Schumer: Clinton decision is her own

By DEVLIN BARRETT | Associated Press Writer

May 7, 2008

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WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday that Hillary Rodham Clinton must decide for herself whether to keep running for president _ a subdued response to Clinton's disappointing showing in primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.

Another New York lawmaker insisted that despite Tuesday night's results, Clinton could still win and therefore should keep running.

"It's her decision to make and I'll accept what decision she makes," said Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been an early and enthusiastic supporter of Clinton's bid for the White House.

Schumer was asked about Clinton's future during a conference call with reporters on upstate New York's need for more dentists _ but getting him to talk about Clinton was like pulling teeth.

Asked specifically what her chances are of still capturing the Democratic nomination and how she might accomplish that, Schumer was uncharacteristically quiet.

"I'm not going to get into the details here, but this is still a close race, and you know, the decisions that Hillary Clinton makes are the decisions that, as a supporter of hers, I will abide by ... I can't tell you what she's thinking," Schumer said.

New York's senior senator said he had not spoken to Clinton since Tuesday night's primary results, in which she lost North Carolina by a large margin and narrowly won Indiana. The results mean Clinton saw the gap between her and Obama widen in both the popular vote and party delegates.

Campaign aides said Wednesday that Clinton has loaned her campaign $6.4 million in recent weeks, on top of a $5 million loan she made earlier this year. Running out of money is often the kiss of death for politicians, but the Clintons can draw on the personal fortune they have amassed since leaving the White House, much of that money from book sales and Bill Clinton's speaking fees.

Schumer, asked whether he would encourage her to stay in the race, said: "I'm not going to get into it."

Later in the day, Schumer said in a statement that he had seen Clinton's recent comments in West Virginia about her plans to keep running "and I fully support her and her candidacy."

New York's congressional Democrats have unanimously supported Clinton, and there is little reason to expect them to abandon her, given that even if she loses she will still be the state's junior senator.

Rep. Michael McNulty, a Democrat who represents the Albany area, said he still believes she can win if she performs well in the remaining primaries this month.

"I think we ought to go through the entire nominating process and then see where we are," said McNulty, who is retiring from Congress at the end of this year.

"She has to do well in the remaining states and then when the primary process is over with on June 3 neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama is going to have 2,025 delegates" _ the amount needed to claim the nomination.

In that scenario, the so-called superdelegates _ hundreds of elected Democrats and party officials _ will ultimately give one candidate the support needed to reach that 2,025 target.