Cokie Roberts: 'Hillary Is Negotiating Her Withdrawal'

A Q&A with ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts.

LESLEY: Let’s talk about Hillary. I’m wondering, how do you explain her unwillingness, at this point, to throw in the towel? Does she really think she has a shot at winning this? Is she addicted to campaigning, which is my favorite possibility here. She’s kind of unable to give it up. Does she think there’s another shoe to drop with Obama? What do you think?

COKIE: I think that she is taking a somewhat graceful and prolonged exit. You know, when you’ve been running this hard and have won this much, you don’t just go. And the truth is, when you’re this significant a candidate you negotiate a withdrawal. It’s almost like a plea bargain. You start talking about paying off debt and about convention roles. There are all kinds of things that have to be negotiated. But I also do think that she feels strongly that she is the better candidate — and you can make a good case of that given the way the votes played out in these primaries and caucuses — and that by staying in until it’s over, perhaps something will happen.

LESLEY: Assuming, though, that he does win this nomination, do you think she will be anything less than enthusiastically behind him and corralling her supporters into his camp? Or, is there any chance there’ll be a moment like the one at the ‘80 convention.

COKIE: No, I don’t think there’s going to be that kind of moment. I think that Hillary Clinton is too interested in her own political future to be seen as someone who is tearing the party apart at that moment.

LESLEY: Will she go all out, do you think?

COKIE: I think she’d campaign for him. But, you can’t move your supporters. You know that, Lesley. The endorsements hardly matter at all, particularly at the presidential level. Or she can say, "I want everybody to vote for him. I think he’s terrific. I think he should be president." And those working-class Democrats who voted for her can say, "Have yourself a ball, Hillary. I’m voting for John McCain."

LESLEY: And do you think that’s going to happen?

COKIE: I do think that’s going to happen in a lot of cases.

LESLEY: Really?

COKIE: The fact that John McCain is doing as well as he is in a year that should by all odds be an overwhelmingly Democratic year tells you that there’s a lot of unhappiness with these Democratic candidates. You know, many people say this was the year when the Democrats needed to nominate a boring white guy, somebody who you didn’t even hear talk because all he needed to have was "D" after his name.

LESLEY: Show up, right?

COKIE: Show up. Exactly. And instead they’ve had this very exciting, historic nomination process. But it might not work so well for them in the end.