Obama's big move

Politico reports today that the television networks may cut back their coverage of the Democratic National Convention in August because of the additional expenses they're going to incur now that Senator Barack Obama has decided to give his acceptance speech in a football stadium.

Senator Obama decided just last week that he'd rather speak at Invesco Field at Mile High, which seats 76,000, than at the Pepsi Center in Denver where the convention will be held. The Pepsi Center, an indoor arena, is about one-third the size.

Certainly there are many good reasons for Senator Obama to do this, but there might be one more that hasn't crossed your mind yet.

Today in the New York Times, Patrick Healy reports that Senator Obama's donors are not reacting well to his suggestion that they contribute to Hillary Clinton's primary campaign in order to help her pay off something like $23 million in debt.

"Not a penny for that woman. Or her husband," one donor wrote in an e-mail.

Since making her announcement that she is suspending her campaign, Senator Clinton has been in negotiations with the Obama campaign for assistance with her financial problem. It's not clear exactly what leverage she holds over Senator Obama, but she has taken the unusual, maybe unprecedented, step of asking Washington superlawyer Robert Barnett "to help structure a political relationship between them for the general election."

At the moment, her campaign is in a state of suspension. She has not released her delegates. She has not refunded $23 million in donations she received for the general election.

What has been going on in those negotiations, described as "so delicate" by the New York Times?

Has Hillary Clinton hinted that she could ruin Senator Obama's pretty TV pictures at the convention with some kind of delegate walk-out or counter-demonstration?

What does she have, eighteen hundred delegates? Something like that?

This is a picture of Invesco Field at Mile High:



Hillary Clinton's delegates could form a parade in the aisles at that place and it still wouldn't be as long as the line for the bathrooms.

No wonder Barack Obama beat her. She plays poker. He plays chess.

Copyright 2008

Editor's note: You might be interested in the earlier post, "Why Hillary won't go"

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