Andrew Explains Decision To Switch

More

"I'm calling on my all of my friends who are superdelegates to help heal the rift and unite behind Barack Obama, now," says former Clinton supporter and former DNC chair Joe Andrew.

After saying that he's "going to be an advocate for an Obama-Bayh ticket," and suggesting that the vice presidential nominee should come from the other "side" of the party, Andrew, in a conference call today, decided he would not explain why Clinton and Obama shouldn't join together. "Whether or not Sen. Obama would choose Sen. Clinton, or whether or not Clinton would accept that...really, it's a distraction...it doesn't food on the table and doesn't solve the problems we have." Ah.

ANDREW SAID that he doesn't buy the DNC's position, which is that "this long process we're involved in is reinvigorating." But "you also see more and more polls that people are hardening their position and few of them are willing to back the other candidate." Andrew suggested that he's worried about a smear campaign of sorts as retribution for his bravery, and pointed to an attempt to alter his Wikipedia page this morning. So Andrew said that he did not call either Clinton or Obama to give them a heads up because it's "old political theater" to "make perfunctory calls." He worried that he -- Joe Andrew -- would be tempted to disclose the results of his private conversations.

Jump to comments

Atlantic contributing editor Marc Ambinder is co-writing a book on national security and secrecy. More


Get Today's Top Stories in Your Inbox (preview)


Elsewhere on the web

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus

Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Writers

Up
Down

More in Politics

In Focus

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma

Just In