Paterson says Clinton frustrated, not desperate
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/28/art.paterson.gi.jpg caption=" Paterson backtracked from his comments last week describing Clinton as desperate."] (CNN) - Hillary Clinton supporter and New York Gov. David Paterson appeared to backtrack Wednesday from his comments last week suggesting the New York senator's latest actions on the campaign trail showed signs of "desperation."
Speaking on a New York radio station Wednesday, Paterson said "desperation" was probably not the correct word to attribute to the New York senator.
"I think a better word would have been 'frustration,'" Paterson said Monday on Talk 1300. (Listen to the interview here.) "The frustration was that the senator had won votes in Florida and Michigan and would like to have those delegates. Certainly in Florida, I think there is a very good argument with that."
"I still believe that number one, she is the best person suited for the presidency and number two, she is the most likely to defeat John McCain," he also said.
Paterson's original comments came Thursday, when he appeared to express disagreement with Clinton over her continued push to get the full delegations of both states seated.
"I would say at this point we're starting to see a little desperation on the part of the woman who I support and I'll support until whatever time she makes a different determination," Paterson said then.
Paterson, a Democratic superdelegate, also said then he disagreed with the party's initial decision to penalize the states, but added he thought the party should now "leave it where it is."
Clinton won both states' primaries, though Barack Obama removed his name from the ballot in Michigan. Clinton uses popular vote totals from both Florida in Michigan in her claim that she is beating the Illinois senator in the overall popular vote. The Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee is slated to meet Saturday to determine if and how it will seat the two state's delegations at the party’s nominating convention this summer.
I am so tired of everyone debating this over and over...
There is one KEY FACT that everyone is missing:
The democratic system of allocating pledged delegates is a JOKE!. Watching some of these caucuses that I see, it is very simple to skew those numbers. Additionally, since the democrats do not have a "winner take all" system, it is very easy to miss the fact that with Hillary winning all the large states, she would more than likely have a substantial lead in the pledged delegate count, if not have already clinched the nomination!!
The crucial mistake that HRC's campaign made was not taking the caucus process seriously. Since Obama did, he got virtually ALL the caucus delegates, very damaging in this type of election.
We cannot ignore that Obama CANNOT win the so-called "swing states in November. He has ZERO chance of carrying Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, New York, Michigan, Ohio and Florida. If you cannot carry those states..YOU CANNOT WIN THE WHITE HOUSE!
If the dems blow this thing in November, and we get 4 more years of a Republican administration, I will be sick. This should have been a SLAM-DUNK for the dems...it should not have even been CLOSE...not after the 8 years we have had to endure of Mr Bush...
R. Cooper May 28th, 2008 5:41 pm ET
Oops! Governor Patterson got a 3:00 AM call from the Clinton's I see!
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I agree R. Cooper, wow, this was quick, were you tired or did you miss-speak Governor Patterson?.
Hillary clinton has become pathetic. Iif hillary wants Florida and Michigan to be seated so bad, fine then. It puts obama over the top to become the Democratic nominee anyway. Goodbye Hillary i once had respect for you.
No, David, You got it right the first time. I am really starting to feel sorry for both the Clintons. They have lost all grasp of reality.....
I am over now. Had myself worried there for a second.
Why it was the truth!
desparate' frustrated, that's how I feel about this primary race too!
He had it right the first time.
She is desparate, perhaps, but so is this nation! The US needs Hillary Clinton as badly as she needs us!
Hay Oracle –
The key difference here is if you were to continually bash your opponent over the head with your club on holes 16, 17, and 18 to make up the deficit. THAT is what HRC is trying to pull here.
Or, if you only won because you made more holes in less putts on the putting green than your opponent.
LIAR!
You called her desperate. We all heard you.
LOOK WHO IS TALKING
I will never understand why there are Dems who live Bill Clinton when his and Hillary's incompetance gave us Newt Gingrich and a Republican congress two years into his FIRST term.
Dave, you used the correct term the irst time. She is desperate and almost in a panic.
Instead of "FRUSTRATED" or "DESPERATE" how does "BITTER" sound
....ummm...no....its pure desperation.
This guy is scared. What kind of blackmail did he receive from Hillary's camp? I guess just the idea of seeing her returning to NY state is enough to terrorise anyone.
Sounds like Paterson got a "desperate" phone call from Billiary to quickly make a retraction!
Shes done! Go home!
He had to make up something after all how else could he justify that a black man jumped the shark and now supports a black man.
If a woman said that she supported Hillary all heck would break loose. But then we know that this campaign has been scued around in obamas favor since day one.
In the 1948 Dem primaries, he was considered the "loser" all the way up to the convention. Nevertheless, he worked his behind off, crossed the country twice by train, talked to the voters about real issues at every whistlestop. His opponent, Dewey, sort of "brushed" him off while delivering "canned" speeches with the big bucks supplied by his supporters. Guess what! Harry woke up the morning after the election THE WINNER! The voters really are NOT stupid, after all. GO ALL THE WAY, HILLARY!
Come on Davie...Get on the Obama bus and lets ride it all the way to the White House!! You don't have a loyalty to Hillary. She's not even a native New Yorker. She just used you for political gain just like she's trying to use the uneducated and the elderly. If she's nice, the Obama bus might pick her broken down campaign bus up from the side of the road.
Paterson is obviously one of the many in the Democratic Party who have received irate, brow-beating phone calls from the Clintons. Any hint of dissention or differing opinion is met with their incredible anger that the individual could show such disloyalty.
It's particularly hilariouis that Bill said within the last 24 hours that the Obama campaign is bullying superdelegates. Odd to hear that coming from the very campaign that is well-known for bullyiing. Apparently, like everything else, it's only OK when the Clintons do it.
I'm happy to hear the lawsuits for the disenfranchised states have been tossed out. The Supreme Court has the right to decline to hear the lawsuits. I suspect they will decline, in which case Hillary will blame her defeat on right wingers, left wingers, elitists, subversives, the court system, the media, commies, aliens, and government mind control experiments....
I wonder, if the Supreme Court declines to hear the lawsuits, if Hillary will be crazy enough to call the justices and browbeat them? Probably so. Would love to be a fly on the wall for that one...
Gov Patterson......Did you receive a call around 3am?
Well I will agree as Hillary is frusterated that she won't win no matter what desperate attempts she tries..
Obama 08/09
She is so desparate. It is easy to see. I believe that her actions during this campaign have created a sharp divide in the party. It amazes me that after 8 years of bush dems would even consider voting for McCain just because their nominee did not win.
The democratic platform (the ideals that make the Democratic party) is more important than the nominee who carries it out. Right now, America needs the Democratic party. Right now, America is looking to this group of people to get the country back on track. The Dems need to be unified organized mobilized and determined get the job done.
We cannot afford to be so ignorant with one another. I'll say it now and I wish others would join me.
I SWEAR, IF OBAMA LOSES, I WILL VOTE FOR HILLARY. IF HILLARY LOSES, I WILL VOTE FOR OBAMA. I SWEAR I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO GET THE GOP OUT AND PUT THE DEMS IN
Geee, could Sen. Clinton get any more descriptions (i.e.,frustrated, desperation, delusional, insane, etc.).
Sen. Clinton is TOASTS, there is no description left in the dictionary to cover her many "personalities". She makes Cybil look like an angel.