Democrats Urged to Bring Forward Decision on Candidate

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee tried yesterday to impose a deadline on the divisive nomination contest, urging the party's superdelegates to make their choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama by July 1.

In interviews yesterday, Howard Dean urged the 800 Democratic elected and party officials who will ultimately decide between Clinton and Obama to avoid a knockdown fight at the party convention and make their decision within weeks of the last primary. "There is no point in waiting," he told the Associated Press.

The proposal, which appears to have support from Democratic party elders, comes amid fears that the negative tone of the campaign - as well as the prospect of an ugly battle at the party's convention in August - could be ruinous for the Democrats' chances against John McCain in November's presidential elections.

While Democrats have been focused on the struggle between Clinton and Obama, McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has been getting ready for the presidential campaign. He launched his first television ad in New Mexico yesterday, and has been touring the country giving policy addresses.

That has the Democratic leadership worried about allowing McCain to build an early advantage.

"I think it would be nice to have this all done by July 1. If we can do it sooner than that, that's all the better," Dean told ABC television. "We don't want this to degenerate into a big fight at the convention."

Dean said he was floating the proposal after consulting Democratic leaders including Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson and John Edwards, the one-time rival to Clinton and Obama. He has also had discussions with Clinton and Obama.

About 450 of the 800 superdelegates have indicated which candidate they support. With the primary season ending on June 3 in Puerto Rico, Dean said there was no compelling reason to leave the nominee undecided throughout the summer.

Although Clinton initially led among superdelegates, Obama has been catching up. He picked up an important superdelegate yesterday with an endorsement from Bob Casey, a senator from Pennsylvania. He got a further boost with a call from Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, for Clinton to withdraw. "There is no way that Senator Clinton is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination," Leahy told Vermont public radio.

Casey, an anti-gun control Democrat popular among working-class males, is expected to travel with Obama on a tour of Pennsylvania where such voters are crucial to his prospects. Clinton has been endorsed by Pennsylvania's governor and several other congressmen, helping her to double digit margins over Obama.