Obama-Clinton race echoes past bouts

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008

Out of money and facing a decisive loss in the North Carolina primary, the long-shot presidential contender rejected the idea of getting out of the race. Another candidate had the party nomination in hand, but the refusal of his rival to concede reality divided the party in November.

Is it 2008? No. The never-say-die challenger was Ronald Reagan in 1976. The embattled nominee was Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Oral histories at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs illustrate how familiar the debate between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton is. Interviews with the candidates' top aides show "the difficulty of re-establishing party unity historically after you've had a real serious in-party challenge," says Russell Riley of the Miller...