WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON - It has been hard for Hillary Clinton to step down, and even tougher for Lanny J. Davis, the longtime Clinton defender from Maryland who is the force behind an online petition to persuade Barack Obama to make her his running mate.
The nascent effort has been widely criticized, and Obama said that "everybody just needs to settle down" about his selection. The Clinton campaign tried to tamp down the movement yesterday, declaring that she is not seeking the vice presidency.
But Davis remains unapologetic about pushing the discussion and said critics who accuse him of pressuring Obama misrepresent what he is trying to accomplish. He said he wants to provide an outlet to Clinton supporters, but only those who are willing to back Obama and "whoever he chooses" as a running mate.
"I've been lumped together with people who have said to Senator Obama, 'You have to put her on the ticket,'" Davis said in an interview. "My position is he makes the final decision."
The Davis venture is characteristically bold, attention-grabbing and polarizing, the latest move on Hillary Clinton's behalf by a lawyer and lobbyist who rose to prominence as special counsel defending President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky inquiries.
His lengthy e-mails extolling Hillary Clinton's strengths have filled reporters' in-boxes for months. His face pops on cable news shows regularly, and his blog postings are widely read.
All of the work comes on his own dime. He's not an employee of the campaign or an official adviser. "So if I say something stupid, they can't fire me," said Davis, a partner at a Washington law firm.
Davis started the petition and turned it over to a Web site called VoteBoth.com, which he said was launched some time ago by other Democrats - not him - before knowing which candidate would secure the nomination. Davis joined VoteBoth as a senior adviser yesterday.
The petition's preamble says that "more than 17 million Democrats who supported [Clinton] at the polls and who, in combination with your more than 17 million supporters, would form the base of a successful presidential campaign in the November election."
Davis said he discussed the effort with Clinton, who neither encouraged nor discouraged it.
He sought no permission or advice, he said, from anyone in the campaign.
