This just in from AFP:
April 1, 2008 Washington, D. C. Senator Clinton is set to suspend her campaign tomorrow morning, according to senior campaign advisers.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, two prominent campaign officials stated today that Senator Clinton, after consultations with officials at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and other party leaders, has agreed to suspend her campaign in exchange for an agreement to seat both the Michigan and Florida delegations, whose primaries were held in violation of party rules.
Senator Clinton has made it a point to state recently her strong desire to seat these delegations, both of which awarded her the lion’s share of the delegates at stake. Senator Obama’s campaign has consistently maintained that it agrees with the sanctions imposed by the DNC which stripped both Michigan and Florida of their delegates.
It is believed that Clinton’s proposal to suspend her campaign was accepted by Senator Obama’s campaign late last night, according to a sources at the DNC, who spoke on condition that their identities not be disclosed, as they were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. No one contacted within Senator Obama’s campaign would comment with regard to whether he had agreed to such a proposal from the Clinton camp. […]
“She really had no viable option at this point in light of her funding problems,” said one her chief advisers. “This allows her to preserve her viability as a candidate and to claim that she won a victory by getting the Michigan and Florida delegations seated.”
Although Senator Clinton will attend no further campaign events or fundraisers, and will shut down all campaign operations, including television advertising, in the remaining primary states, she will continue to remain on the ballot in each of those states. […]
In addition, “The suspension of her campaign is not binding on any of her supporters not officially associated with the campaign, who may continue to speak on her behalf, or carry on other activities in support of her candidacy, should they wish to do so,” said another Clinton advisor.
It is also not clear at this point whether her husband, former President Bill Clinton, or her daughter, Chelsea, has agreed to withdraw from making any further public appearances on her behalf.
If true, this is quite a significant development. Obviously Clinton’s funding issues were more precarious than anyone had previously reported. Definitely good news for Democrats today, however. Unless Clinton’s surrogates continue their negative campaign against Obama with her tacit agreement, this should wrap up the nomination for Obama. And I can’t see him agreeing to any deal to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations unless he had assurances that such would be the case.
So, thank you Senator Clinton for finally seeing the handwriting on the wall. Of course, I have to wonder if some secret arrangement has also been reached regarding a possible Cabinet appointment in any Obama administration or even a place on the ticket. We’ll just have to wait and see, but I suspect she will be getting something else in exchange for her stepping down at this time. What that might be is anybody’s guess.
