In a bold move, that may upset party leaders, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will head to Florida for a campaign rally Tuesday night. Tuesday's Democratic primary here was strictly a "beauty contest." No delegates will be selected, because Florida is being punished by the national party, for disobeying orders and moving the primary, to a week before "Super Tuesday."
So, candidates had a "hand shake" deal, NOT to buy ads, or campaign in person in Florida.
But Clinton wants to appear Tuesday night after the voting is over. Polls show her with over double the support or Obama, in what is supposed to be a meaningless vote. Yet, by coming here for a victory rally, she will garner all the national press as if she actually WON the primary delegates.
In a statement, Clinton said “I will try to persuade my delegates to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida,” arguing that she was bowing to political reality. “The people of Florida deserve to be represented in the process of picking a candidate for president of the United States.”
Party elders are bound to be furious, but if it appears to voters that Clinton won something significant in Florida, that could counter her big loss to Barack Obama in Saturday's South Carolina primary. A pretty gutsy political move. This is "hardball" politics folks, so it could backfire too!
Barack Obama on the other hand, may "one up" Clinton regardless of Florida anyway.
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is set to endorse Obama, and so to is President John Kennedy's only remaining survivor, his daughter Caroline. This is a stunning development since the Clinton's and Kennedy's were once very close, and even vacationed together. What sparked what amounts to a "royal family feud" among the Democratic elite has yet to be made public, but the Kennedy's were known to be furious at the Clinton family's attacks on Obama, the first serious Black contender ever for the Presidency.
The one person loving all this must be former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, (R-NY)who badly needs a win in Florida to stay in the race. Now, with so much attention on the Democrats feuding, Giuliani may skirt a lot of press attention, and live on to "Super Tuesday" next week!
I will be covering a Giuliani campaign event in Central Florida Monday morning, so check back here for updates: www.markcurtismedia.blogspot.com. Being back in Florida feels like home. I lived and worked here for nine years, after earning my Master's Degree at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
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