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COLUMNISTS
TODAY'S STORIES
25.08.2008
Inside the "Hillary Suite"

There's lots of argument today over how real or fictional the angry, skeptical-of-Obama Hillary supporter is and what to make of that CNN poll apparently showing that 66% of Clinton backers support Obama, down from 75% in June.

At Broker's Restaurant in Denver today, I met two Ohio delegates who fell firmly into that other 34%, Billie Brandon and a delegate who wouldn't give her name; she told me that Ohio state Democrats had already threatened to take away her convention credentials on account of something anti-Obama she told a reporter earlier in the summer. The two Ohioans had gone to the musty, antique Broker's to retrieve information from 18 Million Voices, the group staging tomorrow morning's pro-Hillary march through Denver. (Not to be confused with the PUMAs, a more extreme pro-Hillary group that verges on performance art.)

Where, I asked the two Ohioans, did the Hillary delegation from Ohio stand as a whole? "Most of them are saying 'It's over,'" Brandon said. "The rest of us are saying, 'Please, let's get a floor vote.'" (Exact plans are changing all the time, but the current idea is to let delegations vote at Wednesday's breakfast, not on the floor with a state-by-state roll call.) "For me, it's all about saying I got to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton for President and I'm proud of that," Brandon added. "It's to heal my heart."

Speaking with the two Ohio women, I got the sense that this angst, too, would pass. That's not to say there isn't a huge range of feelings among the large number of Hillary delegates here that won't be captured by a binary opinion poll. After we left Broker's, the Ohio delegates took me with them to the "Hillary Suite," a plush apartment on Wazee Street brimming with snacks, crammed with Hillary signs and stickers -- and packed to the gills with delegates, male and female, hailing from Maine to California. Thirty or forty Hillary delegates must have passed through during the hour I was there. This suite is Ground Zero for still-not-totally-over-it Hillary delegates: a buzzing place where they can vent; trade frustrations; watch Fox News on the big-screen TV ("we sometimes switch it, but Fox is actually less biased because they hate all Democrats," explains the suite's cheerful organizer, John West); mull over the success of the "300" grassroots petition that, many there said, helped pressure Obama to let Hillary's delegates vote for her this week; and pick up new petition handouts on a floor vote or -- still a cause for a few delegates -- overturning the Biden pick and making Hillary VP. (NB: I don't think this suite is affiliated with anybody from Hillary's official camp, though it has become a go-to spot for delegates.)

It was a fascinating place, and armed with FORA-TV's mini-video-cam, I got a bunch of footage. Stay tuned for a glimpse inside the Hillary Suite and a chat with a California delegate whose "arms are still crossed" regarding Obama, as he puts it.

--Eve Fairbanks

Posted: Monday, August 25, 2008 6:59 PM with 10 comment(s)

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dylanposer said:

These people need waterboarding.  Seriously.

August 25, 2008 8:07 PM

virginiacentrist said:

Eve: Your mission is to find racist Hillary supporters. Go.

August 25, 2008 9:05 PM

purcellneil said:

VC

I don't think they'll be at the convention.  Delegates tend to be more liberal than the average voters, even in the least racially progressive states (deliberately not mentioning West Virginia).  

Of course, Geraldine Ferraro might be lurking in some dark hallway - maybe Eve can get her to remove her hood for the interview.

Neil

August 25, 2008 11:30 PM

psantillana said:

Fox

August 26, 2008 2:27 AM

singlespeed said:

"Heal my heart" - Hahahahahahahaha

August 26, 2008 9:35 AM

purcellneil said:

psantillana

Yeah - the reference to FOX struck me too.  Can there be any clearer indication of the problem with the Clinton supporters?  I can't watch 5 minutes of FOX but Hillary's gang actually prefers it to any other channel. I'm amazed and appalled.

Neil  

August 26, 2008 10:40 AM

The Plank said:

Michelle Obama's Class by David Kusnet The Surprising Inside Story Of How Obama Scored The DNC Keynote

August 26, 2008 11:13 AM

bigdiggy said:

With every piece like this that appears in the mainstream media, and with the smug and vile comments that inevitably accompany each one, my resolve to vote for someone other than Obama grows. Keep it up.

August 26, 2008 11:37 AM

wagonjak said:

Love the reference to watching Faux News at the Hillary suite...it suits these angry, childish Clinton supporters to a T.

The very idea that any of them would vote for McKrusty out of spite against Obama is totally outrageous, and shows how brain dead most of them are...

August 26, 2008 3:03 PM

The Stump said:

Yesterday I made it into the "Hillary Suite," an airy 11th-floor apartment downtown that serves

August 26, 2008 4:14 PM