DENVER — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama agreed Monday to limit a divisive roll call for president, giving delegates a brief but historic choice between a black man and white woman.
The deal would allow some states to cast votes for both Obama and Clinton before ending the roll call in acclamation for the Illinois senator. Clinton herself may cut off the vote and recommend unanimous nomination of Obama, according to Democratic officials involved in the negotiations. They discussed the deal on condition of anonymity while details were being finalized.
Some Clinton delegates said they were not interested in a compromise, raising the prospect of floor demonstrations that would underscore the split between Obama and Clinton Democrats.
"I don't care what she says," said Mary Boergers, a Maryland delegate who wants to cast a vote for Clinton.
As part of the deal, Obama and Clinton activists teamed up and circulated three petitions on the convention floor Monday night _ supporting Clinton, Obama and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Each needed 300 signatures to be nominated.
The dealmaking indicates the divided nature of the party: Obama does not have full control over a convention that includes many delegates who are enthusiastic Clinton supporters. But both senators have an incentive to help make peace between their opposing sides _ Obama so he'll have their backing in November and Clinton so she'll be well positioned for a future run.
Clinton herself said she wouldn't tell her backers how to vote, but she told them she would cast her own vote for Obama. "We were not all on the same side as Democrats, but we are now," she said.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy and a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, said the animosity that some Clinton delegates feel toward Obama "is getting worse."
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