men ligger mycket närmare än tidigare.