NBC "Today" - Transcript
Interview
MR. LAUER: South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn is a Democratic Party leader on Capitol Hill and a super-delegate.
Congressman, good morning to you.
REP. CLYBURN: Good morning, Matt.
MR. LAUER: So all eyes on South Dakota and Montana, what the voters will do there today; but to be honest, probably more eyes on what the super-delegates are going to do over these next 24 hours. You are one, and you have something to say this morning. What is it?
REP. CLYBURN: Well, I've decided to cast my delegate ballot for Senator Barack Obama. I think that as I watch this campaign unfold, he is elevating the political rhetoric. He's elevating our party. He's energizing our country. He is bringing to the process new voters, young voters, older voters, people who are in thirst of a new vision for our country.
MR. LAUER: Well, let me ask you, though, Congressman Clyburn, by waiting until this is pretty much a foregone conclusion, I think it begs the question -- I think it's a fair question -- is this about a heartfelt feeling that he's the right man for the job, or is this about being a realist and doing the math?
REP. CLYBURN: It's about doing what's best for our party. I stayed out of this process because I did not want to inject myself, as other super-delegates did not want to inject themselves into the process. Today the process ends. And I hope that enough of us will announce our intentions today so that this evening our candidate, our nominee, presumptive nominee, will be able to credit the voters of this country with having achieved a threshold of 2,118 rather than give that credit to inside-the-Beltway folks like myself.
MR. LAUER: I'm curious. Did you speak to Senator Clinton in the last 24, 48 hours and talk to her about your intentions?
REP. CLYBURN: No, but I talked to a lot of her people up until midnight last night. I have some very good friends who are involved in that campaign, and I talked with them, I guess, a dozen times yesterday.
MR. LAUER: Your office sent us a statement overnight discussing your intentions. Let me read you a portion. It says, "Our party's success going forward will depend, in large measure, about how we treat each other between now and our national convention, how we appear to the nation during our national convention, and how we conduct the campaign after our national convention."
That portion how it's going to be important "how we treat each other" between now and the convention seems to be a clear signal to Senator Clinton and her supporters. So what do you want to hear from her -- what specific words, what tone -- if and when she bows out?
REP. CLYBURN: I want to hear expressions of unity. I want to see talk about our shared vision for this country going forward. And, you know, during our national convention, the stars are so lined up that we're going to be holding our convention during the 45th anniversary of that great march on Washington back in 1963. Our nominee will be giving his acceptance speech -- and I hope it will be Senator Obama -- on the day, the 45th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. King.
MR. LAUER: Right.
REP. CLYBURN: And so, just as this country rallied behind that dream, I believe that we are going to rally behind the vision that our nominee will enunciate that evening.
MR. LAUER: And real quickly, if you will, Congressman Clyburn, what does Hillary Clinton get for her 17 million-plus votes?
REP. CLYBURN: Well, she gets a party that is very grateful to her, a country that idolizes her. And she will --
MR. LAUER: What does she get in real terms, though?
REP. CLYBURN: Well, whatever she wants, I suspect. She and Senator Obama will sit down and will discuss that. And I think the two of them will come together on behalf of our party and our nation.
MR. LAUER: Congressman James Clyburn. Congressman, it's nice to talk to you this morning. Thanks for your time.
REP. CLYBURN: Thank you so much for having me.
MR. LAUER: All right.
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