Yeas & Nays - Wolfson deplores media's obituary for Hillary, says campaign could march on past June 3

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Wolfson deplores media's obituary for Hillary, says campaign could march on past June 3

POSTED May 9, 12:06 PM

Sen. Hillary Clinton's top strategists made the case Friday that her campaign should and will continue until June 3 and possibly beyond ... until one of the candidates wins 2209 delegates.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, and Geoff Garin, her pollster, told reporters Friday morning that, even though the media has all but declared Sen. Barack Obama to be the Democratic nominee, their candidate will win big in West Virginia on Tuesday, proving again that Clinton can win the big swing states needed for Democrats to capture the White House in November.

The Clinton campaign has added 184 pledged delegates to the established 2,025-delegate threshold by including those from Florida and Michigan, who they believe should be counted even though the party disqualified the two states for moving up their primaries.

Pundits and newsmagazines have anointed Obama the presumptive nominee following his big win in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana on Tuesday.

Friday began with a Time magazine cover declaring a smiling Obama to be the winner. Later in the morning, Obama picked up three new superdelegates, including former Clinton backer Rep. Donald Payne, of New Jersey.

Clinton picked up one superdelegate Friday, but because of the loss of Payne, her net gain today so far is zero.

"We move forward with a sense of, um, continuing enthusiasm," Garin told reporters this morning. Clinton, he said, "goes on with a great sense of commitment and determination and that lends a great deal of strength and enthusiasm to the rest of us."

The Clinton team handed reporters a 14-page memo detailing how Clinton is the most able to win the battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio in November. Garin pointed out that of the 20 "swing" congressional districts held by House Democrats that voted for President Bush in 2004, Clinton has won 16 of them in the primaries.

Wolfson said the Clinton campaign obituary has been perpetuated by the media and do not reflect her ability to keep up the fight and eventually win.

"The atmospherics have not been favorable from a press perspective," Wolfson said.

When asked about fundraising, Wolfson declined to say how much money Clinton has raised since her May 6 victory, except to say it is in the "seven figure" range and is enough to keep up advertising in Kentucky, West Virginia and Oregon.

"We will have the resources we need to compete in this primary process and beyond," Wolfson said.

-Washington Examiner Chief Congressional Correspondent Susan Ferrechio

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People, power and politics in the beltway, by the Washington Examiner's Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin. Got a juicy tip? Send an e-mail to yan@dcexaminer.com.