Tuesday, May 6, 2008

FROM MARK @ THE PAGE

From The Page
Ickes Throws Down the Gauntlet on What Constitutes a Majority of the Delegates

Clinton delegate honcho tells The Page that his camp believes 2,209 — not 2,025 — is the magic number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination because they’re counting Michigan and Florida.

“I know the Obama people like to use the smaller amount. We don’t even like the implication of it, much less the amount. It implies he doesn’t recognize Florida and Michigan. We don’t see how he can do that politically…So our target is 2,209 and we think Hillary is in a good position to get there.”

Also repeats his calling card to supers: “We don’t know enough about Senator Obama yet. We don’t need an October Surprise. And (the chance of) an October Surprise with Hillary is remote.”

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe responds: “Suggesting that Hillary Clinton is the best avenue to avoid an October Surprise is a curious strategy, to say the least.”

Read more from The Page’s interview with Ickes here, including his thoughts on whether Obama has 50 supers in his back pocket and what he thinks of Mark Penn’s role in the campaign now.