Obama Privately Tells Donors That Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and MICHAEL D. SHEAR

In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont was nearing the point at which his campaign against Hillary Clinton would end, and that the party must soon come together to back her.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that Mrs. Clinton was perceived to have weaknesses as a candidate, and that some Democrats did not view her as authentic.

But he played down the importance of authenticity, noting that President George W. Bush — whose record he ran aggressively against in 2008 — was once praised for his authenticity.

Mr. Obama made the remarks after reporters had left a fund-raising event in Austin, Tex., for the Democratic National Committee. The comments were described by three people in the room for the event, all of whom were granted anonymity to describe a candid moment with the president. The comments were later confirmed by a White House official.

Mr. Obama chose his words carefully, and did not explicitly call on Mr. Sanders to quit the race, according to those in the room. Still, those in attendance said in interviews that they took his comments as a signal to Mr. Sanders that perpetuating his campaign, which is now an uphill climb, could only help the Republicans recapture the White House.

Mr. Obama’s message came at a critical juncture for Mr. Sanders, who had just upset Mrs. Clinton in the Michigan primary and has been trying to convince Democrats that his campaign is not over, despite Mrs. Clinton’s formidable lead in delegates.

Mr. Obama has been careful in public to avoid disparaging Mr. Sanders, given his deeper history and relationship with Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama also does not want to alienate the liberal voters who have flocked to Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Obama acknowledged what have emerged as the central complaints about Mrs. Clinton among Democratic activists: that she is not generating enough excitement in her campaign, and lacks the “authenticity” of Mr. Sanders.

Those in attendance described an urgency in Mr. Obama’s tone as he suggested that Democrats needed to come together to prevent an opening for the Republicans, whose leading candidate is Donald J. Trump, to exploit.

Mr. Obama addressed the group four nights before Tuesday’s nominating contests, in which Mrs. Clinton was heavily favored. As it happened, Mrs. Clinton won at least four of the five states that voted — Missouri has yet to be called — further padding her delegates lead.

Mr. Obama indicated that he knew some people were not “excited” by Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy, a White House official confirmed.

But, while he stressed that he was not endorsing either candidate, and that both would make good presidents, Mr. Obama went on to lavish praise on Mrs. Clinton, describing her as smart, tough and experienced, and said that she would continue the work of his administration. Mr. Sanders has publicly criticized Mr. Obama on certain policies and has called for a “political revolution.”

Mr. Obama said that he understood the appeal to voters of a candidate who is authentic, the official said. But he also reminded the Texas donors in the room that Mr. Bush was considered authentic when he was running for president, suggesting that being authentic did not necessarily translate into being a good president, in his view.

Mr. Trump’s admirers have often praised him for his authenticity and blunt style, contrasting it with Mrs. Clinton’s more cautious approach.

The Austin event was hosted by Kirk Rudy, a real estate executive, and raised money for the Democratic National Committee. Attendees paid as much as $33,400 a ticket.

Mr. Sanders is trying to reassure supporters and the public that he is still in pursuit of the presidency despite the long odds against him. Some of his supporters have complained that the Democratic National Committee has favored Mrs. Clinton in the primary battle.

Mr. Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, and his senior campaign adviser, Tad Devine, told reporters Wednesday afternoon that they believed that the senator could still make up Mrs. Clinton’s delegate lead. They added that Mr. Sanders expected to do very well in coming contests in Arizona, Wisconsin, Idaho, Utah, Washington and New York.

“We are literally about halfway through,” Mr. Weaver said.

Mr. Devine echoed those sentiments. “We agree we are behind, but we also think we are going to win this game,” he said. “We are just not intimidated by the numbers.”

Both men also said that it would be unfair to not allow voters in all states to be able to cast their ballots for Mr. Sanders and that he had the money to continue his campaign through the Democratic convention this summer.

「桑德斯接近尾聲」 歐巴馬挺希拉蕊

紐約時報報導，美國總統歐巴馬總統上周曾密會民主黨金主，稱參議員桑德斯的選舉正接近尾聲，全黨團結時刻已到，號召民主黨人士團結一致，共同支持參選人希拉蕊。這項訊息顯示，極受歡迎的歐巴馬已選邊站，即將為希拉蕊競選站台，希拉蕊做為民主黨總統提名人已幾無懸念。

報導指出，在十一日一場民主黨全國委員會的募捐活動臨近尾聲，且與會記者全部離開後，歐巴馬發表這些談話。三名與會者透露了當日的談話內容。而就在歐巴馬的言論被公開後，一位白宮官員也證實這些說法。

歐巴馬坦言，確實有人認為，希拉蕊作為總統參選人有不足之處。而一些民主黨人士更是對她的誠信提出質疑。但歐巴馬在講話中暗示，這些質疑對選舉結果也許並不是特別重要。

與會人員表示，歐巴馬在交談中用詞十分謹慎，沒有明確表示桑德斯應該退出競選。但他們聽得出來，歐巴馬的言辭語氣有些急切，而且言下之意是，桑德斯繼續競選只會幫助到共和黨。他們認為，歐巴馬是在呼籲民主黨人能夠團結起來，支持希拉蕊，不能讓以川普為首的共和黨參選人有任何可乘之機。

歐巴馬先前一直沒有表態，一方面是與希拉蕊關係深厚，另方面，提早表態，會得罪支持桑德斯的自由派選民，而這些選民對大選時非常重要。但目前時機已到，必須要面對共和黨川普可能的重大威脅。

桑德斯仍然對支持者和公眾表示，自己雖然在和希拉蕊的競賽中暫時失利，仍會繼續參加競選。桑德斯競選總幹事魏佛和高級競選顧問戴文都告訴記者，他們認為桑德斯最終會超越希拉蕊。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/us/politics/obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders.html

2016-03-19．聯合報．A17．國際．國際中心