The latest on DNC chairman. Not looking good for Roemer. Labor down on Dean. Labor to endorse: Undetermined. We're down to Frost & Rosenberg.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has summoned four of the seven candidates to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, dangling the prospect of an important endorsement and discussing their visions for how to rebuild the party.

The private, often lengthy meetings occurred independently of Tuesday’s cattle call of all seven DNC candidates before some 50 AFL-CIO political directors, providing a clearer indication of which candidates labor sees as viable.

The four -- Dean, Fowler, Frost and Rosenberg. This action signaled the likely endorsement of one of them by big labor, which claims to have roughly 100 members sprinkled among the 447 delegates who will decide the race Feb. 12.

But it was still unclear if the AFL-CIO would be able to reach the necessary consensus to make a unified endorsement.

Sweeney’s meetings with those four candidates do not bode well for the other three DNC aspirants.

Several campaigns said that a potential endorsement from the unions would be the most crucial in the race, especially after the Democratic Governors’ Association (DGA) decided late Thursday night not to endorse.

In addition, early support for Dean from some members of the Association of State Democratic Chairs has sapped that group’s ability to leverage its endorsement in the middle days of February.

Some of the campaigns said their reluctance to believe that an endorsement was forthcoming sprung from the widespread shock that the DGA declined to endorse a candidate after it conducted its own interviews last week.

Before Thursday’s DGA announcement, several prominent red-state governors had spent the past six weeks insisting that the DGA play a greater role in the process.

The prospects of an endorsement may hinge on the AFL-CIO’s ability to reach a consensus position on a single candidate, said two political directors who wanted to remain anonymous. Absent a clear choice, the individual unions are likely to announce their own favorites, which would carry much less impact and be diluted by competing endorsements.

Union sources said that Frost appeared to have the upper hand on Dean but that if Dean appears too strong to stop, the labor movement would be unlikely to expend capital to defeat him and would not want to back a candidate, such as Frost, in the process.

(The Hill, 01-26-05).
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If Roemer is gradually slipping into not being perceived as a viable candidate, then I believe the race is down to Frost and Rosenberg.

I think for now Roemer is out as a serious contender, but not eliminated completely. Why? If the powers that be can't decide between Frost and Rosenberg, they may take a second look at Roemer. (This is purely Sid's thinking. Roemer may be dead as a doorknob, but I don't think he can be ruled out until a clear frontrunner emerges.)

It does seem apparent that the Dean endorsement by the Florida delegation has not gained any traction or much effect other than to rally the anti-Dean forces into action. Despite such rallying, the dearth of home run candidates holds back the emergence of a front-runner.

But what is most interesting is that that despite both Big Labor and the Democratic Governors' Association wanting to have an impact and be perceived as having an important voice in party affairs, neither can reach a consensus on a clear choice.