Obama urges calm ahead of delegate ruling

WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama called for calm ahead of a Washington meeting that could decide the course of the Democratic presidential nomination process, a memo states.

Saturday's meeting of the 30-member Rules and Bylaws Committee in Washington, D.C., is expected to draw huge media attention as well as supporters for both Obama, D-Ill., and his Democratic rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

At issue is the fate of the votes cast in Florida and Michigan. The Democratic Party punished both states for moving their primaries up in the calendar by dismissing their votes and delegates to the party's Denver convention in August.

An internal Obama e-mail memo obtained by The Hill says the campaign is asking supporters not to make any assumptions regarding the possible ruling by the committee.

"We look forward to the meeting proceeding smoothly -- and we're asking our supporters not to show up to demonstrate, passionately as they feel about this campaign," the statement read.

In a last-ditch effort to close the gap with Obama, Clinton said she should get the delegates seated in her favor.