Clinton urges super delegates to support her

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 2 June

Hillary Clinton, apparently fighting a losing battle for party presidential nomination against Barack Obama, has appealed to the super delegates to look past her rival's lead and support her as she has won in the "popular vote".

"We are winning the popular vote," a defiant-looking Hillary said, addressing supporters in Puerto Rico after winning the primary.

She stressed that she was in a much stronger position than Obama to win several swing states which the party must carry in the November presidential elections to wrest the White House from Republicans.

But calculating the popular vote could create difficulties as each campaign might seek different parameters.

CNN presented three scenario in two of which Clinton leads and the third favours Obama.

If all the primary results including Florida and Michigan are counted, but not the caucus votes, Clinton leads in the popular vote 17,461,845 to Obama's 17,244,762, according to CNN estimates. That number includes giving Obama all the "uncommitted" votes from Michigan.

Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates for scheduling their primaries too early. Clinton won both states, but Obama's name was not even on the ballot in Michigan.

The Democratic National Committee decided Saturday to reinstate all of Florida and Michigan's delegates to the national convention, with each delegate getting a half-vote to penalise the two states for holding their primaries earlier.

In a second scenario, which adds in CNN's estimate of the caucus-goers, Obama leads Clinton 17,928,000 to 17,843,000.

In the third, which includes all of the caucuses but does not give Obama Michigan's "uncommitted" vote, Clinton leads 17,873,000 to 17,703,000.