Letters to the Editor
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Why does anyone count the Superdelegates at this point?
With the media attention on the Superdelegates this year (a function of the 'political machine' present in both parties that so many Americans find repulsive), why are news organizations continuing to lump them together with the pledged delegates? Clearly the superdelegates may change their mind, so no matter which 'methodology' anyone uses, the count of the 'supers' is subject to change. However, the tally of pledged delegates assigned by state primaries and caucuses is fairly stable and not subject to interpretation. And by that measure, Obama has taken a strong lead of nearly 100 pledged delegates.
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Sizable
That is not 'sizable'... at any rate, as I have been panting for months, this was pretty expected. It was good job on my candidates part to paint himself as the underdog, when in fact he never was even close to being such.
Amazingly my fellow Obama supporters have actually convinced themselves that we WERE underdogs, and that we are watching some sort of miracle comeback. How silly. Hillary will lose either Ohio or Texas, probably the formaer and will need to take all the delagates in PA, which won't happen, so I'd say she is dead in the water. Of course, plenty of time left, but little doubt in this mond of mine that B.O. will be making the convention smell like roses.
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who will be the first?
Which big name super delegate will be the first to jump ship from Clinton to Obama? If Obama wins big in Wisconsin I can see it happening before the Texas/Ohio primaries.
Last night McCain took aim at Obama. It was kind of a sad and pathetic attempt, but it was clear the Republicans see Obama as the candidate they will be up against. Obama also directed his attention towards McCain. My guess is the Democratic Party won't want him fighting a war on two fronts: McCain and a Hillary Clinton who won't give up. If some high profile super delegates switch to Obama sooner rather than later the Clintons would really have no options left. If that happens and the clintons persist it would be a suicide mission for them.
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Delegates
Thanks for posting those numbers, Mr. Koppelman, and comparing them across the board. Definitely been needed, with the number gumbo that's been served up to date.
he has now jumped out to a larger lead than the Clinton campaign had predicted in major media organization delegate counts.
Wait, the major media organizations are wrong? No way!
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You Need 2,025
At the convention or it's up for grabs.
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I wish I could feel it......
I am a Hillary supporter who is trying to open my mind to Obama. I sure hope all of the young people and their wealthy parents with little to lose if things don't work out are right.I sure hope the press adulation has served the public well. I sure hope he is up to the the general.He should be, the wind is at his back. I sure hope all the independents and so called ex republicans stick. McCain looks old, sounds stale , can't shake off Bush, that is all in his favor.I sure hope America's need to feel good about itself works out this time in favor of the people. Like all Democrats the image of this fabulous, brillant African American couple and their darling children going out to the rest of the world can bring tears to my eyes. But I am realist and I can't forget all of the problems the next president is going to confront and I really worry.
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Integrity: Mrs. Clinton and the super-delegates
As a Democrat, I am extremely concerned about two issues: the first concerns the lengths that Mrs. Clinton will be tempted to go to to ensure her nomination and the second relates to the personal integrity of Democratic 'super-delegates.'
If the popular vote continues to overwhelmingly favor Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton should step down and allow him to move up - with grace. She has the opportunity to prove to voters of all ages and backgrounds that their vote and participation in the political process is more important than one individual's desire to become president. It would be catastrophic for our nation if she purposefully ignored the will of the American people in favor of prioritizing herself. Her ability to put country - and American citizens first - is what will be tested. I hope she realizes that her actions in this regard will reverberate for a long time to come and will serve to write both her and her husband's - legacies to date.
A similar dilemma exists for the super-delegates. Will they honor love of the good 'ol boy/gal network in DC - or will they honor the will of the American people? Personal integrity, love of country, and most importantly - respect for the American people - are all on the line in this situation, just as they are for Mrs. Clinton.
Everyone is talking about the power to change - about the possibility of citizens developing a new attitude toward government, about the possibility of respecting one another regardless of race and gender, and about telling the truth - even if the truth - hurts. Both Mrs. Clinton and the super-delegates may need to tell the truth - and lead by honorable example - versus leading us back into the well-networked, "I owe you, buddy" - past.
For the sake of our country - and the Democratic party - I hope that they dig deep - and do what is right - for all of us.
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Sometimes Politics Works...
And this election cycle is an example.
Truly, when Bush and the Supreme Court took the election away from Gore in 2000, it felt as if the world was upside down. Then, when Bush was reelected in 2004, I know I was not the only person who felt physically ill for days after the election. Karl Rove and his pact with the devil had taken over for good. America had been totally hijacked by Bush, the neocons, the Swiftboaters, and was mesmerized into believing the pervasive lies -- Saddam and AlQaeda, WMDs, up is down, the Constitution is just "talking points," evolution is just a theory, gays are evil, black is white...
There were books and films that explained it all -- like What's the Matter With Kansas, and Bushwhacked, and Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, and it seemed clear that America was permanently hijacked, down the rabbit hole, and doomed.
And it was clear that when poor people will vote for the candidate most likely to make them poorer, that politics HAD truly gone insane, and America might never come back from its collective mental illness.
And around a year ago, it was iffy to think that we'd elect a Democratic president in 2009. Hillary said she was in, but we all knew what sort of baggage a Clinton -- any Clinton -- was bringing to the process. And we also knew about her fatal flaw -- her political Waterloo -- she voted to allow Bush to start the war.
But we also knew that no other candidates were likely to come out of the woodwork to give her a real challenge. Sure, there would be the Joe Bidens and Bill Richardsons, but seriously, we knew Hillary could easily steamroll over those guys.
But it felt lost to many of us even then. Because Democrats seemed able to lose the presidency to any chucklehead the Republicans could come up -- and given that Bush won after all the disasters he wrought, we knew they could mine the dregs of candidates and probably still field someone who would win over any Democrat, and ESPECIALLY Hillary Clinton.
And then Barack Obama announced his candidacy.
People thought it was a pipe dream, it was too early, he was too young, too black, not black enough (thanks, Debra Dickerson of Salon for that one), he'd laid out his youthful indiscretions in his autobiography, blah blah blah.
But the man who went from obscure state legislator to "Barack the Rock Star" with his Democratic Convention speech has "it." He can match Hillary Clinton in terms of legislative experience and intellect. He proved that he could raise as much -- if not more -- money than she could. He also showed that, despite her claims of decades of experience, he had far better judgment than she did about the defining issue of our times, the war in Iraq, and he laid it out clearly in a speech, while she cravenly voted to allow Bush war powers.
But, most importantly, in terms of that intangible "it" that no money can buy, no experience can convey, and no proximity can deliver -- he has charisma, an ability to inspire, and ability to excite voters, and renew a flagging American spirit -- an ability that she can never possess in her wildest dreams.
We are watching what may be, for many of us, a once-in-a-lifetime politician come to the forefront.
It's sad for Hillary -- she's certainly competent, and if you fielded her against a primary slate of, for example, Biden, Richardson, and Kerry, she'd be the nominee easily. And if she was the nominee running against McCain, she might not win, but she'd at least have had her shot -- and I know how very much she wants it, and how much it means to her, and rightfully so. She has worked hard.
But life isn't fair, and politics certainly isn't fair.
She's in the wrong place at the wrong time, as much as Barack Obama is in the right place at the right time.
And, yes, there are going to be twists and turns and machinations as the primary season moves forward, but Barack is going to be the nominee. And he is going to win against McCain, and finally, at least politically, the new millennium will truly begin.
Sometimes politics works.