Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama worked out a deal to limit the divisive roll call for president at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, a step toward an uneasy alliance of former rivals and their still-bitter supporters.
Many Clinton backers said Monday they were not interested in compromise and wanted a prime-time celebration of Clinton’s nomination fight. Clinton herself said she wouldn’t tell her backers how to vote.
Democratic officials involved in the negotiations said the deal would let a few states cast votes for Clinton before a move to declare Obama the nominee by acclamation.
Still, Clinton told supporters she would cast her own vote for Obama and said, “We were not all on the same side as Democrats, but we are now.”
The voting could perhaps end with New York, when Clinton herself would call for unanimous nomination of Obama from the convention floor, Democratic officials said on condition of anonymity.
Clinton will be the headline speaker at the convention tonight.
Speaker Pelosi admits Democrats not yet united
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged Monday that Democrats still are reconciling following a bitter primary fight, but said “wallowing” in it would not advance their goal of recapturing the White House.
“The nomination is decided, we have a vice president, we’re going to work together and go forward,” she said, adding that all 12 national conventions she has attended have been marked by contentiousness.
“But to stay wallowing in all of this is not productive,” Pelosi told reporters. “So we can talk about this forever, or we can talk about how we’re going to take our message to the American people, to women all across America, to see the distinctions” between Obama and Republican candidate Sen. John McCain.
Pelosi predicted Democrats will unite behind Obama by the end of the Democratic National Convention this week.
Latest polls show a tie
Obama and McCain are tied at 45 percent among registered voters in the presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll daily tracking update.
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