"The chairman of the Democratic National Committee today tried to impose a deadline on the divisive nomination contest, urging the party's superdelegates to make their choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama by July 1.
In a series of interviews today, Howard Dean urged the 800 Democratic elected and party officials who will ultimately decide between Clinton and Obama to avoid a knockdown fight at the party convention and make their decision within weeks of the last primary.
"There is no point in waiting," Dean told the Associated Press.
The proposal, which appears to have support from Democratic party elders, comes amid fears that the negative tone of the campaign - as well as the prospect of an ugly battle at the party's convention in August - could be ruinous for the Democrats' chances against John McCain in next November's presidential elections.
While Democrats have been focused on the epic struggle between Clinton and Obama, McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has been getting ready for the presidential campaign.
He launched his first television ad in New Mexico yesterday, and has been touring the country giving policy addresses.
That has the Democratic leadership worried about allowing McCain to build an early advantage.
"I think it would be nice to have this all done by July 1. If we can do it sooner than that, that's all the better," Dean told ABC television. "We don't want this to degenerate into a big fight at the convention."
Dean said he was floating the proposal after consulting with senior Democratic leaders including Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson and John Edwards, the one-time rival to Clinton and Obama.
Dean has also held discussions with Clinton and Obama.
About 450 of the 800 super delegates have already supported a candidate, leaving about 350 still undecided. With the primary season set to end on June 3 when Puerto Rico holds its primary, Dean argued there was no compelling reason to leave the Democratic nominee undecided throughout the summer.
Although Clinton initially led among superdelegates, Obama has been quickly catching up as the contest wears on. Obama picked up yet an important superdelegate today with an endorsement from senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
He got an additional psychological boost with a call from Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, for Clinton to get out of the race. "There is no way that Senator Clinton is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination. She ought to withdraw and she ought to be backing Senator Obama," Leahy told Vermont public radio.
The support from Casey, an anti-abortion and anti-gun control Democrat popular among working-class male voters, could help Obama narrow Clinton's double-digit lead in the state.
"I believe in my heart that there is one person who's uniquely qualified to lead us in that new direction and that is Barack Obama," Casey told a rally in Pittsburgh yesterday. "