I imagine that a super delegate might pick up some political chips by endorsing Hillary now. If, as many want us to believe, Barack is inevitable, then a super-d. might get a lot of love from the Clintons now, but when Barack gets it anyway, what the heck? Just smile and switch over.

And... If somehow, Hillary ends up getting it (through a fluke or an ultra-sordid revelation about Barack or something), that calculating super delegate would reap major credit in the coming administration.

Just thinkin'...

Hopefully, after the Denver Convention, the Super Delegate process will be eliminated.

Then we will never have this long national nightmare again.

Trix are for kids!

I think the most valuable thing to come out of this fiasco is our "realization" of the absurdity of the system as it is and (hopefully) our determination to say "never again".

I hope Clinton is not seriously looking to find new superdelegates to back her. An uncommitted super backing Clinton at this point is the equivalent of doubling-down on a sixteen with the dealer showing an ace.

Clinton needs to spend her time formulating a way to exit the race with grace and dignity and in a way that benefits Obama in the general. I have no doubt that any of the superdelegates she meets in the next few days will be trying to convince her of that.

let's get rid of those too. they defy common sense.

Seriously!

WTF, are you serious? Next you'll citing the hard hitting reporting of Jeff Gannon as a source for John McCain's virility.

I'll ask again, where's Benen?

He already got 4 Super delegates today. He only needs a total of 169 delegates to get the nomination. The Fat lady will be singing soon.

no one wants to catch what she's got: the creeping death, the denial flu, the rich bitch itch.

"I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee." Well, right. As soon as you get out, there'll be a nominee. Kind of leaves the door open, doesn't it...

That in her appearances today there was no mention of her "Gas Tax" Wasup Hill not a good idea any more?

I Noticed

That in her appearances today there was no mention of her "Gas Tax"

Maybe she figured out that the stuff she ordered from Wile E. Coyote's ACME catalog doesn't work very well.

Benen is at http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/.

I was just watching Countdown and Olberman said the Repub advisors were telling McCain to look at what happened to Hillary and think twice about trying to use the Gas Tax against Obama

... the Repub advisors were telling McCain to look at what happened to Hillary and think twice about trying to use the Gas Tax against Obama

I think they said more than that, although perhaps not on the program you watched.

A number of Republicans have become alarmed after they recently lost two supposedly "safe" seats in special elections. Perhaps they are realizing that the old name-calling and silly false "scandal" stuff might not work very well when the party has made such a mess of the country. It's kinda of hard to convince people that things are wonderful when so many of them are hurting.

IMO, there is one thing the Republicans could do that might save their hides this November: Throw Bush and Cheney under the bus.

IF HRC won based on Fla and MI, both states penalized fairly, though the result was unfair, couldn't people argue that Hillary's bluff can always be called?

I mean, what happens if she threatens someone with consequences? They'll be liable to not believe her.

I mean, what happens if she threatens someone with consequences? They'll be liable to not believe her.

I'm more interested in how well she'll live up to her promises.

Hillary agreed in advance to the Democratic Party's rules about early elections. She signed a paper that said so.

She also explained her failure to remove herself from the Michigan ballot by saying that the election wouldn't matter anyway. This effectively confirmed her signed agreement about the early elections.

Now she has found these statements to be inconvenient and she wants to do the complete opposite of what she agreed to. How many of her campaign promises would suffer a similar fate?

Obama will be the nominee unless there is a horrific blunder or a revelation so damaging that the convention must select someone else. Obama supporters should take a deep breath and relax a bit as they play to the finish and enjoy the moment. Everyone should, at least for the moment. Not too long, for there is a lot we need to do to ensure our league representative wins the championship.

If you are a newcomer to this, you may not appreciate just how unusal this has been. Veterans like me search our memories of earlier ones for comparison, remembering those other greats -- the debates, the issues, the speeches, the candidates - then suddenly shocked by memories of what followed: 1968, 1960, 1988.

We started last year with excellent candidates, each with many strengths but also each with weaknesses, and their preseason of campaigns and debates made each better, while early contests let us see how good they really were. We have seen great and no-so-great performances, spirited physical play, a few elbows, but without cheating or flagrant fouls. No matter how we feel in a heated moment of "us versus them", our side are not perfect angels nor theirs despicable devils, Think of it like Carolina vs Duke.

The voters of NC appeciate that we could finally be part of this and wish that for the remaining states. People get really excited and involved when a President (past or future) comes to their town, the first time since Washington road through over 200 years ago.

So what needs to be done these next weeks? Be civil and respectful of each other, learn from each other, remember that all of us want our nominee to win and for us not to face the prospect of President McCain appointing justices to the Supreme Court.

We need to find a way to include Florida and Michigan. This becomes easier if Obama would still win given almost any division to their delgates.

Do our own vetting of Obama and deal with them early, rather than having them sprung upon us in late October without time to respond. If you support Obama, do some of this vetting yourself and please understand that just because someone raises a question or concern about Obama tey are not racists or trolls to be ignored, dismissed, or ridiculed. They might be a loyal Democrat like me who has found something we must investigate and who has seen too many times where we lost because we trusted but failed to verify. It appears there are a couple of problems where each could have an effect similar to Wright.

Finally, a caution for Obama supporters but also for everyone. Don't dismiss someone's concern with "Just read the book."

Obama's books are often fiction; even he warns the reader early that the book includes characters who are composites of several real people, that some things are embellished or conveniently lapsed from his memory. While his intro protects him from accusations of lying, it does not help in responding to RW talking points attacking him. Nor do claims of "Clinton is worse" I did not support Clinton or Obama or anyone else still running. Now, I shall support our nominee.