Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 21, 1992 TAG: 9203210141
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WALTER MEARS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
No contested Democrat since before World War II has moved so far so fast.
The voting began on Clinton and four rivals less than six weeks ago; now only one challenger is still around, but trailing nearly 9-1 in delegate commitments.
So the Arkansas governor has an advantage no Democratic nominee has enjoyed since President Lyndon B. Johnson ran in 1964: a virtual lock on the nomination enabling a head start on the campaign for the Nov. 3 election.
Clinton's closest rival, former Sen. Paul Tsongas, dropped his active campaign Thursday, telling supporters in Boston he didn't have the money to make a showing in the big primary states just ahead.
That leaves former California Gov. Jerry Brown, who said he will battle "for the soul of the Democratic Party." Brown is campaigning against a system he calls corrupted by big money and special interests; he limits donations to $100 and his targeted, low-budget tactics probably will enable him to keep going as long as he chooses.
But Brown is a protest candidate. Barring major new disclosures to revive the controversy about Clinton's personal life or his official conduct, the Democrats have their man to challenge President Bush.
Bush's nomination never was in doubt. And his Republican rival, Patrick Buchanan, conceded that while scaling down his campaign Wednesday.
Democrats don't have a consensus behind Clinton, and there may be attempts to slow or stop him. But that can't work without alternatives, and there's no practical way for any late candidate to run competitively.
Just over half the nominating delegates have yet to be chosen, and Clinton needs fewer than half of them to get to the majority he'll need at the convention July 15.
Since delegates are apportioned according to primary votes, and uncommitted Democrats are likely to follow the leader, the outcome is foregone.
Jimmy Carter didn't get it wrapped up as fast in 1980, and he was the president. Indeed, there hasn't been so streamlined a Democratic contest since 1936, when the party dropped its requirement that nominees be chosen with two-thirds of the convention vote.
Michael Dukakis took command of the 1988 Democratic race when he won the New York primary on April 19, but didn't clinch his delegate majority until June 7, in the final primary in California.
This time, with a burst of primary elections early in the season, Democrats looked for a quick decision. Ronald Brown, the party chairman, said he hoped the nominee would be picked quickly, with late March the goal.
The idea is to make peace early, so that Democrats can get set for the fall campaign instead of feuding with each other. That's still an aim; there may be some infighting to come, since Jerry Brown has been the most vehement and personal of Clinton's critics.
Clinton said there is more primary campaigning to be done, even with Tsongas out. "I don't have the votes yet, and there are a lot of important states coming up," he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB