Don't know why it is that Washingtonians in particular seem to be sending this signal. But the signal seems, basically, clear enough; and it comes from two Democratic superdelegates, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell and King County Executive Ron Sims, who have announced support for Senator Hillary Clinton.
On Monday, Cantwell told the Vancouver Columbian's editorial board that
“If we have a candidate who has the most delegates and the most states,†the Democratic party should come together around that candidate, Cantwell said. The pledged delegate count will be the most important factor, she said, because that is the basis of the nominating process.
That essentially is an argument for Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who has an apparently insurmountable lead in both categories.
Today, Sims was a guest on the KUOW Weekday program (a limited transcript is up at the Slog), and spent a chunk of time talking about the presidential - but not by way of advocating for Clinton. He remarked, for example, that "I’ve watched this campaign. I’ve seen two people who I really like. And it just seems, if you look at the polls now, [they] are inflicting great damage on each other and that’s really gotta stop. To have people who support Senator Obama say, ‘I’m not going to support Senator Clinton,’ and to have people who support Senator Clinton say, ‘I’m not going to support Senator Obama’—my issue is, that should not be the national debate. I think we have an opportunity to head in a different direction, and we need to do that, but obviously this campaign is not doing that. And I think more of the superdelegates are beginning to say, 'Stop it.' And that’s being heard by the campaigns and the candidates, because they’ve got to stop this madness."
When the host suggested "that you are wavering and considering that your candidate maybe should withdraw in the interest of unity in the party," Sims responded, "Oh, I didn’t say that." Which doesn't sound like much of a flat rebuttal - that he wouldn't, period. Second later, he retierated that, "Yeah, I’m not changing it yet." Yet.
The Slog's conclusion: "He's wavering." That's two.