BURBANK, Calif. - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is unlikely to catch rival Barack Obama in pledged delegates, hinted Thursday that she hoped to persuade a few to back her instead of him.
"There is no such thing as a pledged delegate," Clinton said at a news conference in California, where she has been fundraising.
Both Clinton and Obama planned to address the state convention of the North Dakota Democratic Party Friday, where delegates to this summer's national convention will be allocated. Obama crushed Clinton in the state's Feb. 5 presidential caucuses, 61 percent-36 percent.
The former first lady said she was traveling to North Dakota to thank her supporters and delegates — and wooing Obama supporters was fair game.
Pledged delegates are a "misnomer. The whole point is for delegates, however they are chosen, to really ask themselves who would be the best president and who would be our best nominee against Senator McCain," Clinton said. "And I think that process goes all the way to the convention."
While the DNC has no rules requiring pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses to vote for the candidate, the people who serve as pledged delegates are selected by the campaigns who won them and loyalty is a key qualification.
Obama currently leads in the delegate count, 1,634-1,500, according to The Associated Press. Because of the way Democrats apportion delegates, Clinton is not projected to catch Obama even if she has a strong showing in the remaining 10 contests.
Neither candidate can win based solely on pledged delegates. The nominee is likely to be chosen by some 800 superdelegates — elected officials and party insiders free to side with any candidate they choose.
Clinton's comments came as one of her prominent supporters and superdelegates, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, said he would consider switching to Obama if Clinton doesn't win the popular vote.
In an interview with CNBC, Corzine expressed confidence that Clinton will pull ahead. And he agreed the race will be over if she doesn't get a "big win" in the Pennsylvania primary April 22.
"You have to have a real cut into this popular vote and I think she's going to get it, though," he said. "I feel good about that."
Obama leads Clinton by about 740,000 votes out of more than 28 million cast. That figure excludes the outcome of the Michigan and Florida primaries, which were nullified because the two states moved their contests into January in violation of Democratic Party rules.
Clinton won both Michigan and Florida, and she and her supporters have pushed to have the votes from those contests counted. Obama's lead would shrink to about 120,000 votes if the results of the January contests were recognized. Michigan Democrats are expected Friday to rule out holding a do-over election to replace the results of the Jan. 15 primary, The Associated Press has learned.
Corzine said it would be hard for Obama to argue to superdelegates that he should be the nominee if he loses the bigger states, but "I think you need at least a popular vote" to win the nomination.
Asked whether he would cast his superdelegate vote for Obama if he were ahead in the popular vote in the end, Corzine said he didn't think that would be an issue but he's "reserving the right."
At the news conference, Clinton also:
_Denied telling New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that Obama can't win the general election. Richardson endorsed Obama.
"That's a no," Clinton said when asked if she made the comment. "We have been going back and forth in this campaign of who said what to whom and let me say this, that I don't talk about private conversations but I have consistently made the case that I can win."
_Sidestepped questions about whether she or her husband discussed the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's controversial former pastor, when making their case to superdelegates. In an interview this week, Clinton adviser Harold Ickes acknowledged raising the subject of Wright and his anti-American sermons with superdelegates, saying Republicans would use the issue against Obama if he became the party's nominee.
"I think most people have made up their minds about what they think of it," Clinton said of the Wright matter. "Certainly it was heavily in the news and people sometimes have it on their minds. I think most voters process it and figure out what they think about it."
Campaigning in Altoona, Pa., former President Clinton criticized Democrats who have suggested his wife bow out.
"They're telling you, 'Oh don't worry, this doesn't matter, and it's OK if we disenfranchise Michigan and Florida, we got this deal under control. You guys just be quiet and go away,'" Bill Clinton said. "Let me tell you something. I've been in politics a long time. People don't tell you your votes don't count unless they do."
I was a kid during the civil rights protests of the sixties but I wanted so very badly to participate. I tried to convince my parents I needed to be there and tried to get them to drive them from our midwest farm to Mississippi or Alabama or anywhere I could find Dr. King and the protesters. My parents were sympathetic but I didn't get to go.
