This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 27, 2008 - Switching horses during a political campaign can be a difficult decision, and it is especially trying for many women who had bet on Hillary Rodham Clinton winning the Democratic nomination for president and perhaps the presidency itself. While a few of Clinton's suporters in the Missouri delegation cast ballots for her, most backed Barack Obama.
The dilemma came to a head Tuesday night when Clinton urged her delegates to shift their support to Barack Obama, who is certain to win the nomination. Then today, at 2 p.m. (St. Louis time), Clinton met with her delegates. She told them that she was casting her vote for Obama and stressed the importance of electing him in November. But those at the meeting also said she didn't tell her supporters for whom to vote. In other words, they were free to vote their conscience -- or their hearts.
In the end, six of the delegates voted their conscience by casting ballots for Clinton, while Obama got the lion's share of 82 votes during Wednesday evening's roll call on the convention floor. Attorney General Jay Nixon announced Missouri's results. After the New York delegation cast its ballots for Obama at Clinton's urging, she then requested that the convention end the roll call allow Obama to be nominated by acclimation. At that point, Obama became the party's nominee.
Those who consider a switch from Clinton to Obama as a relatively easy choice overlook the historical significance that Clinton set into motion when she decided to run for president, won tons of important endorsements, raised millions of dollars and eventually captured 18 million votes. Her race looked like a turning point in American politics, the first time that women would finally put one of their own in the White House.
Abandoning that idea was hard for many of Clinton's supporters. Just yesterday, Jan Hoffman, a Clinton delegate from Clayton, was standing firm in insisting that she would cast a vote for Clinton to honor Clinton's historic journey. But all that changed last night when Clinton affirmed her support for Obama and urged her backers to do the same.
"She was wonderful," Hoffman said of Clinton's speech last night. "She reminded the delegates that this was not about us but about the country, and that we have to come together and unify around the election of Barack Obama. We have to put all the tears and consternation behind us. That's why many of her delegates will support Obama to show that we are a united party. I will vote for him."
This clearly was not an easy decision for Hoffman. "Let me tell you: I'm a cancer survivor celebrating my first year. My decision about choosing a doctor was difficult. I find it equally difficult to decide for whom I'd vote."
Like some other Clinton supporters, Hoffman struggles with the thought that a vote for Obama might not be well received by those who sent her to the convention as a Clinton delegate.
"I hope that I won't disappoint those in Missouri, hope that they understand that Missouri has to show that we're unified because we want to bring Missouri back as a blue state."
Peggy Cochran, another Clinton supporter, said most Missouri delegates pledged to Clinton apparently would now support Obama. At a meeting among Clinton delegates from Missouri this morning, Cochran said many people stood up and said they would support him.
Doug Brooks who initially supported Clinton said he switched his allegiance to Obama once it became clear that Obama would win the nomination.
"I think Sen. Clinton did everything she could possibly do last night (to answer the) questions in people's minds," he said. "Everybody that I talked to felt the same way. I think it's most likely that they will support Obama."
State Rep. Rachel Storch, D-University City, had said after this morning's caucus of pro-Clinton delegates from Missouri that many of those delegates would switch their support to Obama.
