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An ebullient Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) made a surprise appearance on the Senate floor Tuesday and spent two hours schmoozing with colleagues whose support he dearly wants in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
With his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), away campaigning for votes in Tuesday’s so-called Potomac Primaries — Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia — Obama moved purposefully among senators during an unusually long series of votes.
The Democratic front-runner was able to take advantage of seven straight votes in the Senate to huddle with his supporters and to speak with undecided Democratic colleagues still torn about whether to support him or Clinton.
As the two senators run neck-and-neck in the race for state delegates, they are engaged in an equally intense campaign to win backing from hundreds of undecided superdelegates – party officials, members of Congress and local politicians – whose support could be critical in deciding the nomination.
Obama backers said personal interactions with wayward senators go much further than cajoling by campaign surrogates.
“There is no replacement for either of our presidential aspirants to be on the floor talking directly to members, and Sen. Obama between votes today had a chance to talk to quite a few,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a high-level Obama campaign official.
While some Clinton supporters dismissed the significance of Obama’s appearance, others conceded that personal attention is important in attracting backing from members of Congress.
“Direct contact has an impact, no question,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a Clinton supporter.
Having the stacked votes during debate to overhaul the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, coupled with Tuesday’s primaries, brought the presumptive GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), back to the Capitol as well.
White House candidates are an increasingly rare sight on Capitol Hill, even though, for the first time in history, both parties are poised to nominate a sitting senator.
On Tuesday, McCain spent most of his time on the Republican side of the chamber, speaking with supporters and those who have been wary of his presidential bid. He later addressed the Senate Republican Conference in a closed-door luncheon, thanking his colleagues for supporting his bid and calling on Republicans to unite if he wins the nomination.
The senator plans to address the House Republican Conference in a meeting Wednesday.
The presidential candidates’ appearance offered light-hearted moments as well. McCain was talking to two of his supporters – Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) – when Obama supporter Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) approached the senators from behind and slipped McCain a news article about the senator deferring to Kennedy on judicial nominations.
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