(Host) The only Vermont super delegate supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she expects that Clinton will drop out of the race this week – if Senator Barack Obama wins the South Dakota primary on Tuesday.
Democratic National Committee woman Billi Gosh says, if that happens, she’ll enthusiastically support Obama as the party’s nominee.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports
(Kinzel) Gosh has been a long time supporter of Senator Clinton’s and she stood by her candidate in recent months when several Democratic leaders suggested that the time had come for Clinton to drop out of the race.
But Gosh says she can now see the handwriting on the wall. She says unless Clinton scores landslide victories in Tuesday’s primaries in South Dakota, where Obama is heavily favored, and Montana, the race will effectively be over on Wednesday.
That’s when Gosh expects many uncommitted superdelegates will announce their support for Obama.
(Gosh) “The Clinton campaign wanted to stay in until the end and I think that’s absolutely appropriate and right and I think that this week is the end."
(Kinzel) There’s been speculation that some of Clinton’s backers won’t support Obama in the fall campaign. Gosh says there’s no doubt that she’ll be backing Obama and she’s surprised by the number of emails she’s gotten in the past few weeks from Clinton supporters who don’t feel the same way.
(Gosh) “Some of them are so angry and so frustrated and they say, `Well, the Democrats have lost me if she doesn’t get this. I’m going to vote for John McCain.’ Well I just can’t fathom that because how can you say such a thing and believe in the Democratic principles and what Hillary stands for? So I don’t agree with that at all and, of course, I would support Obama. He’s a very, very good candidate."
(Kinzel) Gosh says she also has very mixed feelings about the possibility of Obama asking Hillary Clinton to be his running mate.
(Gosh) “I’m torn there because she is such a smart senator and could make such incredible changes to better our country and our society, in the Senate, as opposed to being a vice presidential candidate. So that’s a pro for staying in the Senate. The pro for running for vice president is that I think it’s a winning ticket."
(Kinzel) Gosh says it makes no sense for Senator Clinton to contest a decision by the Democratic Rules committee this past weekend to partially seat delegates from Michigan and Florida, if Senator Obama has clearly won a majority of delegates.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier