Sitting beneath an ornate gold chandelier in a House office building, Missouri's Representative Richard Boiling set his jaw, faced the TV lights across a highly polished table, and said: "I am withdrawing as a candidate for Democratic floor leader. I do so because developments in the last few days convince me I do not have a chance to win." Reporters waited for a loser's usual call for party harmony and the conventional congratulations for the winnerbut they did not come. Boiling was frankly bitter in conceding to Oklahoma's Carl Albert, the party whip for the last seven years, the leader's...
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