Aug 26, 2008 11:13 pm US/Central
Reality Check: The Hillary Clinton Precedent
(WCCO)
There's been a lot of talk about the delegates who came to the Democratic National Convention in Denver supporting
former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That includes questions about a united Democratic Party, but these kinds of politics have been seen before.
It's edgy, it's controversial, it's dramatic, but it's nothing new.
IN FACT....
Despite the hand-wringing over Hillary Clinton placing her name in nomination, it's actually a longstanding Democratic tradition.
Many Democratic National Conventions have allowed challengers to compete and to speak, even though they had no chance of winning.
It's TRUE…
Jesse Jackson wowed the crowd in Atlanta in 1988 before releasing his delegates to Michael Dukakis and Edward Kennedy challenged the sitting President Jimmy Carter in 1980, using the same phrases in that speech that he used in Denver on Monday night.
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
The difference this year is that Hillary Clinton has almost as many delegates as Barack Obama. The latest CBS News delegate count gives Obama a 228 vote edge: 2153 for Obama to 1925 for Clinton.
And despite what Clinton said Tuesday night, the long simmering delegate controversy has not yet reached a crescendo.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check click on the links below: History of the Democratic National Convention
Jesse Jackson's DNC Speeches
Stalwarts for Clinton, in Search of Catharsis DemConWatch: Ultimate Delegate Tracker 
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