Hillary isn’t finished yet | Letters Blog | The Australian

Hillary isn’t finished yet Letters Blog The Australian: "Hillary isn’t finished yet" THERE seems to be some confusion. Hillary Clinton is still very much a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. She suspended her campaign only after all of the primaries were concluded. She still holds all of her pledged delegates. Furthermore, she has accumulated sufficient delegates to secure the nomination if she is supported by super-delegates - who are not formally bound to any candidate. The super-delegates consist primarily of elected officials who tend to be pragmatic rather than ideologues and are likely to support the candidate most likely to win the general election. At the time she suspended her campaign, both Clinton and Barack Obama were narrowly defeating John McCain in the tracking polls. Having suspended her campaign, Clinton is no longer included in the polls which now only reflect a contest between Obama and McCain. Obama is now receiving the full brunt of well-financed attacks from McCain. If Obama stumbles in the polls, the super-delegates will become nervous, and if he exhibits any signs of sustained weakness, the super-delegates can freely support Clinton. The Democratic Party’s nominating convention is about 10 weeks’ away and there is more than ample time for Obama to demonstrate weakness. Of course if Obama can demonstrate consistent polling strength, he will be the nominee. If not, the party may very well turn to Clinton. Since she had run out of funds, by suspending her campaign, she is letting the Republicans do the fighting for her. Clinton is not only still in the running but she may have demonstrated strategic brilliance. Harry Melkonian Vaucluse, NSW -->