Ivan Holmes Liked Obama's Speech, Still Worries

Bill Clinton spent at least part of this weekend making another round of calls to Oklahoma-based superdelegates.

"I got a call from Bill Clinton on Sunday," said Ivan Holmes, the chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. "He just said that he was trying to round up the superdelegates and the uncommitteds to give them some momentum. He said it was going to go down to the wire, and that it would sure be great if they could list some more superdelegates, that 'if we would just get two or three of you to move it would sure help, momentum-wise.'"

Holmes responded that he intended to stay uncommitted for now, though he expected he would probably not hold out until the very end.

His chief criterion in supporting a candidate would be the coattails for Democrats in local elections.

Holmes said Clinton had not mentioned Jeremiah Wright to him, and described the former President's pitch as low-key.

Holmes said that he found Barack Obama's speech on race impressive, but also that he remained convinced that Obama would nevertheless suffer from "guilt by association." Holmes' major problem with the whole Wright incident, he said, was how long it took Obama to respond.

"He should have addressed it the next day, to defuse him," Holmes said.