This evening, DNC Chairman Howard Dean was on NPR discussing the Clinton-Obama contest. Here are some highlights of the interview with Robert Siegel.
Siegel: Is it good for the party if Obama and Clinton spend the next several weeks attacking each other?
Dean: Doesn't think the race will be particularly negative against each other, but will focus on Sen. McCain. "In general...I think that being in front of 25 or 6 million voters...is pretty good...I'm looking at a 50-state campaign for the first time, we've been in 42 or 43 states now. I think that's terrific when the election comes along, the fact that we had this spirited contest in Ohio six months ago or eight months ago is going to really mean a lot for the fall."
Dean: "...resolve the very close race and maintain party unity...We want the voters to vote, and they have so far in huge numbers. And after the voters vote, if there's still no verdict, then we'll have to figure out how to keep the party together as we get a verdict. But right now we want to focus on the voters voting."
Dean: "...there are no such thing as a few hundred party hotshots. The superdelegates look exactly like the Democratic Party...our superdelegates look like the rest of America and they look like the Democratic Party and they got elected by the same people who voted in the primaries, just at a different time. They're uncommitted, but that doesn't mean they're party hotshots..."
Siegel: "Not even a cosmetic problem for the Democratic Party if the winner of the pledged delegates is...overwhelmed by superdelegates?"
Dean: "I think that would be surprising for that to happen...there's already been I think over 400 superdelegates that have already committed."
Siegel asks Dean about Florida and Michigan (Gov. Charlie Crist says every vote should count). "Re-do primary?"
Dean: "...you've got to stick to the rules...I wish Florida and Michigan had done that, because it would make this much easier. But once the rules are set, everybody knows who's running for president what the rules are. And if you change the rules in the middle of the game you're disadvantaging or advantaging one of the candidates. That you cannot do because it destroys the credibility of the process. Having said that...Governor Crist is onto something here. There is a process within the rules, they can come and petition and give the rules committee a new plan for selecting their delegates. We're very open to that..."
Siegel: "What about seating delegates chosen in the primaries that took place, is that absolutely out?"
Dean: "Well it's ultimately up to the credentials committee. It's a clear violation of the rules of this campaign. And so I'd be very surprised if the rules committee of the DNC would do that. What the credentials committee does is up to the credentials committee, we don't have any control over that..."
Dean talks about reasoning for allowing South Carolina and Nevada to go earlier this year. Geographic, ethnic and racial diversity. Everyone, including Florida and Michigan, voted for it.
Dean: "The problem with Florida moving forward is not only was it incredibly disrespectful to all the other states that voted for it and kept their word, it also stepped on South Carolina, which was our way of including large numbers of African Americans in the process to select the Democratic nominee..."
Siegel: Are there constructive negotiations going on to solve the Florida and Michigan delegations problem?
Dean: "We have tried to negotiate with the Florida party and the Michigan party for a long time and basically been told they're not interested in negotiating...We're not interested in disenfranchising Florida and Michigan voters; they're important to us. But what we are saying is we have to be respectful of the other 48 states who stuck by the rules, played by the rules. And we most certainly have to be respectful of the candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who knew what the rules were...and changing the rules halfway through the game is incredibly unfair to both of those candidates and frankly would split the Democratic Party so we're not going to do it."