WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., should be able to claim the Democratic U.S. presidential election "within a week or two," Sen. Carl Levin said Sunday.
The Michigan Democrat said during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" that while Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will likely remain competitive in the race, Obama should be able to declare himself the winner shortly.
"Until she decides that she can't win at the convention and makes a decision, it's going to stay open," Levin said. "However, I think it's more than likely that within a week or two that Senator Obama will have enough votes to claim that he's going to be the nominee."
Clinton adviser Mandy Grunwald opposed that stance, saying Saturday's decision by the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan gave Clinton new life.
Grunwald said Clinton's newfound delegate votes from the two states should give the New York politician a chance to court the party's remaining superdelegates.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said on CBS program that only Obama and Clinton will be able to make a combined Democratic ticket in the general election a possibility.
"No politicians are going to be able to broker it," the Democratic official said.
