Delegates may cast votes for Clinton

DENVER — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama agreed Monday to limit a divisive roll call for president, giving delegates a brief but historic choice between a black man and white woman.

The deal would allow some states to cast votes for both Obama and Clinton before ending the roll call in acclamation for the Illinois senator. Clinton herself may cut off the vote and recommend unanimous nomination of Obama, according to Democratic officials involved in the negotiations.

Some Clinton delegates said they were not interested in a compromise, raising the prospect of floor demonstrations that would underscore the split between Obama and Clinton Democrats.

"I don't care what she says," said Mary Boergers, a Maryland delegate who wants to cast a vote for Clinton.

Obama does not have full control over a convention that includes many delegates who are enthusiastic Clinton supporters.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy and a former lieutenant governor of Maryland who was a strong Clinton supporter but now is fully behind Obama, said the animosity that some Clinton delegates feel toward Obama "is getting worse."

"There's a moment that you want to enjoy your bitterness," she said.

Pepper spray used on protesters

DENVER — Police in riot gear have used pepper spray on protesters about a mile from the site of the Democratic National Convention.

Authorities said police were trying to disperse a crowd of about 300 that had disrupted traffic Monday night in front of the Denver City and County Building. Police led at least two people away as the crowd chanted, "Let them go!"

Earlier, a small group of protesters marched to the demonstration zone outside the convention, complaining that the city's designated protest area — a cordoned-off part of the parking lot at the Pepsi Center, far from where delegates enter — was designed to stifle dissent.

Twelve people had been arrested for demonstration-related activity as of Monday night.

McCain campaign gets endorsement

PHOENIX — Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday, seeking at least a slice of media attention amid the Democratic National Convention, visited the Phoenix high school where his wife, Cindy, graduated.

McCain, who turns 72 on Friday, got a generational boost from Daddy Yankee, a Puerto Rican star of reggaeton, a mix of reggae, rap and Latin music styles.

"I believe in his ideals and his proposals," Yankee said. "He's been a fighter for the Hispanic community. He's been a fighter for the immigration issue."

McCain later told a crowd at a Sacramento, Calif., fundraiser that his wife is on her way to the embattled nation of Georgia.

Also

Thune out: Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday that he's out of the running to be John McCain's vice-presidential nominee.

Biden and pork: Sen. Joseph Biden put in his first Denver appearance Monday at Boney's Smoke House Hickory Smoked Pit BBQ downtown barbecue stand, where he picked up five pulled-pork sandwiches to go.

Bush watching baseball: When White House spokesman Tony Fratto was asked on Monday if Bush would be watching the Democratic National Convention, Fratto suggested the president, vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, might have a higher priority: "I'm sure there's also a baseball game on tonight, too."

Nader on Idaho ballot: Supporters of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader turned in nearly 7,000 certified signatures Monday to the Idaho secretary of state, enough to put Nader on the November ballot.

Seattle Times news services