Tampabay.com
APRIL 09, 2008

Is Obama blocking a delegate deal or Clinton?

Frankly we can't really tell because it's often tough to tell who speaks for whom. Officially the Clinton camp position is "count every vote in FL," and officially the Obama camp position is, "We'll talk, but a fair solution would be divide the delegates evenly."

Meanwhile, Clinton supporters like Bill Nelson say the DNC should divide the Florida delegation in half - net Clinton 19 delegates - while prominent Obama supporters in Florida are talking about a deal that might perhaps net Clinton 6 or 13 delegates. Except they say the Clinton campaign won't budge from fully counting and seating the delegation based on Jan. 29, to net 38.

Chairman Dean I know has asked both sides to come together and we've said, "Where and when,' " said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, an Obama backer. "And the next thing I hear (from the Clinton campaign) is, "We're not interested.' "

Then again, uncommitted DNC member Jon Ausman, who has two credible challenges pending before the DNC's rules and bylaws committee, says the Clinton team seems eager for a deal while Obama is stalling.

Note that the Clinton campaign put out a statement calling on the rules and bylaws committee to resolve this, and the RBC would be the vehicle to resolve it sooner rather than later.

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