Democrats Observe A Fragile Cease-Fire

Gallery

Candidates Campaign in Oregon and Kentucky

The battle for the Democratic party's presidential nomination continued Tuesday as Oregon and Kentucky primary results flowed in.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Those contests dramatically changed perceptions of the Democratic race, even though Clinton won, narrowly, in Indiana. Since then, Clinton has made significant adjustments in her campaign, all designed to signal to Obama that she recognizes the reality of where the Democratic race is heading.

She has stopped running negative ads and, on the stump, has dramatically reduced her criticism of Obama. Last week, when President Bush made comments about appeasement that were seen as critical of Obama, she might have chimed in to say that she, too, disagreed with statements by the senator from Illinois that he was prepared to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without conditions. Instead she, attacked the president and McCain.

A day after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, she was quoted as saying that Obama was having trouble winning the votes of "hardworking Americans, white Americans." The comment was seen as an effort to inject race into the Democratic campaign, but she quickly backed away from it, and that was the last time she said something critical of her rival that captured much in the way of headlines.

Obama advisers were highly irritated by her original comment, fearing that it was a sign that she would continue to hammer him all the way to the end of the race. Since then, they, too, have seen a change in the rhetoric. One Obama adviser noted yesterday that she has stopped attacking Obama for opposing a suspension of the gasoline tax during the summer and that former president Bill Clinton, campaigning over the weekend, had talked more of party unity than the differences between his wife and Obama.

But from Hillary Clinton's perspective, the Obama campaign should return the favor by being as generous to her, and to her desire to keep going until someone has clearly gained the delegates needed to win the nomination.

She suffered a major blow yesterday when Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) announced that he will support Obama, even though Clinton won his home state by 41 percentage points last Tuesday, has worked with him on a measure to de-authorize the Iraq war and has courted him repeatedly.

Clinton's desire to finish the campaign in a way she is comfortable with may explain the pique with which her aides responded to reports -- overblown, according to Obama advisers -- that tonight's rally will become a victory party for the Illinois senator. Although the Democratic race appears headed for a predictable outcome, the next few weeks could determine how rapidly and fully the party comes back together. Clinton and Obama both have to play their parts carefully.