N.C. Dems clear: It's Obama

Hillary and Bill Clinton left no doubt this week that they are throwing their support behind Barack Obama, who accepted the Democratic nomination for president last night in Denver.

In North Carolina, some of Hillary Clinton's strongest supporters are taking the Clintons' cue.

Some have been happy to embrace Obama. Others are less enthusiastic, still stinging from Hillary Clinton's loss to Obama during the primaries, when his 15-point victory in North Carolina was decisive.

But Clinton supporters who were interviewed this week said that there was no chance that they would defect to the Republican candidate, John McCain.

"I've got my Obama lapel pin on," said Bruce Thompson, a Raleigh lawyer who attended the Democratic National Convention this week as a Clinton delegate. "I'm going to follow her lead. I'm excited about it."

On Wednesday morning, Thompson cast his initial delegate's vote for Clinton. That night, when Obama was nominated by acclamation, Thompson and the rest of the convention voted for Obama.

That 12-hour evolution is emblematic of the position that many Clinton supporters found themselves in this week -- wanting to remain loyal to Clinton yet firmly believing that Obama is a better candidate than McCain.

Several supporters said that Clinton's speech Tuesday night helped their transition to Obama.

Gov. Mike Easley was among those who praised her speech. Easley campaigned for Clinton before the North Carolina primary, and he switched to Obama after Obama wrapped up the nomination.

"She couldn't have said it more often or any stronger that we have to elect Barack Obama," Easley said.

"The telling line was when she said, ‘Did you 18 million people vote for me, or did you vote for the little guy with no political power?'" he said.

For Ashley Thrift, a Winston-Salem lawyer who said he was "heartbroken" when Clinton lost in the primaries, Clinton's speech was a reminder of everything he admired about her.

"I thought right away, ‘We really have nominated the wrong person,'" Thrift said, but the fact of the matter is that the nomination has been made.

Thrift -- who is married to Julianne Still Thrift, a former president of Salem College and another prominent Clinton supporter -- said he began to feel more comfortable about Obama when Obama selected Joe Biden as his running mate.

"I was for (Clinton) -- well, I am for her -- because of her experience. I think it's unique," Thrift said.

He added that Biden, a six-term U.S. senator with extensive involvement in foreign affairs, helps close Obama's experience gap.

A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last week showed that only 47 percent of voters who supported Clinton in the primaries now support Obama. Twenty-three percent said they may support him but could change their mind, and 30 percent said they support McCain or some other candidate, or will not vote at all.

McCain has tried to take advantage of any disunity among Democrats. His campaign recently introduced two ads directly focusing on Clinton supporters.

If Obama hopes to make North Carolina competitive in the general election, he will have to solidify Clinton supporters on his side. Despite beating Clinton resoundingly in the primary, Obama struggled to gain support in rural areas and among blue-collar voters -- the kinds of conservative North Carolina Democrats who have historically voted Republican in national races.

But in interviews, Clinton supporters repeatedly emphasized that on just about every key issue, Obama is much more in line with Clinton than McCain is.

And several haven't given up hope that Clinton will still be president someday.

"Absolutely I do" want to see her run again, said Tom Hendrickson, a former state Democratic chairman who advised Clinton's campaign during the North Carolina primary.

"Clearly, when you can see John McCain out there as a credible nominee at his age, Hillary Clinton has a good amount of time out in the future to have options available to her," Hendrickson said.

For now, Hendrickson sounded nostalgic about Clinton's historic 2008 run, but he said he is firmly behind Obama because he believes that Obama is superior to McCain.

"You fight as hard as you can, and we had a hard-fought fight within the family," he said. "That's over. Now we look to move ahead. Hillary Clinton is not going to be on the ballot in November.

"The issue in November isn't what might have been. The issue is to make a choice between what will be. History is full of what might have been. When the things that might have been can't happen, people have to make choices."

■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.