Clinton and Obama agree Florida delegates should take part in convention

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton seem to be lining up behind plans to seat Florida's delegates at the Democratic convention this summer in Denver.

National committee chairman Howard Dean announced earlier today that the party is committed to including the delegation as long as both candidates agree with whatever proposal is adopted. Specifics of the plan have not been made public.

However, Dean's plan is "very consistent with what we'd like to see happen," said Robert Gibbs, Obama's campaign spokesman, in a conference call with reporters.

Clinton's camp did not comment on a specific plan, but said seating the delegation is crucial.

"We have long maintained that pretending the voters of Florida and Michigan don't exist is not fair in principle and unwise in practice," said Phil Singer, campaign spokesman. "Chairman Dean is clearly committed to seating the Florida delegation and we urge Sen. Obama to join us in calling on the rules and bylaws committee to make this a reality."

Dean met Wednesday with party officials and Florida lawmaker to discuss options for allocating delegates between the party's two candidates.

"We are committed to making sure that we do everything in our power to seat a delegation from Florida," Dean said. "We believe we will seat a delegation from Florida."

It was critical that Obama and Clinton were "comfortable with the compromises that have to be worked out," said Dean.

Neither of the campaigns had representatives at the hourlong meeting.

Talks also continue with Michigan Democrats who have also been barred from the convention.

Florida had its 210 delegates stripped for voting in January and a proposal for a mail-in vote in the state collapsed because it lacked support from the party's congressional delegation. The fate of Michigan's 156 national convention delegates remain in limbo after a proposed do-over primary failed to generate enough support in the state legislature.

Dean said previously that Michigan and Florida have two options: Either submit a new plan for choosing their convention delegates or appeal to the Convention Credentials Committee, which resolves issues about the seating of delegates.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.



