By David Nather
There was another signal from the Democratic party establishment today that it’s time to wrap up the nomination. Robert S. Strauss, an uncommitted superdelegate and former Democratic National Committee chairman from the 1970s, declared in a Washington Post op-ed this morning that “the process has been played, and it has been played out.”
“Democrats should rally around our nominee as soon as possible so the general election campaign can begin and the contrast between John McCain and the Democratic Party can be drawn for the American people. Having put our party back together after the 1972 convention, I know that every week of delay tempts a hardening of irreconcilable differences. If we are to win for America, the Democratic Party has to unite now.”
To put this article in some context, I tried to interview Strauss a few weeks ago for a piece on what the uncommitted superdelegates were waiting for. His assistant told me that Strauss wasn’t giving interviews about the presidential race because if he talked to one reporter, he’d have to talk to them all, and because of his age (he’s approaching 90), he didn’t want to spend his time doing that.
Looks like today’s op-ed was his way of talking to them all – and to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign – at the same time.
Your move, Al Gore.
