POLITICAL ROUNDUP: IT’S ALMOST OVER / WHY HILLARY CONTINUES TO RUN / RON PAUL’S FAMILY BUSINESS

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama will formally capture the Democratic presidential nomination after next week’s final primaries in Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.

Obama’s campaign adviser, David Axelrod, said that after the June 3 primaries “Obama will ‘be at the number we need to claim the nomination’.”

According to CNN’s latest estimate, Obama is 52 delegates short of clinching the nomination while Sen. Hillary Clinton needs 246.

On Tuesday, Edward Lewis, chairman and founder of Essence Magazine and chairman of Latina Magazine, endorsed Obama, switching from Clinton and citing Obama’s vision for a better America.

Lewis said:

“As the founder of a woman’s magazine, I acknowledge that Senator Clinton has served as a role model for many women across America and I have great admiration for her.

However, as the campaign has unfolded, I have witnessed the strength of Senator Obama and both his passion and commitment for new possibilities for a better America. His conviction has led to my conviction that he is the hope for our country. I urge all Americans to support his candidacy for President of the United States.”

In a NY Daily article, Sen. Hillary Clinton offered several reasons why she should continue to run for president.

She also clarified Friday’s remarks:

“I was making the simple point that given our history, the length of this year’s primary contest is nothing unusual. Both the executive editor of the newspaper where I made the remarks, and Sen. Kennedy’s son, Bobby Kennedy Jr., put out statements confirming that this was the clear meaning of my remarks. Bobby stated, ‘I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense’.”

Clinton’s reasons for continuing to run include: she believes she can win on the merits, she can unite the Democratic Party, her parents didn’t raise her to be a quitter, she has a responsibility to finish the race as the first female candidate in this position and she’s the best candidate to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has put family members in key positions within his campaign and paid them nearly $170,000.

A Paul campaign spokesman (and fiancé of one of his granddaughters, who’s been paid $54,573) said, “You always think about those kinds of things. But his family is very important to him. There is something important about having a family element involved in a campaign. Having people around you that you can unconditionally trust.”

Although he has garnered a dedicated following and over $30M in campaign donations, Ron Paul has received few votes and released a video in March that indicated he no longer expected to win the Republican nomination.

There are no laws prohibiting candidates from hiring relatives, but Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said, “The reason this is troubling is that it’s not clear to donors whether their campaign donations are really going to support the candidacy or to support the family.” She also noted that the campaign spent only $470,862 in April, with over $4M remaining.