Story of the Day: Clinton Camp Presses Super Delegates Not to Take Sides

POSTED BY Raleigh-Elizabeth Smith, 27 February 2008

If you only read one thing today, let it be this: Tom Edsall's latest piece at HuffPo on superdelegates and the Clinton Camp, two strange political species from a time when political relevence was synonymous with party establishment.

Edsall writes:

For weeks, the Barack Obama campaign has warned that Hillary Clinton would try to use her ties to the Democratic establishment to muscle 'super delegates' into backing her presidential bid, overriding a popular vote majority and Obama's plurality of pledged delegates elected in primaries and caucuses.

Now, however, as Obama has gained steadily in the polls, the Clinton campaign has reversed field. Top Clinton aides are pleading with uncommitted super delegates to hold off making any commitments, fearful that any commitments they make would be to back Obama, not Clinton.

A set of talking points emailed to Clinton supporters within organized labor describes the arguments to use on uncommitted super delegates. In the email, the Clinton campaign suggests telling the uncommitted delegates that "it would be unfair and unjust to cut off the nominating process now. There might come a time when the process needs to come to a close, but that time is not now."

In language that could have been lifted from the Obama playbook just a few weeks ago, the email says Clinton backers should make the case to super delegates that: "If House, Senate and DNC members try to end this process now, it would be very damaging to those institutions, the Democratic Party and our chances in November."  [Keep Reading]

Whether or not these political institutions should go undamaged remains to be seen... after all, I was vaguely under the impression that on both sides of the aisle, candidates in the lead are ones whose mantra has very little to do with party line anyway.  Clinton's 59 pledged delegates in the lead, but if anything this election's shown, it's that nothing's certain.  All this super delegate conversation reminds me of the failure of polling in NH - trying to poll a demographic that doesn't yet exist.  Until they're seated in the convention, I'm fairly convinced they'll all go whichever way the wind blows.  And trust that it's going to blow five more ways than we thought possible before we get to Denver.