DURHAM, N.C. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign yesterday tried to redefine the delegate math for securing the Democratic presidential nomination, signaling its willingness to wage a divisive battle with front-runner Sen. Barack Obama through the summer.
Mr. Obama, meanwhile, questioned Mrs. Clinton's trustworthiness heading into today's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.
Top Clinton aides said the nominee must win based on a tally that includes delegates from Florida and Michigan, which held January primaries that were disqualified by party rules. The campaign's "Delegate Hub" Web site identifies 2,208 as the total delegates needed to be nominated, or 183 more than the threshold of 2,025 set by the Democratic National Committee's rules.
"That's what we believe is the standard for deciding this — who has the majority of the total delegates including Michigan and Florida to decide the nomination," said Clinton strategist Geoff Garin.
Link to Washington Times Story
This points clearly to the setup for the Nuclear Option. They desperately want to move these goal posts again and as such, are floating the new meme.
My prediction is that the media, in their gleeful smarm over a protracted battle, will pick up on the 2208 number now, before Obama reaches the current requirement of 2024.5, thus setting the stage for the guy who wins having it overthrown.
There is a problem with the nuclear option, though. It is no longer possible if Hillary Clinton loses either Indiana or North Carolina. If she can pick up both states, though, watch for the new number in the media to be raised to 2208.
The media may try to move the goal posts for her anyway, regardless of the outcome of today's races.