Clinton advisers talk exit strategy

WASHINGTON — She's darting across the country like a full-fledged presidential candidate, but the conversation within Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's circle of advisers and donors has turned to how she can make a dignified exit from the race.

Outwardly, Clinton operated Thursday as if the disappointing results from Indiana and North Carolina never happened. She made stops in West Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon, while her husband held a conference call with top fundraisers. Before dawn, one of her advisers, Mark Penn, crafted a memo to outline the campaign's strategy.

But for all the signs of normalcy, much of the infrastructure that keeps the Clinton campaign going — the aides, donors and political allies — is resigned to the reality that the Democratic nomination is out of reach.

"There is a profound sadness [among the staff]," one Clinton aide said Thursday. "I don't think anyone sees that there's a clear path to victory here."

Richard Schiffrin, a national finance co-chairman for Clinton, is scheduled to meet with other fundraisers and her next week. He said he will tell her: "Let's look at the situation as it exists and think about whether there's a credible path to the nomination, and if there isn't, what's Plan B?

"The bottom line is she's going to make a decision that in my view will be in the best interests of the party and the country."

Clinton on Thursday launched a three-state, 21-hour, cross-country marathon campaign swing. Speaking to several hundred supporters in Charleston, W.Va., Clinton acknowledged she has come under growing pressure to drop out. She suggested she will stay at least until Tuesday's primary.

"Some folks say, 'You've got to end this before you get to West Virginia,' " she said. "I think we want to keep this going so the people of West Virginia's voices are heard."

After a stop in Sioux Falls, S.D., Clinton concluded her day Thursday night with a town-hall event in Central Point, Ore.

Sen. Barack Obama, meanwhile, was on Capitol Hill, where even Republican lawmakers elbowed past colleagues in the House chamber to shake his hand.

On NBC's "Nightly News with Brian Williams," Obama denied he is now the presumptive nominee. "Not yet. I will be," he said. "If Senator Clinton decides not to go on, or if we complete the six contests and we are ahead as we are now. But nothing is certain. I don't want to take it for granted."

Having invested 16 months and raised more than $200 million, Clinton might find it difficult to quit. Her campaign persona is solidly built on the idea that she's working-class America's scrappy warrior. So dropping out with six contests left would be awkward.

And people who have spoken to her say she is reluctant to leave.

Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., met privately with Clinton on Wednesday. "She wasn't talking exit. She's talking winning," he said.

Chris Lehane, who served in President Clinton's administration, said: "Having worked for them I would never, ever count out a Clinton: Bill, Hillary, Chelsea or the cat Socks. One of the primary reasons she has remained extremely competitive in this race is that people have extrapolated she's a fighter."

But even trusted aides don't see how she can wrest the nomination from Obama.

They are divided over what course she should follow. Some believe she should not drop out until the last contests June 3. Others contend she should exit "gracefully" soon.

Addressing concern among some Democrats that Clinton would fight on to the national convention in August, campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe suggested that the race would end quickly after the final primaries, sparing the party a potentially debilitating summerlong battle.

"After June 3, this is going to come to a conclusion," McAuliffe said Thursday morning on NBC's "Today" program.

Ultimately, an aide said, Clinton will decide what to do in concert with her husband; staff won't be consulted on so momentous a decision.

Some members of Clinton's circle are thinking through conditions under which she might concede the race.

One Clinton supporter familiar with the campaign's operations said she wants to go out on a positive note — say, after winning in West Virginia and Kentucky, whose primaries are Tuesday and May 20, respectively.

She also would want a resolution to the disputed elections in Florida and Michigan, the campaign supporter said. That would enable her to say she worked successfully to give those voters a voice.

The Democratic Party nullified the outcomes in Florida and Michigan as punishment for their leapfrogging other states on the election calendar. Clinton won both elections, but neither candidate officially campaigned in the states, and Obama's name wasn't on the Michigan ballot.

On Thursday, Clinton sent Obama a letter asking him to help her ensure that Florida and Michigan voters "have a voice in selecting our party's nominee."

The dispute could be resolved as early as May 31 by the Democratic National Committee's rules panel, which has the authority to reinstate the delegations or fashion a compromise.

Given Obama's formidable lead in delegates, he could agree to seat the entire delegations from both states and still maintain his advantage over Clinton.

"If you've resolved Michigan and Florida and she wins a couple of more states — West Virginia and Kentucky — and she still can't get the nomination barring an act of God, I don't think she stays in the race," the Clinton supporter said.

Although she is campaigning, Clinton is avoiding direct attacks on Obama, choosing a more muted approach.

In South Dakota on Thursday, she didn't mention his name. Instead, she spooled out her policy positions and spoke glowingly about the achievements of her husband's White House.

The New York Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.