42 percent pledged Clinton delegates to vote for her at Democrat convention
25 Aug 2008, 1302 Hrs

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Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): Forty two percent of delegates pledged to Senator Hillary Clinton have said that they will for her at convention despite calls from Democratic leaders for party unit.

A CBS News/New York Times survey shows some continuing dissatisfaction among delegates pledged to Hillary Clinton. The dissatisfaction among Clinton delegates relates to both the nominee and the process by which he was elected.

Many of those who say they will still vote for Clinton on the floor of the convention are doubtful about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's electability and concerned about his lack of experience.

Forty-two percent of delegates originally pledged to Hillary Clinton (20 percent of all pledged delegates) and 8 percent of superdelegates say they will vote for Clinton on the convention's presidential roll call.

Delegates who say they will vote for Clinton on the floor of the convention overwhelmingly worry about Obama's lack of experience. Sixty-two percent say that is his biggest weakness.

Delegates agree that Obama's greatest weakness as a candidate is inexperience, although Clinton delegates are much more likely to say so. Nearly six in 10 Clinton delegates say Obama's lack of experience is his greatest weakness, compared with only 29 percent of delegates pledged to Obama. Nearly as many Obama delegates (24 percent) say he doesn't have any weaknesses as a candidate.

Delegates who will vote for Clinton on the floor are less confident than delegates voting for Obama that he can win in November. Sixty percent are confident, compared to 86 percent of those who will vote for Obama.

During the convention, the Obama campaign is expected to call for the formation of a commission that would address the rules for selecting a presidential nominee in 2012.

Currently, two-thirds of Democratic delegates are satisfied with the system the Democratic party uses to pick its nominees, but just 21 percent are "very satisfied" with it.

Much of the dissatisfaction among Clintons' delegates may stem from what happened in Florida and Michigan. Those two states violated Democratic National Committee rules by holding their primaries too early. Both states were ultimately penalized, first by being awarded no delegates, and then being granted half the original allocation.

Sixty-one percent of delegates pledged to Clinton say Florida and Michigan's delegates should have been granted full votes. Seventy-six percent of Obama's pledged delegates are satisfied with the outcome.

Most of the interviews for this CBS News/New York Times Poll of delegates to the Democratic convention were conducted before the announcement of an agreement between the two campaigns that Hillary's name would be entered into nomination at the Democratic convention. (ANI)