make that 40...5 more first timers....what is going on!?!?!?
--Desperation?

Man, there is a lot of foot-stomping going on here.

A lot of Obama supporters are attracted to him because he has framed himself as THE candidate who stands for a transformative, participatory new politics.

And this article is pointing out words and deeds by Obama and his campaign that contradict this framing.

Now all of your heads are spinning. Please add oil...you're squeaking too much. Just suck it up and let's allow two politicians (that's right, politicians, er imperfect people), duke it out. Come on, I think this is FASCINATING. You're all taking yourselves too seriously.

Eric how much did you get from the Clinton Camp to write this trash. RULES MATTER.

You can write all you want about hypothetical senarios but the RULES are the RULES and by the RULES Obama is winning big. Quit crying about it and suggesting bullshit senarios the Clinton Camp is selling.

All the canidates agreed going in that they would follow the RULES as set forth before the begining of this election. Wining about it now that your horse is being whacked is so pathetic. Get a life and give back the $$$ the Clinton Camp paid you to write this screed.

the ONLY way Hillary would be blamed - IF obama loses (he won't) is if exit polls show that the election would have shifted if disgruntled old bags voted for the war to continue. and if that were the case, why shouldn't they?

There once was a Clinton, Mrs. Hillary

Whose foes, she had locked in a pillory

And, if by chance we don't count them, Wilentz

Iraq shall get more artillery.

Like many here, I found the article one-sided and misleading in the assumptions it brought to the table. But I've also read that Republican-controlled legislatures in Michigan and Florida were behind moving up the primaries in the first place. The outgunned Dems in Florida voted "aye" in return for legislation mandating a paper trail in future elections, something they never could get under Jeb.

In that light, I'm curious why the national DNC came down so hard and punished the state parties for a decision they did not support in the first place.

Nice to see Clinton/DNC spin being shined up and called journalism.

Mr. Wilentz's argument that Florida and Michigan should be counted, after the bulls**t party move to strip them in the first place is completely without merit -- and I say this as a Floridian who is furious that it happened in the first place.

As they say: the rules are the rules. Spouting this "what-if" crap doesn't change the game. If the shoe was on the other foot - Clinton and her shill Wilentz would be singing the opposite tune.

I love it when Clinton operatives use the 'would have' plays. If they would have known Obama was going to drub them, they would have played harder. Puleeze! In a sick way I have to admit that it is fun to see what the day's new Hail Mary play will be. It's getting to be like a McGyver episode, but really there will be no miraculous escape. It is sad and pathetic. Obama and Clinton read the rules and planned their campaigns. Now that Clinton has gotten herself hopelessly behind, she's trying to renegotiate the rules in the court of public opinion. Good luck. If there had been a winner take all system in place, it would have been different for all the candidates, not just poor/rich Hillary. Why doesn't Clinton just focus on winning the remaining primaries and stop the shenanigans that have given her sky high negatives. Oh yeah, because that's hopeless. I hope Bill told his clients that past performance was no guarantee of future results.

Mr Wilentz, your claim that the Obama campaign only adheres to or favors following the rules when it favors the campaign, as evidenced by their reluctance to hold a re-vote or seating of the Michigan and Florida delegations is inaccurate. The campaign is on the side of the rules established by the DNC. It is not the fault of the Obama campaign that the governments of those two states decided to move their primaries forward on the calendar to increase their prominence in deciding the nominees. Every other state abode by the rules so why should Michigan and Florida be granted a re-do. Hillary's attempt to have the votes count now that she needs the delegates when she dismissed the importance of the two "beauty contests" beforehand flies right in the face of the rules. And it can not be said that it would punish Florida democrats who do not control the state legislature. The primary move passed with complete bipartisan support.

Even though Obama supporters think Hillary wants to change Rules it is Obama and his campagn breaking all the Rules in this election. This is my first time voting and participating in the elections and what I have seen from party leaders at local levels is just plain fraud to get him the delegates. I am from Texas and yes we had the famous two step process which has been a nightmare to say the least and complete murder of democracy to say the truth. How I know, I have been a member of Rules comittee prior to the county convention and also the tabulation comittee at the convention. Was the Precinct Secretary for the precinct convention. There has been breaking of Rules left and right through out the process in 95% of the precincts. There are major cases of voter intimidation, disenfranchisement and breaking of convention Rules. As part of the tabulation comittee, we were asked to tabulate the result from precinct convention instead of county convention where hillary supporters were disenfranchised, initmidated and so Obama was in Lead. The challenges by Clinton supporters were thrown out on trivial bases but major precinct convention rules were broken to seat Obama delegates. This is a major fraud where the wrong result is declared knowlingly by a Precinct secretary. It is so undemocratic that I am disgusted with democratic party and feel like throwing up to see so much corruption upclose. I know most Obama supporters will just ignore this or find some excuse but I just want to say that nothing what I have written is a lie. I was very excited to vote in this election when I got my citizenship and would have had not problems if Obama was winning fairly but the truth is that this is not true at all. If there is any justice in the God's book then he will not win the nomination and that is all I can say. I am sad to say that lot of democrats are going to be very upset here in Texas after the elections because what Obama camp and the democratic party has done here in precinct and county conventions is not fair at all and by no means played by the Rule. Obama campaign has broken too many Rules and Hillary Campaing has not. I have seen it first hand so I know Obama is really a two faced, double talking politician of the worst kind.