Clinton Has Lead With Party Insiders
Hillary Rodham Clinton retains her lead among suddenly critical Democratic Party insiders even as Barack Obama builds up his delegate margin with primary and caucus victories across the country, according to a survey by The Associated Press.
With Clinton and Obama trading wins and loses as the primary and caucus season unfolds, the role of the superdelegates has been magnified and is causing anxiety inside and outside the campaigns. If the current snapshot of the race holds, superdelegates could decide the nomination in favor of one candidate even if the other receives more votes in the party primaries and caucuses.
Can you imagine how Democratic voters are going to feel if it becomes clear that more of us wanted Obama, but get Hillary thrown at us anyway? And not because she makes a more convincing candidate, but because she has an inside track amongst the "elite"?
Four words: That's the other guys.
And by the way, if you want to know just how repellent this whole "superdelegate" idea should be...listen to where it came from, and what it got us:
The Democratic Party introduced superdelegates to the nominating process after the 1980 election with the idea of giving a voice to elected officials and party elders who had a stake in who became the party's standard bearer. In 1984, Walter Mondale relied on superdelegates to distance himself from rival Gary Hart and secure the Democratic nomination...
Emphasis mine. Walter Mondale, people. The patron saint of weak candidates. That's what "superdelegates" leads to.
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