Some Clinton Delegates Conflicted About Obama

DENVER - Carolyn Brown-Spiller’s pale-yellow shirt said it all: Hillary.

Barack Obama will leave the Democratic National Convention in Denver as the party’s nominee for president. But Brown-Spiller, a Louisiana delegate, plans to cast her vote Wednesday for Hillary Clinton.

“I’ll vote for the Democratic candidate in November,“ she said. “Here, I’ll vote for Hillary.“

In an attempt to placate Clinton supporters like Brown-Spiller, Obama agreed to allow Clinton’s name to be placed in a roll call vote for the nomination on Wednesday night. Clinton is expected to release her delegates to vote however they choose.

Brown-Spiller is not alone in her determination to vote for Clinton, despite calls for delegates to coalesce around Obama. A CBS News/New York Times poll released Sunday found that some Clinton delegates are still upset over her defeat.

Brown-Spiller, of Hammond, La., bristles at the idea that Clinton supporters should step in line behind Obama.

“It’s not my job to unify the party,“ she said. “It’s his.“

Clinton is publicly urging the party to come together, despite reports of continuing clashes between her camp and Obama’s.

In a statement released Monday after Republican John McCain began running ads featuring Clinton criticizing Obama during the primaries, Clinton reiterated her support for the party’s nominee.

“Every one of us could stand up and recite all the reasons why we must elect Barack ...,“ she said. “So let there be the no mistake about it, we are united. We are united for change.“

Some Democratic women - many of whom were Clinton supporters - say too much is being made about a possible rift within the party.

“People like fights. But that’s not what I’m seeing here,“ said Colleen Condon, a pledged delegate for Clinton and co-chair of South Carolina Women for Hillary.

Attempts to unify the party may rest on the shoulders of Clinton, who will address the convention Tuesday night. Many of Clinton’s delegates, including Condon, say they will vote however she tells them to.

“Whatever Hillary says, we’ll do,“ said Pam Wallace, the president-elect of the Alabama Federation of Democratic Women. “I was elected as a Hillary delegate, so whatever she says.“

Carol Fowler, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party and an Obama delegate, said she expected some Clinton delegates to continue to show support for Clinton during the convention.

But in the end, Clinton’s delegates - and women Democratic voters in the fall - will vote for Obama, Fowler predicted.

“I think most women realize that Republican policies are not good for women and families,“ she said. “They are looking for someone to protect their interests and that’s clearly Obama.“

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