Sen. Bill Nelson Supported Hillary Clinton Publicly, Backed Obama Behind Closed Doors | Riptide 2.0 | Miami | Miami New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Miami, Florida
Navigation

Sen. Bill Nelson Supported Hillary Clinton Publicly, Backed Obama Behind Closed Doors

Has anyone thought Florida's cold snap is the physical manifestation of the cold glare Hillary Clinton is sure to have shot Sen. Bill Nelson when she learned that while publicly supporting her in the Democratic primary, he was privately urging Barack Obama to run? The revelations in Mark Halperin and John...
Share this:

Has anyone thought Florida's cold snap is the physical manifestation of the cold glare Hillary Clinton is sure to have shot Sen. Bill Nelson when she learned that while publicly supporting her in the Democratic primary, he was privately urging Barack Obama to run? 


The revelations in Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's new book about the 2008 election, Game Change, are stirring lots of controversy, and the authors night told 60 Minutes that many Democratic senators were secretly urging Obama to run against Clinton.

Senator "SpaceSnakes" Nelson, who publicly endorsed Clinton, confirmed this to Anderson Cooper, according to Naked Politics, saying he thought she might be too divisive.

"I had no doubt that this was somebody that was going to be like a magnet wherever he went," Nelson told 60 Minutes' Anderson Cooper.

"Were there a number of Democratic senators who were privately urging Barack Obama to run?" Cooper asked.



"It is my understanding that they were," Nelson said. "And you would often see these clumps of senators talking or maybe it was one-on-one talking with Barack on the floor of the Senate. Ah, yes."



Despite some people suggesting Clinton might have been a better choice after all, Nelson has little risk in coming forward now. But it makes us wonder how earnest some of Nelson's endorsements might be in the future.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.