Today's Election News Roundup

New York Senator Hillary Clinton’s aids have slowed down her campaign schedule, allowing the candidate room to decide whether she wants to continue the race. According to one campaign manager, abruptly shutting down the campaign would not be wise: “There is a lot of indebtedness … to fundraisers and unions," he said, noting that Texas Democrats plan to meet this weekend to divide up 67 delegates between Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama—1,500 Clinton supporters plan to attend.

Senator Obama’s campaign has increased pressure on Senator Clinton to withdraw from the race, hoping to announce victory as early as tonight. According to The New York Times, “Obama campaign advisers said that they were orchestrating an endorsement of Mr. Obama by at least eight Senate and House members … at the moment the South Dakota polls closed on Tuesday night.”

Democratic leaders have taken personal steps to end the protracted, potentially divisive race: “Three uncommitted senators, Tom Harkin (Iowa), Thomas R. Carper (Del.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.), met Monday to discuss a ‘quick conclusion’ to the Democratic race,” The Washington Post reports. Additionally, Rep. James E. Clyburn (S.C.)—the highest-ranking African American in the House—and Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester of Montana plan to endorse Obama.

Clinton donors will throw their support behind Obama, claims a Democratic party consultant and fundraiser. Noah Mamet, who has organized campaign events for Senator Clinton explained, “Almost all [Clinton’s] donors will support Obama.”

As the Democratic primaries draw to a close, Senators Clinton and Obama have adopted increasingly conciliatory tones. "He is reaching out to Hillary and trying to make it easier for her," said a political scientist at American University. A spokeswoman for Gary Hart's unsuccessful Democratic presidential campaign in 1984 stated, "The goal is to find a way for face to be saved, for credit to be paid and for a platform to be created that supporters can stand on together."

An increasing number of Republican voters claim to have lost faith in the party, saying they may not vote this year. According to The Washington Times, “Low Republican turnout contributed to May's Democratic upset victory in a congressional special election in southern Mississippi, a once-safe Republican district that President Bush carried by a 25-point margin in 2004.” Similar upsets occurred in Illinois and Louisiana. 

Arizona Senator John McCain addressed a Jewish group recently, calling for tougher sanctions against Iran. According to The San Francisco Gate, McCain claimed that “New sanctions should restrict Tehran's ability to import refined gasoline and rein in operations of the Central Bank of Iran. He called on European nations to impose new travel restrictions on Iranian leaders and to freeze their assets, and backed a broad international divestment campaign targeting companies that do business in Iran.” 

The findingDulcinea 2008 Election Web Guide highlights the best online resources relating to the candidates and the election.

Project Vote Smart describes the process of nominating a presidential candidate, with concise descriptions of the convention, caucuses, primaries and the process of awarding delegates.

An overview of the role of delegates and superdelegates is presented by the Council on Foreign Relations. The Council also explains how delegates are selected and examines what may happen to the delegates from Florida and Michigan in the Democratic race.

Daily coverage of the 2008 Election is gathered from media sources across the political spectrum and presented by Real Clear Politics to provide up-to-the-minute coverage. The site publishes daily political transcripts, including addresses on the campaign trail and withdrawal speeches. It also constantly updates and compares polling reports from Rasmussen, Gallup, CNN, Pew Research, and other major media sources. Additionally, the site provides a 2008 Primary Delegate Count, which presents the delegate counts of each candidate.

NPR provides an interactive calendar of past and upcoming primaries. Headline stories that detail the events of the primaries and campaigns accompany the primary map. In addition, NPR hosts a “National Delegates Total,” with an ongoing count of delegates won by each candidate.

Minnesota Public Radio’s online “President Survey” matches the political convictions of respondents with the candidates’ policies in order to help voters make an informed choice come election day.

The New York Times publishes a constant stream of articles from the Associated Press. These concise AP stories cover new developments on the campaign trail.

As election momentum picks up, the Times of London offers British readers a glossary of campaign jargon that will be of use to many Americans as well.

Obama pulled ahead of Clinton in terms of campaign fundraising in January. OpenSecrets.org compares the total campaign donations for each candidate and looks into the war chests to see where the money comes from.