Pat Dollard | Young Americans

“Went so far as to say..”???? So far?

Politico:

More high-profile Democrats are building the case that superdelegates will need to stiffen their spines and make their final decisions, rather than letting the Democratic nomination drag out until the convention in late August.

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) — who back Sen. Barack Obama — said on Sunday talk shows that superdelegates should quickly coalesce around a candidate by July 1, which would be three weeks after the final primary in Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, Republicans focused on the war, suggesting that “Iranian-backed militias” are killing American soldiers. Also on Iraq, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” what most Americans have believed for some time: “We got it wrong” on intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

But the political debate of the day is when and how superdelegates will make their decisions. Richardson and Kerry echoed the call by Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to conclude the nominating contest by July 1. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, an uncommitted superdelegate, reiterated his call for a special superdelegate convention to break the stalemate.

“This will resolve itself,” Kerry said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think the superdelegates ought to decide early, perhaps earlier than July. … Every day gives John McCain the opportunity” to build momentum for the general election.

Richardson, speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” agreed that the party should “find ways that superdelegates can have discussions, can have some kind of consensus.”

Both Richardson and Kerry disagreed with recent calls for Clinton to drop out of the race.

And Clinton surrogates, appearing on various talk shows, avoided any discussion of what superdelegates should do as a group. Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D), a Clinton supporter, said on “This Week” that the “Obama forces” need to back off and allow the 10 remaining states to vote and to allow a revote in Michigan and Florida, which he believes could give Clinton the popular vote advantage. And Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D), also a Clinton supporter, said on “Face the Nation” that the Democratic nomination is only in the “seventh inning. … Let’s not rush this game. Let the voters decide.”

In the discussion about the war, Republicans are clearly reading from a script that calls for more saber-rattling about Iran.

But the recent flare-up in fighting in Iraq has apparently done little to reshape the political debate over the war. Each party’s top military experts in the Senate seemed to dig in further Sunday when asked about the fresh bout of fighting in Iraq.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Sen. John McCain’s top supporters in his presidential bid, repeatedly mentioned Iran’s role in the new fighting, going so far as to say “Iranians are killing Americans” on “Fox News Sunday.” Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, speaking on “This Week,” mentioned Iranian Revolutionary Guards training militias to “kill Americans.” And Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, one of the loudest voices in favor of the war, also ran with the “Iranian-backed militias” talking point on “Fox News Sunday.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” continued to press for a responsible withdrawal plan from Iraq, saying the United States needs to let the “political forces inside the country” take control of Iraq.

With Gen. David Petraeus due to testify before key congressional committees next week, it’s clear that it won’t matter politically what he says — the Democrats and Republicans have hardened their positions even further.