Clinton Advisers to Skip Obama Speech

The Democratic National Convention may be on the verge of splintering even before it officially gets underway, if a report in today's Washington Post turns out to be accurate. The Post's The Trail blog reports that top advisers to Sen. Hillary Clinton will not be in attendance when Sen. Barack Obama gives his nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver on Thursday. The Clinton entourage plans to leave town entirely on Wednesday night, after former President Bill Clinton gives his convention speech. The post lists former Democratic National Committee Chairman and Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliff as one of those who will forgo the Obama speech, along with prominent Clinton booster Steve Rattner.

One former Clinton campaign operative who now helps the Obama campaign, Robert Zimmerman, told the Post that the Democratic convention is bigger than the personalities involved in the internecine rivalry between the Clinton and Obama camps.

"This convention provides a very important opportunity for the Obama campaign to bond with the constituencies that supported Hillary Clinton. It's not about Barack or Hillary. It's about bringing in the people here who voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Senator Obama and Senator Biden are, without question, qualified to do that."

But if the report is accurate, it indicates that there are still very strong tensions between the Clinton and Obama campaigns. Those tensions could filter down to rank and file voters and perhaps prevent Sen. Obama from solidfying his base of support within his own party. On the eve of the convention, polls show that one in four Clinton supporters still do not plan to vote for Sen. Obama in the fall. The convention is meant in large part to correct that. However, Sen. Obama will have to do it without the help of many of Sen. Clinton's most seasoned political backers.