Democrats Divided over Florida, Michigan

WASHINGTON — Democrats inched toward a compromise Thursday on replaying the presidential primaries in Florida and Michigan, a decision that could have a profound impact on the close contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the party's 2008 White House nomination.

Clinton, in an exchange with reporters in Washington, repeated her call for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be seated at the national convention this summer despite the fact that both states broke party rules by holding their primaries in January. But she also appeared to be open to the possibility of repeating the contests in both states, possibly at the end of the nominating season in June.

"I'm going to let the leadership of both states see what they think is the best approach," she said. "I think it would be a grave disservice to the voters of Florida and Michigan to adopt any process that would disenfranchise anyone, and I'm still committed to seating their delegations and I know that they're working with the Democratic Party to determine how best to proceed."

Clinton's comments came on the same day that one of her supporters, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) formally requesting that the Florida primary be re-staged and that the national party pick up the cost of the voting, rather than the state.

"With two outstanding candidates battling so closely for their party's nomination, there's no way you can tell nearly two million Florida voters they don't count," Nelson said in a prepared statement accompanying his letter to the DNC.

Earlier in the day, during a round of appearances on TV network and cable programs, DNC Chairman Howard Dean left open the possibility of new primaries in Florida and Michigan, if the states could come up with a plan that complies with national party rules. But he flatly rejected the suggestion that the national party pay the cost of the voting. "We can't afford to do that," Dean said. "We need our money to win the presidential race."

In the remaining 12 primaries and caucuses, it is unlikely that either Obama or Clinton can win enough pledged delegates to reach the 2,025 needed to claim the party's presidential nomination at the national convention in Denver in August. It also is unlikely that the delegates at stake in Florida and Michigan could push either candidate over the top.

So the importance of winning Florida and Michigan would be for Obama or Clinton to demonstrate to the 796 superdelegates - the party leaders, elected officials and activists - that they are capable of winning in two important states that have been battlegrounds in the most recent presidential general elections.

Clinton won both the Michigan and Florida primaries in January, but none of the Democratic candidates campaigned in either state because of the party sanctions and Clinton was the only major candidate on the ballot in Michigan. Nevertheless, since falling behind Obama in the delegate count, she has argued that the delegates from both states should be seated at the convention.

Meanwhile:

- Obama's campaign announced it raised a record-shattering $55 million in February, eclipsing rival Clinton's own substantial fundraising effort and bringing the Illinois senator's total to an astonishing $193 million since he began his campaign.

- A Clinton campaign aide compared Obama to Kenneth Starr, the independent prosecutor who initiated the impeachment of former President Clinton.

- Obama national security adviser Susan Rice suggested that neither Democratic candidate is ready for the 3 a.m. telephone call that has become symbolic of a candidate's qualifications to be commander in chief.

But the announcement of Obama's latest record-setting fundraising effort was the big attention getter Thursday. The unprecedented haul of $55 million in February reflected an important advantage Obama will have in the final 12 primaries and caucuses this spring, including the media-expensive contest in Pennsylvania on April 22.

Fundraising will be key, too, if Florida and Michigan are allowed to redo the primaries they held in January.

More than $45 million of the money Obama collected in February was raised online, and three-fourths of the online donors - 385,101 - were first-time online donors. In addition, more than 90 percent of the online donations were $100 or less, which means the Obama campaign could tap those sources again in the coming months since it is unlikely most of the donors have reached the contribution limit of $2,300 each for the primary season and the general election, as allowed under federal law.

But Democratic consultant Joe Trippi, who pioneered online donations for the Howard Dean presidential campaign in 2004, said Obama's "bottom up" donations may be even more significant in the general election against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

"That's where the Republicans are going to be in real trouble because you now have two Democratic candidates raising money bottom up and raising record amounts," Trippi said. "Once the (Democratic) nominee is known, the nominee is going to be able to put this together and break every record out there, I think."

Clinton raised $36 million in February — substantial, but far behind Obama's $55 million. By comparison, Dean's campaign raised $59 million online during its entire 14-month existence. "In the shortest month of the year, (Obama) raised what the Dean campaign raised in 14 months," Trippi noted.

Meanwhile, the tone of the Democratic contest grew even more negative with Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson saying Obama's statement that he plans to be more critical of Clinton's record is reminiscent of the attacks the Clintons endured during the 1990s, most notably at the hands of Starr, the independent prosecutor whose investigation led to Bill Clinton's impeachment.

"I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president. But perhaps the theory will be tested," Wolfson said.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the comparison is "absurd."

Rice, who advises Obama on national security matters, appeared on MSNBC to refute Clinton suggestions that Obama is not prepared to take the international emergency telephone calls that come at all hours of the night to the White House. But in doing so, she made comments that the McCain campaign seized upon. "Clinton hasn't had to answer the phone at three o'clock in the morning and yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being ready," Rice said. "They're both not ready to have that 3 a.m. phone call."

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said in a written statement: "We agree wholeheartedly that neither Senator Clinton nor Senator Obama have the experience or judgment necessary to lead the United States in the struggle against violent Islamic extremists who seek our destruction, or to address the complex global environment that our next president will face."