Carter and Gore to Ask Clinton to Step Down?

Advertising

According to sources close to news.scotsman.com, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter are about to give Hillary Clinton a very public political death blow by endorsing Obama if she doesn't get out of the running.

As the report indicates:

Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats.

"They're in discussions," a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. "Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence."

An appeal by both men for Democrats to unite behind Clinton's rival, Barack Obama, would have a powerful effect, and insiders say it is a question of when, rather than if, they act.

The "elders" on the Democratic side are apparently ready to endorse Obama after Clinton's campaign has endured a number of "high-profile blunders," convincing them she should not lead the Dems.

Clinton has said she will not step down until the Democratic Primaries in August.

But the party's top brass have concluded her further participation in the race can only harm the party as Republican nominee John McCain strives to take advantage of her increasingly bitter battle with Obama.

Both Carter and Gore occupy the rarefied position of elder statesmen – in addition to their White House past, both are winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, giving them additional gravitas to carry the party with them.

Neither of them is likely to object to the role of bringing down the curtain on Clinton. While neither man has formally endorsed either her or Obama, both have clashed in the past with the Clintons.