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ON THE TRAIL

May 22, 2008

Hillary Rodham Clinton raised the possibility yesterday that she might carry her fight to the Democratic convention floor. Clinton was in Florida, pressing to narrow her gap in convention delegates with Barack Obama by having delegates counted from its renegade January primary. Democratic rule-makers are to meet May 31 to decide whether to count delegates from Florida and Michigan; the states were stripped of their delegates as punishment for holding early primaries in violation of party rules. Clinton won both states, but Obama had his name removed from Michigan's ballot and neither candidate campaigned in those states. In an interview yesterday with The Associated Press, Clinton said she is willing to take her fight to seat Florida's and Michigan's delegates to the convention if the two states want to go that far. Asked whether she would support the states if they appeal an unfavorable rules committee decision to the convention floor, the former first lady replied: "Yes I will. I will, because I feel very strongly about this ... I will consult with Floridians and the voters in Michigan because it's really their voices that are being ignored and their votes that are being discounted, and I'll support whatever the elected officials and the voters in those two states want to do."

The Memorial Day weekend guest list at Sen. John McCain's Arizona retreat runs to at least three Republicans mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates, but a top aide said yesterday that vetting possible veeps is not on the agenda. "It's purely social," said Mark Salter, a senior adviser to McCain. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a McCain rival in the primary, were invited to a weekend gathering at the senator's place in Sedona.