Behind The Scene At CDP: Bill Clinton Expresses Anger At Richardson And The Media; Turns Off Some Superdelegates

On Saturday, March 30, Bill Clinton addressed California Democrats State Convention.  This speech was not only intended to address the larger question of Democratic party unity, but also an opportunity to woo some of California’s remaining 23 undecided superdelegates.  California has 65 super delegates.  Of these 65, Clinton has the support of 29, Obama has 13 and 23 remain undecided.  During his speech, President Clinton struck a conciliatory and optimistic tone, saying:

“There is somehow the suggestion that because we are having a vigorous debate about who would be the best president, we are going to weaken this party in the fall.

“We’re going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say.”

However, Mr. Clinton offered a sharp contrast behind the scenes turning off some superdelegates.  Prior to his speech, he met privately with about 16 undecided superdelegates.

At first all was well and then:

According to those at the meeting, Clinton … was classic old Bill at first, charming and making small talk…

But as the group moved together for the perfunctory photo, Rachel Binah, a former Richardson delegate who now supports Hillary Clinton, told Bill how “sorry” she was to have heard former Clinton campaign manager James Carville call Richardson a “Judas” for backing Obama.

Clinton’s response upset some of those present at the meeting:

“Five times to my face (Richardson) said that he would never do that,” a red-faced, finger-pointing Clinton erupted.

The former president then went on a tirade that ran from the media’s unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama. It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out.

“Tirade,” “erupt” are the language of those reporting the events.  Since, I wasn’t there, I can’t totally prescribe to them and I would ordinarily be hesitant to accept others characterizations, but the Clinton campaign’s subsequent actions and accounts from those present make it pretty clear that Bill’s response was not particularly helpful to the campaign and ultimately that’s all that really matters.

One superdelegate at the meeting said:

“It was very, very intense…Not at all like the Bill of earlier campaigns.”

Another reflected on his speech to the convention, saying:

“It was kind of strange later when he took the stage and told everyone to ‘chill out’…We couldn’t help but think he was also talking to himself.”

Clinton sent his apologies to Binah:

When delegate Binah - still stunned from her encounter with Clinton - got home to Little River (Mendocino County) later in the day - there was a phone message waiting for her from State Party Chairman Art Torres, telling her the former president wanted him to apologize to her on his behalf for what happened.

I wonder if the campaign has apologized to any of the other remaining superdelegates…

[Photo Credit: NY Magazine]