Washington Times: Clinton's New Delegate Math

Christina Bellantoni of the Washington times reported on the efforts of the Clinton campaign to change the fundamentals of the delegate math need to win the election.

Here's the link, summary after the jump.

Hillary Clinton is once again attempting to move the goal posts to suit her candidacy. Her campaign is making the claim that the coveted 2024.5 delegates we all thought were necessary to clinch the nomination is no longer the magic number.

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.

...

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.

The article goes on to point out that Sen. Obama could reach the 2024.5 number before the end of the primaries, in spite of the Clinton spin.

Mr. Garin said "neither candidate" will have the needed delegates by June 3 when the last votes are counted in South Dakota and Montana. But Mr. Obama, should he win over a large bloc of superdelegates — elected officials and party activists who help decide the nomination — could get to 2,025 by then.

I know there are definitely clips of her saying "Neither one of us will have the necessary delegates to win" when defending against her coup by superdelegate. Does anybody know if she ever said "Neither one of us will reach the 2024" at one of those occasions, because that would look pretty silly in light of this new argument.

•  Hillary don't try to pee in my cornflakes

  and tell me it's raining.

  /or however the expression goes

  by Gator1980 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:34:36 AM PDT

  •  Um. I WAS having breakfast here.

    Time to move on to just coffee, I guess... unless you've got another colorful expression to share?

    by pat208 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:06:06 AM PDT

    •  heh. good thing he didn't tell you

      what he did to the coffee...

      by ubertar on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:31:40 AM PDT

•  Hillary should just declare herself the Fuhrer...

  and get it over with. Rules are for her to make up -- not follow.

  by Intercaust on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:35:45 AM PDT

  •  hile!-oh, no that's not good to ... n/t

    by chimaeranyc on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:19:26 AM PDT

  •  More like the Red Queen (Alice in Wonderland)

    although some might argue the Red Queen was a bit more consistent on certain measures. They do seem to have in common a similar attitude towards how math works (adds up however I want it to add), painting their world in 'red' hues (painting flowers, a trail of headless folks vs. guns, beer, shots, pro-war talk, and having her red-hot NAFTA-burners 'on').

    A particularly uncomfortable shared attitude towards decapitating those who happen to not align with their desired outcomes. And a McCain-like fondness for mushrooms--if they're mushroom clouds over Iran.  These sorts of mushrooms don't appear to increase one's moral stature although talking these up sure seems to make the typefont of video captions and headlines to grow tall.

    by antirove on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:35:16 AM PDT

•  Hmmm, looks like

  KO needs to update his commentary from just last night.  I believe this latest convolution was not included.

  The Clinton campaign sounds more and more desparate by the minute.

  by gchaucer2 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:35:47 AM PDT

  •  Where would it fit in?

    Only one vote really matters:  The fifty something conservative, registered, Democrat whose not Independent, but not a part of the base, and skipped college so that they could go straight into teaching, rather than become a casino worker, who votes on domestic issues, but not in a primary or caucus in a big state that doesn't border Illinois, that has elected female governors or members of Congress but didn't vote Republican in 2004, who won't vote Republican in 2008, and didn't vote for Jesse Jackson in 1984 or 1988 during all day voting except between the hours of 7:00 and 7:15pm.  Only to object to their vote being overruled by Super Delegates.

    ~KO

    by Lava20 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:39:27 AM PDT

•  If she had spent this much

  time and energy on reading the NIE, maybe she wouldn't have voted for an unnecessary and devastating war.  

  But this is the CLintons, people:  any and all energy spent on preservation of their own ambitions.  Nothing else energizes them.  

  If people think she'll expend this kind of energy in creating jobs, they are delusional.  Because all that motivates the CLintons is preservation of the Clintons.  

  by 57andFemale on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:36:24 AM PDT

•  OK, wait, I'm confused...

  We're back to delegates mattering?

  by Spruced Alien on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:39:32 AM PDT

•  Hillary and her surrogates must have

  been exposed to the original "new math" in school. Now if you take the delegate counts, convert them to base 2....Otherwise they are using Karl Rove's Math.

  by blue jersey mom on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:40:22 AM PDT

  •  A public service announcement

    by Crisis Corps Volunteer on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:59:53 AM PDT

    •  lol

      I was posting some of the lyrics before I saw you posted the video.

      I never actually saw the video before, but used to have the LP.

      Funny McCain Pics archive updated regularly

      by InsultComicDog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:06:17 AM PDT

  •  you can't take three from two

    two is less than three so you look at the four in the eights place now that's really four eights so you make it three eights regroup and you change an eight to eight ones and you add them to the two and you get one two base eight which is ten base ten and you take away three that's seven OK?

    Funny McCain Pics archive updated regularly

    by InsultComicDog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:02:28 AM PDT

•  It's like a six-year-old playing a board game

  If you can't win by the rules, just change them.

  by bourgeoisie on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:43:47 AM PDT

  •  Let's just hope she

    doesn't just knock the board and everything with it on the floor.

    by global citizen on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:54:49 AM PDT

•  What is pissing me off...

  Is that nobody at the DNC has the balls to come out & refute this bullshit.

  by jkddude on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:46:54 AM PDT

•  You're siting the MOONIE PAPER?

  Washington Times is a rag.

  It's THE MOONIE PAPER, they're crazy.

  o.0

  by Pogyak on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:54:31 AM PDT

  •  Practically yes, but in the diarist's defense,

    rags are all the Clintons seem to talk to these days.

    by The Distillery on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:00:32 AM PDT

    •  Uh dude or dudette, campaigns go everywhere.

      Even the precious Obama WENT ON
      'FOX and FRIENDS'

      0.0

      by Pogyak on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:51:36 AM PDT

•  It's time for HillBill to disappear over the

  horizon, their time is over.

  P.S. I never use the term 'Billary' which I find unacceptably sexist, for it places the male before the female even when it's the female who's the candidate. And if you don't agree, I'll get even by posting 500 pootie pics!

  by Lepanto on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:01:51 AM PDT

  •  Also, it's what Rush says.

    P.S. I never use the term 'Billary' which I find unacceptably sexist

    And all those equally foul radio hate-heads. Using the term perpetuates a Right Wing taunt.

    by pat208 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:08:13 AM PDT