Dean: Clinton or Obama must concede after June 3

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

April 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said yesterday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention.

Dean didn't say which candidate should drop out, only that it should happen after primary voters have been to the polls.

"We want the voters to have their say. That's over on June 3," Dean said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Dean also said that while the party rules say Democratic superdelegates can wait until the party's Aug. 25 convention to make up their minds, that would be too late to unify the party and defeat the presumptive Repub- lican nominee, John McCain.

"We really can't have a divided convention. If we do it's going to be very hard to heal the party afterwards," Dean said. "So we'll know who the nominee is and that'll give us an extra 2 1/2 months to get our party together, heal the wounds of having a very closely divided race and take on Senator McCain."

Dean said he won't have to tell either Clinton or Obama when it's time to leave the race. "Either of these candidates, if it's time for them to go, they'll know it and they will go," Dean said.

"This is not about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," Dean said. "It's about a better course for our country ... We've got to move on and win the presidency." Obama has more delegates and popular votes than Clinton, but she is fresh off a big-state win in Pennsylvania.

Dean said that "none of the so-called party elders I talked to" think the contest should go until the convention. "I agree with that," he said.