It started as a quiet, relatively low-key meeting this morning with undecided superdelegates at a townhouse near Capitol Hill. But when Barack Obama emerged, the House was voting – so he took the entire gang with him and headed to the Capitol to shake hands with lawmakers on the House floor.
It looked an awful lot like a victory lap.
If so, it wasn’t because Obama made a lot of progress with the uncommitted superdelegates. Those who attended the meeting said he mostly just listened to their concerns about parochial issues, and didn’t push them to commit to him right now. That’s how Obama described the meeting as well.
“If they have questions for me, then I’m certainly happy to respond to them,” Obama said he told the group. ”And I just wanted to assure them that whatever happens, we will be coming together.”
Most of the uncommitted superdelegates appeared to be House members from districts that had voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Some of them, including Reps. Zack Space of Ohio and Tim Mahoney of Florida, have met with both him and Clinton over the past two days.
“Both Hillary and Barack have been very understanding of our concerns,” said Space. “Do they want us to endorse? Sure. That’s obvious. But they weren’t twisting arms or using any inappropriate tactics.”
Space, for example, said he wanted to hear Obama and Clinton’s views on rural issues important to his district, such as transportation, education, health care and access to technology.
Mahoney, meanwhile, has been pushing to seat the disputed Florida delegation – a cause that he said Clinton was obviously committed to, “by virtue of her circumstance.” But he also has been pushing to hear their views on other issues important to his state, such as homeowner’s insurance.
And Rep. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana told CQ’s Jonathan Allen that he mainly has been pushing for recovery aid for the Gulf Coast, a natural cause for a lawmaker whose district was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
From all indications, the probable Democratic presidential nominee didn’t mind causing a scene.
Like a pied piper, he started with his small group of lawmakers as he walked out of the UPS Townhouse, about two blocks south of the House side of Capitol Hill, then gathered more and more followers as he reached the Capitol grounds and tourists realized who he was.
He deflected questions from reporters: “Patience. I’m sure I will make myself amply available over the next couple of days.” To the lawmakers, he muttered, “Welcome to my world, by the way.”
Then, the cheers began. A group of schoolchildren recognized him and waved. A member of Code Pink, the antiwar protest group, ran up and shouted, “Don’t vote for the supplemental! Use the money to bring the troops home!”
“We’re working on it,” Obama told her, as his secret service agents watched her warily. “That’s why I’m running for president.”
Then he walked up the Capitol steps, plunging into a crowd of cheering tourists, and pushed his way into the House chamber. “I heard there was a lot of action on the House side,” he said as he walked in.
Some of Clinton’s supporters thought Obama’s visit was inappropriate, reports CQ’s Alan K. Ota, and accused him of openly seeking superdelegate votes on the House floor.
Obama, however, insisted that “the goal was just to say hello,” adding that ”I have not been over to the House side.” As a crush of reporters and TV camera crews followed him through the Capitol halls, he stopped to call out to tourists: “I’m surrounded! Where you guys from?”
Finally, he grew a bit tired of the scene. “All right, okay if I just walk?” he asked the reporters. “Thanks, guys.”
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