Shame on you, Hillary.

If you really care about the families that are having a hard time financially, then use the money that would be spent on a silly ego election for you (you knew the rules and agreed to them) for people who really need it. These are people whose entire day is spent trying to just make it through with something to eat and a roof over ther heads.

And you want to squander all that money for yourself.

It seems like there is room for a lot of problems with a mail-in vote. The DNC needs to stop being cheap and fund a full re-do for the sake of fairness to both sides, effieciency, and expediency.

I think your headline is a complete misrepresentation. Senator Obama just wants to make certain that the vote if there is one is fairly executed and secure from fraud. It is the hope of every Obama supporter I talk to that Florida and Michigan voters be allowed to voice their choice for this primary and let the chips fall where they may.

Clinton and her campaign are crazy as hell!

Obama has never said he doesn't want FL & MI to count. He simply says he will play by whatever fair rules the DNC sets. What's wrong with that?

You can't just throw vote by mail together at the last minute without some stringent guidelines and security checkpoints to ensure the process is fair and equitable.

MY God what is happening to this party. Are we really going to let it be destroyed like this. Why can't we all just respect each other in spite of our differences?! White America doesn't understand Black American and Black America doesn't understand White America. But we now have an opportunity to put all the hatred behind us and do something postive and magnificent together to heal this country.

The Republicans are having a field day with us. Let's prove them wrong and get our act together and win this election!

HILLARY 08

Florida and Michigan will say loud and clear that they want you to be Our President in this election.
The FLA votes should be counted just as they are, while Michigan could have a new primary. Now Obama is afraid, cause he knows this will in fact put an end to his so called" momentums" There is not such thing 'cause no one will attain the desired number of delegates without FLA and Michigan.
Howard Dean, are your rules stronger than the voice of 2.5 million voters who actually belong to your party? Btwy, have you realized that FLA's primaries's date was moved by the Republicans and not so by the Democrats. Then, why are you punishing your own party members, Shame on you if you disenfranchise the voice of your voters. Then no candidate should appear in the Democratic ballot for the general election if the voice of your party is not important to you.

HILLARY – Commander in Chief of the United States of America.

Here is the divider again. Obama will not agree to the mail in vote, because he is sure to lose in a landslide in both Florida and Michigan and In April he will also lose PA. Obama should be blaming the DNC not Hillary. His lead will disappear after these elections.

In addition he would not want to give up his campaign contributions to support a re-do, if he loses. Obama has raised funds in Florida. I think the press should pay for the re-do

Can some one tell me why the Democratic party pays for the state election if they change their date? If it is not going to count why pay for it, would that not put an end to such things? As a Canadian observing the election I cannot understand wht is to like about Hillary? I do not know Obama but at least he is a chance for something better. Hillary is the one that is only a senator and in this race simply because she is Bill's wife. Also why have they involved their daughter in this process. Yes she loves her mom and obviously wants her to win and do anything, but if they care more for her then themselves and winning, any decent parent would keep their child out of this whole mess, not have her all over speaking to strangers at her age.

How can Obama claim to be a uniter if his campaign is pushing to disenfranchise 1.7 million voters here in Florida ?
They don't want to seat the delegates as-is and mail-in vote unacceptable to them. It clearly means that they don't care about Florida voters. Seriously, how can Obama win the General Elections without carrying Florida or Ohio ?

Let MI & FL VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a floridian but I am also against the vote by mail. I woul like to see a primary where the candidates could first come in and campaign on the terrain then people could head to the polls and pick their nominee.

I believe that all the candidates played by the rules – no campaigning, but the candidates names were on the ballot, which gave the people of Florida a "choice". The "choice" was that everyone could "vote", but their votes will not be "counted". But the "reality" is that, thousands, if not millions of people, decided on that "special" day to let his/her voice be heard, for the candidate that he/she supports. Isn't that the democratic way? Whose voices are the strongest/loudest? the candidate(s) or the "voter(s)"? What is an amendment? Can we "amend" the rules? In all fairness, give each candidate his/her share of delegates based on the voices of the voters in Florida.

As for Michigan, only one candidate name appeared on the Ballot, and the reality is that the voters' "choice" in Michigan can be considered as "limited" based on this fact. So, in all fairness, a resolution would be to "split" or "divide", since this is where we are at now in this "democratic" race.

thought the road to the White House was through OHIO (and TX as the firewall), what happened here? Just a foolish thought. I guess the OHIO people are now irrelevant!! By June, the PA people will equally be irrelevant; it would be FL or MI. Aren't we tired of using and abusing people for political gains in this nation?

For Catholics, I urge you not only to contribute money, but to say a decade of the Rosary for the anointment of a decent and God-fearing man, such as Obama, to regain the White House. We are a nation of rules and laws, including our basic moral virtues.

Has anyone stopped, and taken a good look at this big political sewer were all swimming around in, it's all a big mess, and if anyone is wandering why, it's all because of this so called great woman who has all this experience and has no clue that she is completely out of order. First of all we have all lost site of what this country really stands for, we say on our US currency IN GOD WE TRUST, if this were really true than we would not be entertaining Hillary Clinton with this great idea of being President, in (1 Timothy Chapter 2) God's words states that he does not permit a woman to have authority over a man, but to be in silence, For Adam was formed first, then Eve, Adam was not deceived but the woman was deceived. I strongly believe that if this country continue to proceed with this idea of Hillary Clinton for President than we are putting our Country at a great risk for for a fall or the (Warth of God).

Words not actions again, Obama did want legislation to establish a vote by mail program but now he does not want these two states to vote by mail.

Will it never end with Obama. Always on the record saying one thing and then doing another.

In Ohio, it was denials about NAFTA and his campaign meeting with Canada and describing his talk as "just rhetoric". He denied it on several Cleveland TV stations and then the facts come out they did meet.

In Nevada, it was denials about playing the race card and then Tim Russert pulls out a four-page talking point memo the Obama campaign was using to press the issue.

In Texas, it was Obama was ready to be President and then his own campaign adviser says he is "not ready".

Throughout the campaign, Obama has chastised Hillary for not having a firm withdrawal date for Iraq then another foreign policy adviser to Obama cannot be held to what he is saying in his campaign because it was not valid.

When he talks about those who will do anything and say anything to win an election it is directly applying to him and his campaign.

Of course the Clintons are trying to change the rules to benefit her. This slob of a candidate just can't get it right at all!
Prove that Obama co-sponsored a bill last June that would establish a vote by mail program, it would be when the two states of FL and MI would "still" play by the rules set for by the DNC! not get around it like she thinks us, the voters are so stupid, she wants to slice it , dice it and gewt there way no mater what!

The whole reason that this problem with these two states belongs to the state government of the two states and becasue of Howard Dean, he made the rules, now he is going to be brought to his standards now that he had "better" stick to "rules and regulations" of the DNC that will show the worls what a gutless lying jerks the libs are and they don't think that people see this. If it goes to court, then we are going to see for the third election in the row for the presidency that there will be more questions. Has this country learned yet form the past mistake…NO it hasn't if the lib liar Clintons are the mail in vote and have the idiot Howard Dean change the rules because the Clintons will pressure him to do it so help me, mark my words that is what will happen. Bur obama will over come and beat her fat butt still.

Dean will probably cave in under pressure to try to apease Clinton, what a coward he is.

This is really dangerous territory for us Democrats and says a lot about Barack Obama that in order to grasp the nomination, he is prepared to trample on the voting rights of nearly 2 million voters in Florida and Michigan.

It seems to be a trend, play dirty (airing hundreds of tv ads that showed in Florida), and cry 'foul' if you don't get the result you like. I think it's time that all the Dems who turned out in droves to vote in those two disenfranchised states got very vocal. Demand that their votes are counted, or that there is a mail vote.

Voters in Florida and Michigan are being disenfranchised – they must demand to have their voting rights upheld and the delegates must be seated at conference according to their vote. We, the electorate, should settle for nothing less than equality for all voters.

The agent for 'hope' and 'change' is sending a loud message to millions of voters by his unwillingness to listen to the will of the people because he doesn't like the message. Seems like politics as usual from Sen Obama after all.

What is new? Hillary wants to "win at all costs" to realize her self-fulfilling prophecy. She is scary. If she is the nominee, like many others, I will not vote in the general election.

Cry Baby Obama, you are like a spoied child. It has to be your way.
CNN is Anti Clinton and for Obama. So I doubt they will post this.

Go Hillary 2008!

Obama always preaches – let the people decide – ok that is what they are trying to do…If he won those states he would be for it, so why is he acting like Clinton is the only person wanting these two states to vote.

He counts on social pressure of caucuses………….we should NEVER again have anything but secret ballot in America!

As long as these votes are counted it does not have to be mail in ballot. THEY NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THESE 2 STATES HEARD!!!

I HOPE THEY SEE PAST OBAMA REHTORIC – PLEASE, PLEASE
VOTE HILLARY!!

VOTE HILLARY!!!
VOTE HILLARY!!!
VOTE HILLARY!!!

mail in vote is the most absurd process one can think of in the state of Florida. Do the democrats really want to allow Florida to control their chances again. Florida is a republican state period. In the general election they have no chance of carrying the state. If their candidate was to receive a majority of the votes the election folk in Florida would make sure the votes would not be counted. Can't you imagine hanky panky followed by democrats going to court to resolve the problem. I mean it would be heaven for the republicans. Don't you think the governor of Florida is salavating just thinking about it. Divide the delegates 50 50 and move on.

the rules say that FL and MG don't need to redo the elections. They need only appeal to the DNC before the convention…If Obama wants to stand in the way of voting rights, for "the Rules"…He should at least learn them first. Candidates were not required to remove their names from the MG ballot, but Obama and Edwards did so anyway… Why? What political purpose did that serve? Hillary didn't break the rules by keeping her name on there. Hillary wants to follow the rules in resolving this election controversy….Besides, in American history, how many voters have been disenfranchised by "the rules?" How can he claim to be able to win in Florida, when he's fighting to keep their votes from counting!! That's some serious audacity! We need real unity. We should never have done this to two important states. Its up to both campaigns to ensure a speedy resolution.

no chance to rig for the clintons.
yeah
obama 08

Mail-in-vote is very prone to fraud. Just imaging how long it will take to verify the mail-in ballot in FL, knowing this state has a history in miss-counting "Chad", the result may not be available until 2010!

Obama is not supporting the vote of Florida and Michigan, because if they are out, it benefits him!

OBAMA IS NOT LOOKING OUT FOR THE PEOPLE!
OBAMA IS LOOKING OUT OR HIMSELF!

The thing is that even though rules are rules, some rules are bad rules, and these ones fit that description.

Presumably folks are aware of the bad rules of the past that have done a lot to damage the human rights of minorities, including the African-American community. Then people should also be able to recognize when rules of today don't serve the interest of the whole population.

Granted, in their frustration at an unfair and outdated primary system, a couple of elected officials made hasty decisions. That does not mean that millions of their electorate should be disenfranchised. And that is EXACTLY what will happen if the votes in Florida and Michigan are NOT either counted or re-done!

Shame on Obama!
It seems to be very clear that Obama isn't in this for the people, but only for himself. Otherwise he would activley throw all his support behind the effort to ensure that the votes of the electorate in Florida and Michigan counted, one way or another.

SHAME ON OBAMA!

Roland S. Martin says Florida and Michigan blew their shot in the delegate process by moving up their primaries

. Is Roland S. Martin saying we should not count over a million votes just so we can elect a black man? Does Sen. Obama feel the same way?

Sen Obama wants all the super delates to go him (being that he is ahead). Doesn't want to count Fla and Mich (because he lost and will must likely lose again) . . . that sounds very reasonable. About as reasonable as George Bush!!!!

The Obama camp wants to suppress the vote in Florida, plain and simple. They know they will lose and they are denying the voice of Floridians in the process. It's disgusting coming from the candidate of "hope" and "change." I guess by "change" Obama means "shortchanging" voters who don't agree with him.

I live in florida and I knew our votes would not count LAST YEAR! I would like to know why the people in Florida and Michigan don't place the blame solely where it belongs, with the Republican governors and legislators in these two states. If you no longer want to be DISENFANCHISED VOTE THOSE PEOPLE OUT. THey are the reason you are being DISENFRANCHISED. THEY chose to DISQUALIFY YOUR VOTE.

I don't know why the Obama camp is trying to disenfranchise voters just to win the nomination. That is a shame.

Of course he is opposed…he was on the ballot in Florida same as Clinton…neither campaigned…yet I believe an ad of Obama did air in error….AND he lost big…no wonder he doesn't want a re vote…He CANNOT win a big state. Clinton 08

First of all didn't they know about this a year and a half ago, all had known. Some called and was told that it wouldn't count. They wasn't concern then….Now that hillary's, trying to use the unfair game just to get her way. I think those very people thats trying so hard to count them now, are the very people thats hillary's supports. It happen once before to florida, some foul play of some sort. I WOULD LET THEM CHANGE THE RULES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME!!!!!!!!!! tHEY MISSED THEIR CHANCE.

Interesting that Obama's camp seems quite against this idea; seeing as how he co-sponsored legislation about mail-in voting being a good way of voting.

B.H. Obama is against any kind of re-vote in Florida because he knows he will lose!

The Obama campaign has just made a major error: Obama co-sponsored a bill supporting mail-in ballots. Coming out against them now would be flip-flopping, and show that he either didn't make that vote on principle, or that he's now changing his position in the name of political convenience.

Of course Obama's camp is against a mail-in. Much tougher to strong arm people into voting for Barack like is being done in the caucuses.

they want only what is suitable for them. But when they do something else – like in Nevada, then it is OK.
Elections are such a nasty process…………

The Obama camp is very smart to not go for the mail-in vote. Who knows how accurate it would be? Especially in Florida. What! Honesty, forget it! Controversy, you bet!

I don't get this… Since so many rules have been broken just break more rules in a fair way to solve this mess. So I have a solution…simple really and of course fair. Firstly, forget the 2025 needed to win. That was under the basis that all delegates are counted. Since they are not, I don't know why everyone seem to be held to this number. So whoever wins the delegate count wins regardless if 2025 delegates has not been met. As for the voters of Michigan and Florida? Split the delegates evenly if they want to be seated at the convention. One can argue that this may not represent the voters, but these same voters voted for their Florida and Michigan officials who broke the rules. So blame them idiots for messing this all up by trying to get into the limelight by moving their primaries earlier.
Of course the Clinton Camp. will not approve of this, but in reality it is as fair as it can get because the winner will be nominated by states who obeyed the rules under fair practice.

See, Obama is going negative. Why did he blame Clinton for changing the rules? The re-vote was proposed by the people in Florida and DNC agreed on it. Obama wants to stick to the rules that are against people' will.

Obama was on the ticket. What's the problem. Let the votes stand as they are.
Michigan is different. Let them revote in Michigan because Obama wan't on the ticket..

what was wrong with my first submission?

Hillary already declared herself a winner in both Michigan and Florida. Does this double talk maneuvering reflect what she will be like negotiating with other countries? Is this her experience at work? Politician yes, ethical no. Play by the rules and don't change them in the middle of the game when your losing. by the way, where are the Clinton's tax returns?

This show you that Obama don't care Floridans.

Clinton is the biggest loser in the world. She will do anything, simply anything to win. So sooo sad.

How can we have such a pathetic person be president of our honorable country??????????????

She will stoop to any low, absolutely any low to win. So sad.

So if two teams split their games during the season, should we go back and count the exhibition/preseason games?

David Plouffe needs to quit whining, and swallow his spit like a man.

My comment is gone. The truth hurts I guess. When this is all over I am going to change my status from a democrat to an Independent. I can see now why Lieberman changed over. I cannot even get CNN to keep my comments in. I am commited to Hillary, but if she does not get to be the nominee – all bets are off.

"Senator Clinton said she was playing by the rules through the early sates, we played by the rules," he said. "Now when they believe it serves their political interests, they're trying to change the rules and say these elections should count for something. We think that's the kind of political maneuvering and calculation that voters are tired of."

Exactly!

One thing for Obama, you will never get the chance.

To steal anymore Caucuses. And Primary's you can't win again….

It seems the Clintons believe rules are supposed to be bent for their special interest. The DNC should just say no! Crafting a competition to fit the Clinton's campaign is wrong!

DNC, just say NO!

The mail-in vote sounds easy. But, in Florida, they don't have a great track record for elections. I wouldn't trust the results.

Anyone who thinks that the Jan. results should count is being incredibly unfair and short-sighted. There was no campaigning and Clinton won on name recognition because she has been a national figure for many years. Even a child can see that. If Clinton can only win by stealing the election, it will tear the party apart and doom us all in November. Her and her supporters need to grow up and play fair.

This is crazy! Rules are rules! That's it!! If you break them now on the count that one candidate is whining about it then what does that say about the DNC??

Why is it that Florida just can't seem to get it right??!! No one told them to move the primary date!! And they KNEW the consequences if they did!! How is it that 30 states got it right, but MI and FL didn't?? I feel sorry for the voters of FL and MI but you have your ELECTED OFFICIALS to thank!

And for all you Hilary supporters, if Barack was in Hilary's position being behind in the pledged delegates, behind in the popular vote, and behind in the amount of states won, you all know that the DNC wouldn't even entertain the thought of a re-do for him! FAIR IS FAIR!!

Florida and Michigan should get new leadership. Both states broke the rules. With that being said, it is important for those states to be seated, so the only answer is to split the delegates down the middle. Call it a draw.

That still leaves Obama with more delegates.

Baracks campaign depends on states that the democrats have no way of winning in the general election. When is this young man going to realize that he is not going to get the kind of treatment from McCain that the press and googly eyed Americans have given him since he had the audacity to hope he could lead the free world. Like her ot hate her, Hillary knows how to win, and for the sake of the Dem party, I hope she does.

I agree. Michigan and Florida need to take this up with the officals they elected to represent them. If I lived in either state, I would hold these decision makers accountable and vote them out as soon as I could. The reules are the rules and should not be broken. They had ample time to protest. I find it suspect that they are doing it at this stage of the election. Smells fishy to me.

Why don't we hear about Hillery's tax returns? Why is she able she able to hide them?

Im a FL voter and I agree, you just can't have a redo. Even if we revote the delegates must at least be cut in half as a punishment. If we revote now it will actually be rewarding us for breaking the rules because it will matter even more now. Any solultion must at the minimum reduce the delegates. I think the 50-50 split and a reduced count is appropriate.

Rules are rules.
Clinton should have took her name off of the Michigan ballot like Senator Obama and Senator Edwards did when they all agreed that they would not run in Michigan and that Michigan would not count. You can't go and change the rules just because you are losing. It's time for Hillary to bow out gracefully and go back to New York.

After reading the content of the article, I find the headline inaccurate. I doubt this comment will be posted, but I can hold out hope.

Plouffe's statements have to do with the difficulty of successfully running a mail-in revote in Florida. The strongest rejection of the idea comes not from Obama's campaign, but from the Florida Democratic delegation.

More accurately, the campaign is not "resistant" to the idea, they're "reserved" about the feasability of it.

Further, Plouffe specifically states that the Obama campaign will support whatever the DNC decides, leaving it to the party as it should be — as opposed to the way Clinton is handling it now that the states of Florida and Michigan suddenly "matter" again, pushing actively for resolution and complaining about the possibility of a caucus in Michigan. Why aren't there headlines about Clinton rejecting the caucus, when she clearly and unequivocally did so?

A caucus wouldn't be fair, either.

Then let's have another debate before revoting so Obama can parrot more of Hillary's answers.

The entrenched Clinton crowd is getting ready to steal the nomination from Obama, watch how this goes down.

Try and fool people by saying a vote for me is a vote for a dream ticket with Obama (who is leading her across the board) as incredibly number TWO!

After being the "inevitable nominee" and agreeing with all of the other candidates to not count Florida and Michigan, I now change my mind and use the Democratic code word "disenfranchisement" and the flock agrees we need a do-over.

Instead of making people go out and vote, make it easier for voter fraud and ballot stuffing (hallmarks of the party) by insisting on voting by mail even though it takes years to get it right especially in states of this size, but who cares, as long as you WIN.

As a non-Democrat, but very respectful of Obama, this whole process is an insult to anyone with a brain stem, but as the exit polls indicate, that would NOT include CLINTON supporters.

Ready to mislead from day one.

Don't say one word about disenfranchised voters this election cycle. If King Howard wasn't such a control freak we wouldn't have this problem. As a tax paying citizen of FL I believe the DNC should pay for any re-vote. It was their arrogance that created this situation, it is not the taxpayers job to bail them out!

Why should the two state that knowingly violated the rules be allowed to hold primaries again … and at extra expense? The one "solution" I have not heard proposed is for the required delegate total for nomination — now 2025 — to be reduced by the number that would have been allocated to Florida and Michigan. What wrong or unfair about that?

I believe the rules are the period. As long as they know that they are violating the rules and they did it any they should not be forgiven. It is in soccer match the the referee gave you red card for unacceptable behavior, you don't go back and ask for forgivenss.

The bottom line is rules are rules

Stay vigilant Barack. Only your administration can bring about real change, McCain wants to continue the war, and Hillary wants to advance her wealth, or anything else that is self-serving. You are for the American people, and we want you to win.

Obama 08
Hillary 0-Never

Go ahead Obama don't count our votes… you know what's going to happen come November… I regret voting for you Senator Obama but
I wish you well.

Clinton's moves regarding this make me so mad. As the Obama people have said she did not start to challenge it until she needed the votes. This would not be an issue if Florida played by the rules!

The votes should be counted. Neither candidate campaigned there, but Obama did run ads in Florida. If the votes are not counted, then there should be a mail-in or revote. The people of Florida should not be punished for the mistakes of the party.

Why doesn't CNN ask Obama exactly WHAT his accomplishments are? Another channel is having a weekly short"The Real Obama." I watched that show and they brought up that Obama was an undistinguished sentor in Illinois,when he served there, and is an undistinguished Junior Senator in the U.S. Senate. It was stated that McCain would prefer to run against Obama because of his lack of accomplishments and real time experience. Why don't we hear any of this information on CNN?

These states do not deserve a revote. THEY BROKE THE RULES!

I think this whole do over is ridiculous. The party knew what the consequences were before they decided to move the primary up and they chose to do so anyway.
I'm tired of seeing them on tv talking about how we need to fix it and not disenfranchise FL and MI…that's what's wrong with our country today, we don't think about the consequences before we comit action.
They made their bed now they need to lie in it.

Reject Sen. Bill Nelson he is clinton supporter he doing thins to favor clinton . what happened to Howard Dean comments the rules are the rules they will not be changed. Now all of sudden he is in support of mail vote. My question to you is Howard are you trying to help clinton by changing the rule in the middle of the Game, if that is what you are doing shame on you and it will be shame on the democratic party.

Obama can't afford to have Michigan and Florida seated, he will lose. It doesn't matter thoug, if they are not seated he may win the Democratic nomination, but will lose the General in November!!! "Catch 22″!!!

If Florida and Michigan are alowed to flout the rules then there will be total chaos in the 2012 & 2016 elections.
But for the Clintons political agitation this would be much less of a problem.

Both parties agree to the rules before the game start. Now just because the situation is not favor Hillary camp, they want to change the rules so that they have better chance of winning the game?

This is in my opinion very silly.

Why should Florida and Michigan get to vote twice? Especially now that the race is so tight? Do the states where Edwards was on the ballot get to re-vote because he's no longer running and his supporters have been "dis-enfranchised"? These two states tried to make a power play to gain more influence and they got burned for it, other states did not. Why should the Democratic party give them what is essentially the power to decide the election because they violated the rules and now realize they made a mistake? Any re-vote will make a mockery of the process and will alienate at least this Democrat for a long time.

Oh yeah, a mail-in vote would really go a long way to legitimizing the democratic election process in the state of Florida. I think a better idea might be to simply remove Florida's voting privileges altogether since they have proven time and time again that they simply cannot handle the responsibility.

Lets face it if Obama was behind and these voters were on his side he would be doing the same thing as HRC. Its all part of the game.

Split them down the middle and move on.

Nothing new, Clinton camp will continue to do anything within their powers to change the rules to have them favoring her win of the nomination. Perhaps, Florida and Michigan can be the only hope of her stealing the nomination.

A mail-in vote would be a disaster. What about ballots that never arrive? Or are stolen? Or lost on their way in? There's too much room for corruption.

AMEN! Don't cry now Hillary! These words should have been said 18 months ago when it was discussed.

I agree. I really don't think these states should count at all. The officials knew exactly what they were doing and even the people themselves knew their votes weren't going to count. We didn't hear any fuss from anyone until Clinton started.

If the delegates must be seated, we should split the delegates in half, have a caucus or just do the whole thing over. But all of this is really ridiculous. We have found a way yet again to look like idiots.

Florida and Michigan. Your votes don't matter. What don't you understand about that. Now, quit your whining and useyour energy for something more useful.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, called Fallon a "sensible voice" that supported "engaging Iran." She urged her colleagues to back a bill requiring Bush to get congressional approval before taking any military action against Iran.

Wait one minute. Obama said to do this and she called him inexperienced. Someone please explain this to me?!?!?!

Can you say, "Supreme Court"?

Obama disagrees with any suggestions of solving the problems in Michigan and Florida. Does he have any better suggestions? Or he just refuses to let the voices of the 2 states to be heard? I will call that a discrimination against the voters in Michigan and Florida.

I'm glad to hear that the Obama camp will go along with the final decision that is made however.

I understand the apprehension of trying something totally new and never used before in the state however.

Is the people that voted Obama in Texas caucuses also Blacks? Please let us face the fact Obama is leading and there is nothing the Clintology can do about that. Do anything say anything Obama is leading.

Why should there be a re-do in Florida? They knew the rules. The Democratic officials in both states are among the smartest people in the world who knows what a rule means. I beleive they also know what the consequences of holding the elections are. They went ahead. Who are they trying to fool? Clinton is just a sore loser…To clinton….Be magnanimous in defeat.

Hillary you can't be an agent of CHANGE when you continue to play politics of the past.

I believe that any type of re-do or re-make is out of the question at this stage of the campaign. To do so would cast a cloud over the entire election process. It appears as if the candidates are trying to cheat. I was in Austria during the Bush election and every where you went, co workers were mocking the US election process. A double standard exists here and it can not be allowed. As a voter, I will pickett the convention if those delegates are seated; they have forfeited their right to participate in the convention.

Annie Cherif
a voter from Herndon, Virginia

Kudos for the Obama Team! You agreed to play by the rules and you're sticking to it. That's why so many Americans are drawn to Obama. He walks the walks and talks the talk! Come on Hillary and Howard Dean! Do the right thing and stick to the rules everyone agreed to or split the delegates evenly between the candidates. There is no other fair solution.

All the "leading democrats" pushing this are Hillary Clinton supporters, not neurtral voices. So no credibility can be given to their sudden outcry.

As a Florida Democrat who voted in the primary, I believe the race for our presidential nominee should move on from Florida and Michigan. It's time to focus on what's coming rather than what was.

Our states were told if they moved up their primaries the results wouldn't count. They did it anyway and now we need to all live with the consequences. I do not feel disenfranchised in any way, and frankly, I am tired of the discussion.

It is unfair to change the rules because the game hasn't turned out the way someone hoped. Live with the decision and move on!!!!!!

Hillary Clinton would run over anyone to get to the white house. i didn't
like her when her husband was president, and she hasn't done anything to change my mine. she's very smart, but she's also very devious !!!

is mr obama affraid?

I think that it is important for the DNC to find a way to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan in a way that is equitable and fair and which doesn't too strongly favor one candidate over the other.

I also wholeheartedly agree with David. The DNC created these rules at the beginning. All the candidates signed off on them, including Senator Clinton. Now that the rules haven't worked out as expected for her there is this big cry to chage them.
Why should the general electorate vote for a party which isn't able to make rules and then stick to them. Isn't making rules and then altering them when when they don't work out to your advantage just the kind of thing we are trying to change?

Split the delegates in Michigan and Florida equally to both candidates
this process would bring the number closer to the 2025 needed. This would not give either candidate an advantage. Based on the fact that they were not supoosed to be conuted this is the most fair way to seat their delegates.

So – Obama the candidate for change is also the candidate for dissenfranchising millions of democratic voters (who were disenfranchised due to the decisions made by a Rebulican governer).

Hmmmmm…..

I'm not sure that's the kind of "Change" I am looking for,

Thanks anyway.

I dont think florida should be split obama's and hillary's name were on the ballet. People chose not to go out to vote for him. On another note. Between florida michigan and all the in fighting us democrates probably deserve to lose the white house in 08. We are to busy mimicking the words of our candidate of choice to see anyone elses view point.

Can we say election fraud? How is any of this transparent? There is no proof that anyone voted or did not vote? Why is this even an option?

How can you tell if a Clinton is lying?

Their lips are moving.

My 6 year old tries to change the rules of game whenever he starts losing. With 35 years of experience, why does Hillary still act like she is 6?

Obama – she cannot stop the will of a nation!!! Clinton we are tired of the drama just resign

I agree with both candidates on one had and disagree with the whole mess on the other hand. In the interest of the voting public of both states it is important for their voices to be heard. However it was the leadership of these states that caused this problem. The DNC made a decison and should for once stand by that position regardless of the fall out. Both state govenors need to take full responsibility for this mess as well as the democratic leadership of those states for allowing this to go as far as it did. All parties being fully aware of the "cause and effect" of their actions in both Florida and Michigan messed up and need to suck it up. They are the ones that disenfranchised their voting public. It is not the fault of the candidates nor the fault of the DNC. Every one voted and agreed on the process and they must now abide by that decision and stop trying to place the blame on either Obama or Clinton. This is just more of the same ol petty politics that I as an American am so tired of.

This is the United States of American and every American should have a vote. There should be no revote. The people of Florida have spoken—55% voted for Hillary Clinton. Of course Obama does not want Florida to stand—-he only got 30%.

If Florida does not get to have a vote, the state will probably go to McCaine in November. The DNC should think about this and just let the vote stand.

I don't think a mail-in would work either. Does Senator Obama have a proposal?

"We think that's the kind of political maneuvering and calculation that voters are tired of."

Wait a minute… I think what the voters of Florida might get VERY tired of is the Obama campaign trying to deny them a voice in the nomination process.

If Obama succeeds in silencing their votes now, how does he expect to go back to them ask them to vote for him in November? Barack's arrogance and inexperience are really starting to show. This would be just the kind of bad taste that would drive people to the republicans in November.

CNN = The Clinton camp's mouthpiece. Notice how all the headlines give Obama a negative slant…

The only reason Clinton is pushing to have these delegates count is so the super delegates will also count. It expands her pool of party insiders that can use steal the election for her.

This is about the proposed "mail-in vote" for Florida & Michigan. Why's Obama camp afraid of it?… It is NOTof the voters fault for that "go-ahead" election done earlier, instead of that super-tuesday primary of February 5th.

Now, these voters need their votes to be counted!….that's it!… & let them cast their votes.

Lolito
Los Angeles

whatever it takes

Plouffe needs to step back and listen to what he's saying! Voters are "tired of political maneuvering" …. give me a break! Both campaigns do that all the time. Get a different line of work if you can't handle it. Is the Obama campaign afraid of loosing again in Michigan and Florida? As far as I'm concerned, the people of those two states have already voted and Clinton won. If Edwards and Obama removed their name from the Michigan ballot, then that's unfortunate for them. I say re-tally the delegate count adding Florida and Michigan to the Clinton column!

The Clinton's way of trying to steal an election.

Why don't people recognize that in MI 45% of Democratic voters bothered to go to the polls and vote for "none of the above," when the only name on the ballot was Clinton?? That's a lot of trouble to go through to vote AGAINST someone. Flordia and Michigan delegations should NOT be seated. Their state parties broke the rules, they should suffer the penalty. Simple as that.

First of all it was crazy for the DNC to think that all the millions of people in FL and MI would just sit and not want their vote to count. This should have been worked out prior to the voting in the two states. These people will have to have some say in the election , we live in the USA not some third world nation that supresses some of their citizens. If you are not wanting their voice to be heard then you are supressing the voices of people that live in the so called land of freedom.

I totally agree with Mr. Plouffe. She is definitely trying to bend the rules and twisted the DNC arms to get her way. Ms. Hillary honestly thought that she was going to win the democratic election in the early part of the year based on her judgement and popularity. She judged wrong.
I've voted for her earlier part of the year because she had portrayed a good canindate but my observation of her campaign and speeches. She did not inspire me at all with her so called "I am a fighter" line dirty tactics of discrediting her opponent/democratic member of the same party. Her first lady carma has been replaced by some kind of dragon lady attitude. This is not the way to inspire young people to be in the future generation of Americans.

They broke the rules. If they get away with doing so it will set precedent, and every state is going to try to make sure their state is first on the primary calendar. Let Florida and Ohio keep the dates they used 2012, and let the delegates count then. But this year they need to be penalized.

what should be at the heart of both candidates is keeping both FL and MI in play for the party come November. If the Democratic party ignores these citizens durring the primary, why would these citizens look toward the Democratic party, come November, to represent them on the national level? What the DNC, Clinton and Obama's priorities should be is; 1) what is best for the country, 2)what is best for the 3) citizens of these two states, what is best for the party. beyond this, things will run their natural course.

follow the rules set forth and quit trying to change the rules.
everyone was on the same page when this was decided until it became beneficial to clinton. i am a voter and i would go after my people higher up who did this to hurt the voters.

The Democratic party is so messed up know I don't think they can fix things before the Nov election let alone the July convention.They were so sure that Hillary would win and not even go past "Super Tuesday" that they didn't even have a plan for after that.They thought that Michigan and Flordia wouldn't matter.They thought the mess they call "Super Delegates " would not come into play.I say give one candidate half the delegates the other candidate the other half and say there they are seated,save millions and one of them could still win outright.

Mail in vote? Some will vote for their dead relatives…….This is no way democratic.

If Obama thought he had any chance of winning either one of these two states, he'd be champing at the bit for some kind, any kind, of revote. But since he knows that the only way he can win the nomination is by excluding two major states from participating, he's opposed to any kind of revote. Simply exclude two states so I can win: the new politics of Sen. Obama.

This is part of an obvious pattern. Obama campaign calls “political maneuvering and calculation that voters are tired of." anything that does not give them an advantage. I am just so tired of it. It looks that unless they are given an advantage, they will oppose it as, you guessed it, “political maneuvering and calculation that voters are tired of."

How do you alleviate Fraud?

Isn't it so funny how the people in Fl. voted only 1 weel early and the Obama camp wants to cheat them out of their vote. Obama saying one thing and doing something else as usual. Remember he says he is a uniter not a divider, what a joke.

I guess the best thing to do is agree to re-do the process the way everyone agrees. Barack is not opposed to a re-do… he just wants it to be in a way that is fair…. I think this is fair enough!

I would like to make a brief comment on politics and the people who are in government. The general public and the media need to stop trying to find saints in everyone. I believe everyone desires a second chance when it comes to making personal mistakes about their behavior and the comments they make about certain people whether they happen to run for office or not. Let all us find some type of good in all of us.

I do not agree to a mail in ballot. We can barely get it right with human beings. What make anyone have confidence in a mail in ballot? We need to follow the rules that we knew were in place. When we start bending the rules things get messy. They are already plenty messy. Look at Gov Spitzer, no one asked if the rules applied to him. Isn't that what we teach our children???

CNN, they are not RESISTANT to mail-in vote…they are pointing out the flaws and logistics to get it done fairly. Choose headline words that represent the full story.

Hillary 2008!!

Of course they are against it… He lost.

I say leave Florida as is – all names were on the ballot and his ads reached FL voters. That's the fairest way. But of course Obama doesn't think it's fair, because he didn't win. So now he doesn't want mail in votes. I bet he wants a caucus…

isn't it convenient that the clinton camp never called for this until they found themselves in 2nd place?

Senator Obama should resist. The only reason Hillary got any votes is because they were voting on some property tax. There isn't anyway to monitor the security of these ballots and call them valid. I don't believe there should be a revote. Remember they are being penalized for disregarding a warning. The governor certainly wasn't worried about his democratic folks when he went ahead and changed the date. This is a ploy to get Hillary in so the Republicans can demolish her in the fall. The saddest part will be that she will have demolished the Democratic Party first.

Now we can legally hope for change, even audaciously. We are already all hoping for something, small or big, from a penny to presidency. Why do we need to vote for Obama to continue hoping?

How can this clown be running for President and be against a re-vote in Florida to make sure we get seated at the convention. We already had 1.7 million votes (out of 4 million registered democrats) that voted on Jan 29th. Well I guess he realizes that Hillary would close the gap signifigantly after she wins in Pennsylvania. Obama should be ashamed of himself. He talks about hope and people and he does not want Florida or Michigan to count? Yea hell will freeze over before this guy is the President. Your station and MSNBC will be to blame for your biased coverage and if Hillary does not win the nomination and McCain slaughters Obama, all you media loonies will be bashing Hill for another 4 years. Frustrated in Florida

Last year when Hilliary, were front runner. The whole world went after her with all type of attachs. Crying the blues, dose not help front runner.

Where are the comments, CNN?

I agree. It will also leave too much room for fraud.

YES WE CAN!
Obama '08

Why don't we ask Jimmy Carter and the Carter Fountain to come and oversee our elections to make sure they are fair and democratic. They have a lot of experience going to other countries and verifing elections. Perhaps, we now need their hepl!

If the votes were going to be counted then John Edwards would have campaigned and probably won, at least in Michigan and he might still be in the race. Is it fair to him and those of us who would have voted for him to have a re-do now?

Nobody wants to have people's right to vote taken from them. However, how can this be fair?

You can not change the rules in the middle of the game. Florida knew very well that what they were doing was against the DNC rules but went ahead and moved their primary to January anyway. The candiates signed a pledge stating they would not compaign in Florida and also very much knew that the delegates would not be seated / nor counted at the convention. The people who voted also knew that. It appears to me that Senator Clinton did not expect the success of the Obama Camp and now wants to change to rules to behoove her.
I live in Florida and I am against any kind of revote. Florida and Michigan should stand as is. Let's get on with the campaign and the issues that are so important to the American people.

Who is doing the political maneuvering? Obama would be the first to want these voters included if they had voted for him. Playing by the rules?

Them stop whining about the super-delegates disenfranchising the votes of the people. Rules state that super-delegates can vote their conscience. Rules are rules. And stop accusing of Clinton stealing the nomination by back-room deals with super-delegates.

You don't think Obama is doing exactly the same thing?

CNN needs to report on who's decision it was to break the rules so that Florida and Michigan voters know who should get the blame for this mess. Wasn't it the Governors of each state who decideed to break the rules even though they knew the consequences?

What exactly was their motive for taking such a HUGE risk? There is something more sinister at play here. Leave up to Florida.. Again…………..

I see this page has the appropriate title.
Good job. Now kindly fix the one on your front page and you'll be getting somewhere!

A re-vote for Florida and Michigan should not be allowed. Those states made the decision to hold their elections earlier than they were supposed to and they should abide by that decision and should be held to their decision. If they knew their votes would not count beforehand, why should they now be allowed to change the rules in the middle of the game? C'mon people, we're not playing a card game with children. If so, your hand was dealt. No backsies.

I heartily agree with David Plouffe's statement about the Clinton campaign thus far, "the kind of political maneuvering and calculaton that voters are tired of"…that's exactly what gives Obama his momentum. People are impressed with his fresh outlook on politics and hope to see that change in DC that he's looking forward to bringing.

Rules are rules, hopefully when these elections come again Michigan and Florida will know better. If the DNC allows for this to happen, what will that say to the people and states who did follow the rules? Next time you can break them and we do the same for you.

50/50 seated delegates is the most fair, transparent and least burden on the state budgets as well as the Democratic party viability in Denver and in November. Do you really want a '68 Redux?

Thank you for finally stating the real facts, signed, pledged and on the record not the facts according to the perceptions and alternate reality of Hillary and her campaign thugs and the rest of the delusional Clinton cocktail drinkers.

Obama camp should wait and see for what the people of Florida and Michigan want. He is the player and he should not make the rule.

The guideline for the new rule for Democrats for Florida and Michigan delegates is to have a strong president candidate in the coming election and to unit the party. Without the support from the Democrats from Florida and Michigan, neither Obama nor Clinton can win the race to John McCain.

I think that the best solution is to follow what republicans have done, i.e. seat in 50% delegates based on the existing election results. It seems that republicans are smart and quick in handling the crisis.

Let's see: Clinton and Obama knew well beforehand that the elections in Florida and Michigan wouldn' t count and no delegates would be awarded. Now we hear a lot of talk about disenfranchised voters. I agree that Democrats need energized voters in those 2 states for the general election, but the only way to make sure that the rules aren't changed in the middle of the game is to award each of the 2 candidates 50% of the delegates

How is holding a new primary, whether by mail or not, changing the rules? I think it is highly suspicious that Obama is opposed to a re-vote in Florida…maybe it is because he knows he will lose. What happened to his call for everyone's voice to be heard? So much for a new kind of politics.

I agree with Obama. The problem is that Hillary did not stand by her word. If she did not agree with the terms orginally, her asking for a revote will be a non issue. Since she agreed to not have Michgan and Florida seated in the convention, it is a problem when she does not practice what she preaches. She was not standing up for the voters in Michagan and Florida to have their votes counted when she agreed to the terms of not having the primaries in those states count. Stand by your word Hillary.

"Senator Clinton said she was playing by the rules through the early sates, we played by the rules," he said. "Now when they believe it serves their political interests, they're trying to change the rules and say these elections should count for something. We think that's the kind of political maneuvering and calculation that voters are tired of."

Well said. Where was her concern prior to signing the agreement?!?!?! Any HRC supporter please answer this question?

What a joke?!?!?!?!

Democrats can either have President Obama or President McCain. If they want a Democratic President, they should support Obama and go to the polls to vote for him in droves in the remaining contests. If they don’t do so, Hilary Clinton will divide the party and McCain will win in the general election. Ask Sen. Nelson and other Clinton surrogates if they want Democratic President Obama or Republican President McCain. Senator Nelson is working feverishly to deliver Florida to Hilary Clinton as Jeff Bush delivered to his brother in 2000. Please tell Sen. Nelson that this is a new day. God will not allow them to steal this nomination from Sen. Obama. In OBAMA we TRUST! If they want quick, equitable and fair resolution for this mess, SPLIT the delegates equally among Obama and Clinton.

Ferraro’s comments were incendiary and divisive. Geraldine Ferraro could not equate her situation in 1984 with Obama’s current situation. First of all, she did not run for the primary to appreciate the enormous work it entailed to campaign in all the states with equally intense negative attacks. She was picked as a running mate. Senator Obama has toiled to earn the trust of all Americans. Obama did not receive the support of Black voters initially; he worked hard to earn their support now. In any case, Ferraro’s comments amount to insults to all well-meaning Americans—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Her comments were calculated and are part of the “kitchen sink strategy” of Hilary Clinton to win the nomination at all cost. It is again the politics of the past that would not work this time. Hilary Clinton may not win Pennsylvania after all. Hilary Clinton would prefer Senator McCain to be Commander-in-Chief instead of Senator Obama. Well, in OBAMA we TRUST!

If HRC was in the lead this would all be a moot point. So now she wants to get the votes. I swear can you HRC supporters see what type of character this woman has?
To avoid having to come up with money and to be fair just split them right down the middle evenly and avoid the mess. I mean how hard is that?

Obama would be preceived as a court-jesture is he agrees to any and all options to have a re-vote in Florida or Michigan. Those who live by the sword, will die by the sword; those who agree to the deal and break the deal, face the consequences. That is the price they pay for the choice they made. The options are only being explored because it will be in the best political interest of Hillary Clinton….or will it. Voters don't always vote the same way twice especially after they have had to chance to see Hillary in the light.

I can't believe this is still a discussion. FL and MI voters can be furious with their Democratic leaders who chose to violate the rules but that's it. No re-vote, no delegates seated. When the candidates were asked not to campaign in those states, both Edwards and Obama complied and even pulled their names off the MI ballot. Hillary of course had some campaigning going on and was the only name on the ballot in MI so the parity is already totally off. No redos for these states, if delegates must be seated-then it's a 50/50 split. This is actually probably not far off since it's never winner take all so neither state will help either candidate too much.

I wish everyone would quit wasting everyone's time and money. I knew full well that when I went to the polls on January 29th in Florida, that my primary vote would not count. I was there to vote on Amendment #1 (Homestead Act amendment) which did count, so I don't feel disenfranchised at all. All candidates knew FL and MI wouldn't count at the beginning of the year and no one complained…there's no use crying over spilt milk my children.

FL and MI gambled last year by moving up their primaries for this year and lost…too bad. The World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas doesn't allow re-buys…this political main event shouldn't allow re-votes.

When HRC "distorts" his record….thats a nice way of saying she "lies" – so….expecting a fair "mail-in" with the Clintons would be foolish – Florida and Michigan chose to go early – it was the Democratic party that chose the consequence….either they foot the bill – or stand with their decision.

It doesn't serve anyone, least of all the democratic process, to prevent millions of voters from having their say because of a tiff.

What would the Supreme Court say about it? That should be the real acid test, not whether somebody can pay for it, or whether soembody broke the rules. The Constitution is the ultimate decider here.

More of the same from the O's camp! So what is NEW? He is not discussing real issues such as, war, peace, the economy, foreign policy, his 20 years long relationship with Rezko. Mainly he spends his time complaining and whining about Hillary Clinton….thus hiding his incompetency to be president of the USA from his followers , who by the way, NEVER question anything he says, they just meekly accept whatever he tells them. So much for a well-informed electorate.

With never running a mail in vote before, I can see it being a disaster in both Florida and Michigan. If that happens, the democrats are gone in November. There's simply way to much risk.

Obama is right. Either do it properly to eliminate the big gamble or don't do it at all. Seat the delegates at 50%-50%.

If there were rules in place, and Michigan and Florida did not obey them, knowing the punishment thereof, why should they get a re-vote.This so-called re-vote will only cost us more money and time. The easiest solution is to split the delegates 50-50 since they have lost their right to be voted for. I find it suitable for the DNC exercise authority by simply dividing the delegates so that they can count for something…But they do not deserve a re-vote…Meanwhile the Clinton campaign is talking about this issue in the name of party interests but they know that they have vested interest on this one. They think they can win, but they actually might not win. Actually Clinton did not win any of these states, though she counts them in. There was no race in Michigan and Florida, although some votes were taken, there still was no race there, so how can you win a race that was cancelled.

. . .We can be certain that voter security would be a factor.

The Clintons all of their Political Life have been changing the rules to suit them and she said early on she would follow the rules. She felt sure in the beginning she would win the nomination. Now as she is behind she wants to change the rules. How can she be a good honest president when she is not a good honest Candidate?

What happen to John Kerry statement that the Obama campaign would go along with whatever the states decide? What is his objection to the mail-in revote?

Yeah, and if Obama had won either MI or FL, he would be talking about those poor disenfranchised voters. Because he lost, he wants to stick to the rules. He is no better than Clinton or anyone else, he just likes to say he is.

What happens to Spitzer's super delegate vote?

I believe that Florida and Michigan should have a re-vote of some kind. And I am not saying this as a HRC supporter. I don't care who wins the most delegates from either state, quite frankly. What bothers me are those citizens of Florida and Michigan will be disenfranchised – how extremely UNdemocratic. I believe that perhaps, like the Republicans, maybe we should seat only half the delegates from each state; sounds more fair than not counting them at all. Also, I believe we need to overhaul how our nation votes. Do the primaries of all the states over a 7-10 day period of time, tally up the votes for the next 5-7 days – enough of this long protracted primary process that we are currently in!

I am 100% against a mail-in ballot: too much room for fraud.

Florida should count as is, they were both on the ballot.

BTW: Obama did campaign in Florida. I saw the ad with my own eyes while on vacation there.

How's not playing by the rules. Please!

I keep asking why is no one addressing the candidates that dropped out after Super Tuesday who now lose the benefit of Florida and Michigan, this could be a very different race. Delegates will now be split between 2 people when in fact there were more people involved in the campaign when these states took it upon themselves to break the rules. I dont understand why CNN is not looking into those issues and how this re-vote can be anything but wrong at this point, seems like those that stayed in will benefit and those that bowed out graciously lose, I really dont get it !!!!!!111111111111

Don't change the rules Hillary!
Same goes to you Obama. Suyperdelegates have never been tied to the popular vote- don't go and change that!!

Try it and see. What would it hurt and stop blaming the candidates for what the States did to its citizens.

When you play with Clintons, never expect they play by rules. Don't we have learned enough from the impeachment episode? The danger to elect a Clinton president is that they do not play by rules! Now it is our country at the stake.

Why should either candidate object to a means of re-voting that allows all eligible voters (democrats and independents who did not vote in the Republican primary) to cast their ballot. This allows the elderly, people in the military, the young, etc. to recast their ballot in the most economic fashion. We know caucuses favor activists and disenfranchises the elderly and shift workers. So, beyond an expensive re-do and a cumbersome write-in add-on for the military and FL residents living abroad, what realistic option exists?

Obama does not want MI and FL voters to count because he lost in both states, pure and simple (and don't try to argue that he wasn't on the ballot in MI because everyone knew that an uncommitted vote was a vote for Obama or Edwards–and both their campaigns encouraged people to vote uncommitted–and even if you count ALL the uncommitted votes, which were not all for Obama anyway, Clinton still won). Talk about "political maneuvering and calculation."

"In the state of Oregon which is kind of the standard for this, it took well over 10 years to get comfortable doing this statewide" – Please I live in Oregon it did not take 10 years to get comfortable with it… Because it sooooo hard to print letters with 2 check boxes on it…

I wish Obama would just say "I dont want a recount in FL or MI because its what the party wants" not acting like he wants to count the votes…

Rules are rules I agree there should be no re-do down here. Split the delegates 50/50 and seat them at the convention.
Nuff said already!!!

sorry, no re-vote. they made their own bed now they should sleep in it. The democrats in those can make their voice heard in the general election.

Florida and Michigan just need to accept their fate…

Florida and Michigan broke the rules, now they want us to fell sorry for them. If Florida and Michigan can break the rules and get by with it, perhaps all the states can. In the future, any rules that are agreed to at the beginning of a primary are meaningless, and should just be ignored in future elections.

Someone who doesn't play by the rules is typically called a cheater.
After the 2000 election, Florida should be the last state that should be exempt from following rules.

There is no way that Obama can be seen to be disenfranchising the voters of Michigan and Florida.

What ever you may think about the Democratic Party leaders in Michigan or the Republican controlled legislature in Florida that made these decisions, that has nothing to do with the right of the citizens of those states to have their voices heard.

Obama needs to get on the right side, the democratic side, of this issue in a hurry.

Why Bother?

We need to have either a primary or a caucus. A mail-in primary might be confusing, especially in a state that's never had one before.

This is the United States of 50 states. Not 48. How sad the great uniter want to silence the people of MI and FL.

I don't see how mail in votes can be very secure. Anyone can get the ballot, make copies, and send in their form multiple times. What sort of precautions are being taken to make sure that this sort of thing does not happen?

"I want the President of the United States of America, not the President of the significant States of America."

Obama alll the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Obama was in the position as Clinton, he would be doing the same thing. However, we all know that a revote isn't to his advantage.

If there is a way to steal this nomination from Obama, Clinton will find it.

Sorry but that is the kind of political maneuvering that is required to get things done in politics in any democratic country. The hypocrisy of the Obama campaign is just amazing. I was an Obama supporter until I saw their strategy in the Texas caucus of planting middle aged black women to steal the caucus packet and rig the names and votes. That is the kind of Daley Chicago style politics voters are tired of.

Only Obama–afraid of Big State votes–would advocate disenfranchising voters. Watch, they will "offer" a caucus solution to the problem. They are very good at rigging those. Harder to rig a ballot based election.

Amen!!!!

What if she gets her share in Fl and Obama gets his share in Fl…Is not she still behind???I am curious

The people of Florida and Michigan should actually sue the DNC and the leaders who denied them the Constitutional right to vote and have their votes counted. I would.

Everyone agreed to the rules before the primaries, including Hillary Clinton. Michigan and Florida politicians knew the consequences of moving up their primary dates. Why didn't their governors say something back then? This is pathetic. This general election looked like it would end in a landslide victory for the Democratic nominee. Now, because of this debacle, who knows?

Split the delegates. No advantage to either. Everyone can have a seat. These states still have time to ensure they don't do this to themselves again in 4 years. Now let's move forward.

That's because Obama is all about socialism and oppression.

We do not trust Florida and Michigan, they did not follow rules before. Hillary trying to change rules of Voting Right Acts, what an untrustable first lady.

Let Hillary that five million dollar woman, pay for it, she was the only unfaithful to attent, and call it a victory for herself.

Lets divide the florida and michigan delegates 50-50 where is the purnishement for moving their primaries date, lets sit them but have them not decide the nominee. This is the simplest way to resolve, this, they sit they dont decide, they move back their primary date.

I like how CNN's wording gradually becomes less and less sensationalist as you go from the main page to the actual quote.

The main page link says the Obama camp is "against" a mail-in vote.

But then the story headline just says they are "resistant".

But wait — the actual quote is just that "there's a lot of questions" still to be figured out.

Basically, anyone who doesn't actually read the entire article gets the impression the Obama camp is misled into thinking Obama is against seating the delegates.

Why not just report the truth, instead of this misleading, sensationalist approach?

Florida and Michigan do not deserve a revote! Why? They must ask the Michigan governor and Nelson why they disfranchise voters by knowingly violeting the rules!

Oh come on now. Who could ever think there might be problems with hastily throwing together a statewide vote in a couple of weeks using a system they have absolutely no experience with …

in Florida.

I mean, it's not like they have EVER had any problems with voting before in Florida using methods they had YEARS to perfect.

I don't see this as resistance as much as posing legitimate questions. These are issues that are going to have to be addressed, to insure the vote is valid.

Its obvious the Obama camp is scared of a redo vote of any kind in Florida or Michigan. What Obama's campaign is saying is that Florida and Michigan voters should not count. Voters in these states have the right to vote like everybody else.
If I was a voter in one of the states, its obvious which candidate is looking out for their rights.

The only reason why Obama and his camp think a revote is bad is simply because they are ahead in delegates. What do they care about disenfranchising the voters.

Obama doesn't care about anything except his own agenda.

Sad…the so called uniter is a fraud.

First, the re-vote should be done no matter what the Obama camp thinks. Florida and Michigan voters deserve to have their voices heard. There was no need for the DNC to take that right away in the first place. If the shoe were on the other foot, Obama and his supporters would be crying racisim. Which by the way, I am getting sick and tired of hearing how Hillary's people are racist, not to mention all the other nasty remarks that come out of his campain staff and supporters. Obama is the one running a negative campaign.

If Florida and Michigan do not want to re-do their votes – well then so be it – its their decision. Obama the candidate will not be Obama the President – it will then go to McCain.

I say the DNC made a terrible mistake when they even started entertaining the idea of allowing Florida and Michigan. I think that their votes are important; however, what is more important is that this country stands for being rule-abiding citizens. Why would the majority of delegates not want a revote when only 10% of the 17-20 million people in Florida actually voted?

Talk about disenfranchisement!

If all voters in a mail-in vote would get a ballot, does that mean Republicans as well or only registered Democrats? If it's going to everyone, wouldn't folks be able to vote in multiple primaries, and make the results of them suspect?

Obama's new CNN henchman Roland Martin says voters in FLA and Mich have no right to be counted. He says its the fault of political hack governors in both states. He absolves Howard Dean of all blame. Howard Dean banished them, not the governors. The Governors held the primaries. Howard Dean in a case of punishment not fitting the crime, it is what it is and now can't get out of it. He should be fired and we as Democrats need to start pointing fingers in the right direction.

FIRE HOWARD DEAN!!!!!

CLINTON NOR HER HUSBAND HAVE EVER DONE SOMETHING WITHOUT FIRST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT WILL BENEFIT THEM.

BARACK HOLD STRONG. "HOODWINK" IN THE WORKS…WE KNEW IT WAS COMING.

OBAMA SUPPORT 2008 & 2012

If Hillary had lost both Florida and Michigan, do you really think she would be fighting for them to be seated? Two-Face Hillary only cares about herself, not the "disenfranchisement of the voters" as she claims. How dare she even declare that the results of the primaries in michigan and florida were FAIR and should be HONORED. Are you kidding me Hillary? Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan… how is that FAIR?? Hillary, you wouldn't be saying that if you lost!!

Hillary can't play by the rules and neither did Michigan or Florida.

Perfect Scenario: Re-do primary in Michigan and Florida and Barack Obama wins both states. That would be very satisfying for two-face hillary.

Hillary Clinton should give it a rest and listen out for the 3 am phone call, because it could be for Bill

So she was fine with not counting them in the beginning and ignoring EVERY vote in Florida and Michigan when she was a friont runner. She was even fine with it two weeks ago. Suddenly when she has an opponent she thinks she can some how rise above, as though awoken from some daze and say, "oh wait! we cannot ignore these people! It was fine when i thought I was going to win, but now, I don't know that anymore!" As an ardent ex- Shrillary supporter I think this 'I made a mistake' policy is getting old! It did not work with NAFTA, the Iraq war and it should not work here. The voters in these states have to recognise that she is not saying any of this for their good or in their interest, she is being opportunistic and trying to USE them!

Consindering FLA's history we should not trust a mail in vote either…FLA and MI delegates should be prorated for the total number according to the overall count. "Sorry" FLA and MI, you should be upset with your gov. and leaders, not the DNC….

A mail in vote seems fair on the surface, but there are lots of issues. What about incorrect addresses? What about people who are dead and still on the voter registry? How can you be certain that one person hasn't filled in the votes for a neighbor who's on vacation, etc. Florida has never done a mail in vote, and I think their legislators (who have not signed on to this plan) are rightly concernced about such a vote's potential problems in this very tight, and increasingly bitter and divisive, campaign.

I agree with the possibility of tampering. It seems the best option is to have caucuses which wouldn't be as expensive as a primary. Besides the extravagant cost of a primary, Florida doesn't have the machines to actually conduct a primary. A caucus is the only option that would be fair and not disenfranchise voters from the process.

I think this is an opportunity to any and everyone who wants to physically affect the race and to disadvantage the TRUTH to get their cheat sheet ready… Because its about to be open season for CHEATERS!

The fact is the DNC is going to have to seat the Delegates from Florida and Michigan. If they do not I would not be opposed to staging a protest outside of the convention to demand they get seated. I see some people write about rules. Rules are not right or just if they deny a democratic voice to large portion of the country.

Obama is going to look like a VILLIAN in a Black Hat in Florida and Michigan. He is not powerful enough to really deny them seating at the convention. People say Hillary is willing to loose some of the black vote. Obama is willing to loose the Chicano vote and the Latino vote. Mexican-Americans in Arizona support Latinos in Florida and all people of Florida and Michigan.

CAN'T KNOCK HER OUT
SEN. CLINTON

Caucus in Fl and MI for a revote. Less voter fraud. Pledged delegates are seated and superdelegates are not seated, because although some claim that in Florida that the democratic congress was forced into the early primary by the Republicans, the facts state otherwise. They wanted the primary early, so they could count. This was not a Republican twisting the Democrats arms. In Michigan, the governor is democrat, so no excuses. Superdelegates shouldn't count. You cannot expect Fl to get a mail in right without the danger of voter fraud. Caucusing will be easier and probably cheaper.

Didn't the Obama camp and Plouffle also tried to change the rule too by suggesting that superdelegates should vote with the will of the people knowing full well before the primary started that the rules clearly stated that superdelegates can make the decision of their own.

The Rules were fine. The Punishments were not.

You want a resolution? Strip the superdelegate votes from those who chose to move the primary up, but do not void our constitutional right to vote. How unpatriotic can the DNC get?

0 Superdelegate votes
100% Popular vote

case closed.

The one thing that many if not all Barack Obama supporters are 100%sure of is that if there is mail-in re-do of the Florida primary vote, the Clinton campaign will cheat and win the election by 25% or more. We are sure also that if the election re-do is done properly, using standard election methods, that Barack will win in Florida and in Michigan too…

More wiggly room to cheat with mail-in votes.

Find another method…

Internet voting is a bit more secure.

If we are talking about democracy, there should not be any argument. Florida and Michigan needs to be seated somehow. Let the DNC figure it out the logistic.

Sen. Obama is worried as he does not stand a chance in these two states.

Of course he's hesitant to give people their GOD GIVEN RIGHT to vote and have their votes count! Those states will go to Hillary!

How sick of him to use a couple of lame democratic leaders and their decisions as a way to keep the American people from voting. SHAME ON YOU OBAMA!

Obama, you can't win the General Election without Florida and Michigan! (well you can't win anyway but that's beside the point). To exclude them from the democratic process is an outrage and contradicts the very ideals that make this nation great. There are 2.5 million people that would disagree with your position on not having their votes count, so don't count on them in the future for anything if they are nullified. Good luck with that.

Rules? Who made up these rules that say a state can't vote in an election process? The voters certainly did not say it was ok.. It was the few politicians that said it…The people have the right to vote period…It seems every election cycle since 2000 keeps getting more messed up…The people are the ones who suffer for it…Our rights can not be denied…Let's resolve this and let the people in Michigan and Florida have a say in this country.

Seems that Obama is very much willing to ignore the voters from those 2 states… probably because he will lose. You can't pretend that you will go to the convention with 48 states when the Union has 50, that is not democratic but seems to fit well to the Obama camp… Oh I forgot, he won't win FL because he CAN'T win any big state…

With all the dirty Rovian campaigning and underhanded tricks of the Clinton campaign, I would also be resistant to a mail in vote. The Clintons are going by the playbook of "How to Steal an Election."

In a Sept 30, 2007 article in the Tampa Tribune, Obama stated he "would do right by the Florida voters." (Artical is available at Tribune's website.)

According to Roland Martin, Obama is now a "HACK."

why is this even an issue? these states knew what they were loosing when they decided to hold their primaries early. lesson learned….move on.

CNN, they are not RESISTANT to mail-in vote…they are pointing out the flaws and logistics to get it done fairly. Choose headline words that represent the full story.

A mail-in revote in Michigan and Florida would be way too easy to tamper. And if Barack Obama actually won either (or both) of the two states, Hillary Clinton would demand a recount and then sue everyone and their mother for voter fraud, which would delay things even further.

If this is about seating MI and FL delegates, give half to Clinton and half to Obama and save the millions it would cost to fix the problem these two states brought upon themselves.

What's done is done. It's time to unite the party and focus on the general election in November.

Nicely slanted headline – Obama camp "resistant", as if, by not being in favor, the counter-intuitive deduction is that he is trying to supress.

In this HIGHLY POLARIZED ENVIRONMENT THAT HILLARY HAS CREATED, CNN needs to be careful about their semantics.

How can she be the candidate of Change and a Unifier, when she's doing what she's doing now for a last desperate grab for power that she feels entitled to? She is damaging the Party, its image, its moral, its resources… all for the sake of her own ego. Isn't that transparent enough for others to see? The viel of 'truth' is not so opaque.

I'm going to find out how to contact the DNC directly and email them to put this to an end. I encourage others to let their opinions as fellow-Democrats concerned for the future of our Party to do the same.

No suprise here – Obama's camp just wants to change the rules about superdelegates – if Obama had been ahead in the first FL "primary" I am sure we would be hearing a different message from his campaign.

So to all of those who will start crying that the Obama campaign is trying to keep their votes down when you read this I ask you a simple question. How do you keep those who voted for Republicans in MI and FL because they knew thier votes would not count for the Democrats, from now voting for a Democrat also? Why should Republicans get to vote more than once and affect the outcome of the democratic campaign? This is one reason why a mail in campaign will not work and there are plenty more what experiance does Fl have with a mail in ballot? what if the ballot is delayed in themail do they count? this was a big issue in FL when overseas ballots were delayed beyond the required delivery date. There are a lot of questions that Fl has no ready answer to, same applies to MI so just because a plan is promoted by one person doesnt mean it is a good one

…YEAH…a mail in vote…that's the ticket…In Florida.?..They must be crazy…they are just asking for more controversy…Rules are rules…both states went against the rules…both got spanked…the end !!

hahaha… chicken-hack!!!!!! hahahahaha

so … we FINALLY know what scares him!!!…

PLEASE ALLOW MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA TO VOTE!!!!!!

What a joke. Obama cosponsored legislation in Congress
promoting the pluses of mail in votes. But I guess he was thinking
it didnt pertain to him?

What a hypocrite !

JUST WORDS………………….

Tricks, lies and manipulation.

Welcome to the Clinton Whitehouse II.

I truly hope every Pennsylvanian will take the time to research their candidate of choice before they vote.

hillary is full of twisted stunts and will do absolutely anything to get into the oval office. she has no morals or ethics. she is exactly what we don't want in a commander in chief.

The Obama campaign's fears of are wholly justified given who their opponent is. The Clinton campaign doesn't really abide by any rules.

WHY IS OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN BLAMING HILLARY CLINTON? IT IS THE VOTERS OF FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN DEMANDING THAT THEIR VOTES BE COUNTED AND THEIR DELEGATES SEATED! IF OBAMA WANTS TO DISENFRANCHISE THE VOTERS OF FLORIDA AND MICHIGAN BECAUSE THEY VOTED OVER-WHELMING FOR HILLARY THEN HE WILL PAY THE CONSEQUENCES! EVERY VOTE CAST SHOULD COUNT! COUNT FLORIDA'S VOTES! COUNT MICHIGAN'S VOTES!

The only reason the Obama camp is resistant is because Hillary won those states back in January so they know the chances are that they will not benefit. Believe me, if the shoe was on the other foot, we'd hear a different song. Politicians are Politicians.

I'm beginning to think I would back Gore since neither of these two can seal the deal and have split the party. The Heir apparent Hillary and the Opportunist Obama are both worthy candidates but we can not let the RepubliCANTS win by default.

Uh way to botch the title CNN. Where exactly does Plouffe say he is resistant. He voiced a few concerns but then said they would go along with the DNC. That is not resistance. Quit spinning for Hillary.

Obama needs to stop complaining. He was running ads in Florida, something the other candidates did not do. He also elected to keep his name on the ballot in Florida after realizing that he should have kept his name on the ballot in Michigan. Furthermore, he encouraged voters in Michigan to vote uncommitted since he knew that the DNC punished those states for moving their primaries. So, instead of him and his followers for attacking Clinton – yes Obama, you are equally negative, then they should allow the vote both in Florida and Michigan and give the uncommitted vote to Obama in Michigan. What he has to do is stop pretending that he is above all this fray.

The mail-in option does present a lot of technical problems. One of the largest problems is making sure all registered voters get a ballot. This could be particularly difficult when it comes to younger voters and college students who move more frequently than older people.

Indeed, these are exactly the games we are tired of and the main reason Hillary can take a hike.

Senator Obama has won this primary race, Hillary Clinton lost.
It is time for the Democratic party to stop these insults against
Senator Obama, unite behind him so he can pick a running mate
and the country can move forward to working on America's
concerns.

Go Obama!!! Don't allow Clinton to steal this from you!!!

Obama 2008

Interesting. It's starting to sound as if Senator Obama is afraid that the votes of Michigan and Florida may put Senator Clinton further out front.
In a democracy are not all votes accepted in an election? In the end if those votes are not accepted…………………what does that tell the rest of the states waiting to vote?

It amazes me how Clinton or MCcain can throw out a zinger and off Obama goes swinging out of control. Does Obama not get it?

It appears that Obama is easily influenced and easily conforms which is evident as he has now decided to more agressive and started attacking Hillary. Is the "Change" that Obama talks about to mean that you change the person you are from day to day?

I'm so confused with which Obama I should be watching.

I would be too; there are too many things that could go wrong. People could steal the mail, and how would you know if anyone tampered with it! It's not a safe idea ESPECIALLY in Florida! 2000 ring a bell!

Considering the legal problems surrounding Florida voting procedures within the last decade, it would be prudent to approach ANY new voting proceudres in either of these states with much trepidation.

When you take into account that HRC has demonstrated that she will stop at nothing to decrease the delegate vote/popular vote/state gap between her campaign and Obama's, I think that demands even further trepidation and scrutiny.

Obama didn;t need to say anything. Now he looks as pathetic as Clinton. He doesn;t want a mail in vote in Florida because he doesn;t want ANY type of revote as Clinton would close the gap as she would likely win Florida and Michigan. Hippacrits everywhere in D.C., who can save us.

I can see how Obama is resistant to having a mail in vote. Many of his base will have difficulty understanding the process. They need their hand held throughout the process and then once Obama is elected they will need their handouts.

My suggestion is to use a 2-step process to sort out the Michigan and Florida mess. Half the delegates should be awarded based on the results from the primaries in January. For the remaining half a mail-in re-vote can be held. It minimizes the impact problems through a re-vote, and also gives the people who made the effort to go out and vote a reason to believe in the principles of democracy.

I dont blame him

Can't wait 'til Obama is the democratic nominee, and John McCain reminds FL voters, Obama didn't want their votes counted!

HE DOESN'T WANT IT AT ALL BECAUSE SENATOR CLINTON WON!

IT WAS A FAIR ELECTION PROCESS AND THE DELAGETES SHOULD BE GIVEN!!!

SENATOR CLINTON WILL GET THEM !!!!!!!!

WHY MAKE RULES IF YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF ENFORCING THEM?

A mail in vote in Florida? You may as well hand it over to Hillary just as it was handed over to George W. Bush. I can just hear it now…mail missing, thousands of voter ballots lost, millions of pregnant chads…hahhahaha. When it comes to Florida, anything might happen. lol

Do we not have ample evidence that the Republican Party in Florida is hellbent on tampering with the process? Do the Clintonistas need a map?

I love how they say Hillary is changing the Rules. WE NEED THESE STATES TO WIN GENERAL ELECTION. How stupid is Obama. Just because it dosen't look good for you. You cant win as it is now so adding them will help with the Delegate count. What are you scared of Obama?

obama is scared to loose

It took this long to get this answer? We already know that he knows his shot at Florida would put him a distant second.

It will only be worse with his resistance.

Watch what happens when he continues to upset Floridians.

They'll vote in droves for Clinton and her differential between delegates in Florida will widen.

It's a sign he has NO VISION.

A wise man concedes a battle and refocuses on the War.

Obama is the racist one.

If they decide to do a re vote, they should treat it as they do absentee ballots, that is already used in all our elections.
Obama if he campaigns in Florida can gain the missing delegates to clinch the nomination.
Why are people so against this?

I'm sure the Obama camp is resistent because those delegates from Florida will go to Clinton and put her in the lead.

Either way, it really does not matter. The Democratic Party is so divided that they don't have a chance come November.

McCain in 2008!!!

Obama doesnt want a mail-in vote because he knows that all the seniors, disabled and people who dont get off work to stand in a line to vote will vote for Hillary.

Think about it, a mail in vote pretty much allows EVERYONE to be able to vote. Obama may want to claim he is bringing new politics to America but its just a lie. This is no change I can believe in.

Good for them. A mail-in vote would be like saying "please make this election as fraudulent as possible"

To paraphrase The Princess Bride, "'Impossible'…I don't think that word means what you think it means." For all of you mathematically challenged Obamatons — while it wouldn't be easy, it is possible that Clinton could take the lead in pledged delegates, not to mention super delegates. Do some basic arithmetic and stop just quoting your clearly uninformed brethren. It's not impossible for Clinton to win, just as I hope it's not impossible for you to start looking at the issues and making your decisions based on those issues instead of just mindlessly throwing mud at the other candidate and her motives. I still hold hope that you are not all so misguided that you continue to fall for the smear campaign that was started against the Clinton's by the republicans back in the 90s. That campaign, after all, was perpetrated by those same conservative republicans you claim to hate so much. To be honest, based on your comments here, you sound just like all the trailer park republicans, completely unaware how you continually stand up against your own self-interest.

To paraphrase The Princess Bride, "Impossible, I don't think that word means what you think it means." For all of you mathematically challenged Obamatons — while it wouldn't be easy, it is possible that Clinton could take the lead in pledged delegates, not to mention super delegates. Do some basic arithmetic and stop just quoting your clearly uninformed brethren. It's not impossible for Clinton to win, just as I hope it's not impossible for you to start looking at the issues and making your decisions based on those issues instead of just mindlessly throwing mud at the other candidate and her motives. I still hold hope that you are not all so misguided that you continue to fall for the smear campaign that was started against the Clinton's by the republicans back in the 90s. That campaign, after all, was perpetrated by those same conservative republicans you claim to hate so much. To be honest, based on your comments here, you sound just like all the trailer park republicans, completely unaware how you continually stand up against your own self-interest.

I agree. Move on.
I voted already in Michigan. How many more times are they going to try to get it right to suit Jennifer Granholm's liking?

Lets not make a bad situation worse, just hold caucuses.

Of course… or any other kind of re-vote for that matter. They just dont want to count Florida and Michigan now do they.

I'm so sick of all this, I'm really ready to vote McCain. If he can promise me he'll shut down the border and send all the illegal aliens back, I'm voting for him.

Rush is right about the Clintons, and about democrats in general. I hate to say it, but he's right. No more for me.