Sen. Hillary Clinton has given her clearest signal yet she is going to Denver and will not withdraw before a roll call vote is taken.
Her quotes in today’s news media account:
When asked if she was concerned Obama could reach the 2,118 delegate mark within days, Clinton said, "It's not over until the votes are cast. It's not over until there's actually a tally that gets somebody the nomination."
She’s going to Denver. In her strategy, even if all 205 undeclared superdelegates convene in Minnesota tommorow night, hold hands and chant "We are committed to Sen. Barack Obama!", it’s not over...
Because they haven’t cast their votes yet. So, nothing’s officials, nothing’s final, and Sen. Obama is not yet the nominee, in her thinking.
"One thing about superdelegates is they can change their minds," Clinton told a gaggle of reporters in the aisle of the plane. "With us in the front of the cabin is a superdelegate who went from me to Sen. Obama and now is back with me, in the course of, you know, a matter of weeks." A campaign spokeswoman later informed the cabin that the superdelegate she was referring to is Kevin Rodriguez, a DNC member from the Virgin Islands, who was accompanying her on the flight from San Juan. The campaign had previously announced his support. "I think it’s only now that we’re finishing these contests that people are going to actually reflect on who is our stronger candidate. And I believe I am. And I’m going to make that case," Clinton said.
She’s not leaving on Tuesday night, she’s not getting out on Wednesday, she’s not going to gracefully withdraw sometime over the next few weeks.
She and her surrogates will appear in the media every time Obama gets a cough, every time a new rumor about videos appears, every time he mistakes which city he’s in, and CNN, FoxNews and the rest will be there sticking a microphone in front of Terry McAuliffe et.al. to let them explain why Sen. Clinton is the better nominee.
She's going to go after every superdelegate, pledged or not. She will most like look to poach pledged delegates. But she absolutely will not concede, will not bow out gracefully, will not leave the stage until shoved off.
Because the supedelegates haven’t officially voted, you know. Anything could happen...
UPDATE 11:55:
Terry McAuliffe is now parrotting the talking point. From The Politico:
Team Clinton also won’t necessarily consider the campaign over if rival Barack Obama soon reaches the 2,118-delegate threshold necessary to clinch the nomination.
"No, it’s not it," McAuliffe responded when a reporter asked if securing 2,118 delegates would mark the end of the marathon race. "We’ll see. We’re going to get through Tuesday’s votes. We’re going to see where we are, and we’re going to look at all of our options. Every option is on the table."
As for what Clinton would do Wednesday morning with no more primaries on the horizon, McAuliffe said he hopes she’ll call uncommitted superdelegates. "That’s what I’m doing," he said.
And he hinted that the campaign might be targeting some superdelegates committed to Obama.
"We’re calling the uncommitted ones, primarily. But we’ve heard things. You know, you pick up stuff. So we’re following up on leads that we get," he said. "Just remember: No superdelegate is bound until they vote at the convention."
It ain't over until Denver, folks...