Hillary Clinton's Name Will Be Placed Into Nomination At Democratic Convention

They are treating it as a mere formality, but considering the lousy weeks Obama has had as of late, and the pressure her supporters are putting on delegates and superdelegates, it is within the realm of possibilities that the first round of balloting might not produce enough official votes for either Clinton or Obama to hit the magic number (2,118), then it will be left to the second round to crown the official nominee which they state clearly will be Obama.

The statement, via The Trail:

Statement from the Obama and Clinton Press Offices
August 14, 2008

Since June, Senators Obama and Clinton have been working together to ensure a Democratic victory this November. They are both committed to winning back the White House and to to ensuring that the voices of all 35 million people who participated in this historic primary election are respected and heard in Denver. To honor and celebrate these voices and votes, both Senator Obama's and Senator Clinton's names will be placed in nomination.

"I am convinced that honoring Senator Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," said Senator Barack Obama.

Senator Obama's campaign encouraged Senator Clinton's name to be placed in nomination as a show of unity and in recognition of the historic race she ran and the fact that she was the first woman to compete in all of our nation's primary contests.

"With every voice heard and the Party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama President of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again," said Senator Hillary Clinton.

Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are looking forward to a convention unified behind Barack Obama as the Party's nominee and to victory this fall for America.

If the first round of balloting doesn't not give Obama the number needed and a second round has to be taken, that will be quite an embarrassment and show a division within the party.

Clinton will release her delegates and then Obama will be crowned the official nominee, but I am not sure how treating it as a mere formality and not a serious vote will play with her supporters that are determined not to vote for Obama due to his inexperience.

I also have to wonder what type of strong arming will go on in the next couple of weeks to assure the DNC that Obama is officially nominated on the first round of balloting to save him that type of embarrassment.

On a related note, showing that the tensions are still strong, the Barack Obama campaign snubs Charles Rangel, because he supported Hillary Clinton.

Rangel surrogates approached Obama staffers this week about the possibility of securing him a slot at the podium, making the case that it would showcase reconciliation between the nominee and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s African-American supporters.

But they were told that the 78-year-old congressman’s support for Clinton earned him a place at the end of the line behind Barack Obama’s loyalists — even if Rangel played a crucial part in prodding Clinton to abandon her presidential bid in June.

“It’s crazy. … This man [Rangel] controls tax policy in the United States. He’s a lot bigger than just a regular member of Congress. He deserves more respect than this,” said a Rangel confidant. “Basically they have told us they can’t help us, that there are too many Obama supporters ahead of Charlie on the line.”

Responding to questions posed to the Obama press office, convention spokesperson Natalie Wyeth said: "We have a wealth of talent within our party and very limited speaking roles."

So much for unity.

Also discussing this:

The Caucus and The Corner.

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