Obama Calls Out Super Delegates: "Party Insiders" Shouldn't Decide Race

From Politico's Ben Smith:

Obama, at his Chicago press conference just now, lays out his path to the nomination, which depends first on having a majority of pledged delegates.

"If this contest comes down to superdelegates, we are going to be able to say we have more pledged delegates, which means the Democratic voters have spoken. Those superdelegates, those party insiders would have to think long and hard how they would approach the nomination," he said.

"The argument we would be making to superdelegates is, if we come into the convention with more pledged delegates then i think we can make a very strong argument that our constituencies have spoken and I think that's going to be pretty improtant when it comes to the general election," he says.

Comments

[BigBen]

12:11 PM on 02/07/2008

Will Obama be able to say he is strong enough o win without the Mexican vote . McCain has supported the Mexicans in Arizona for years.What has Obama to offer the Mexicans?Will Obama be able to carry Florida with the Cuban vote?McCain has supported them for years.These are the issues that the super delegates most deal with. They must give us the best chance to win. Not blow it like we did with McGovern. Will Obama be able to carry the working class Democrats who stuck with the party despite Kerry and Kennedy and Oprah in Mass.I answer no to those questions and challenge anyone to prove otherwise.

[StillAmused]

08:56 AM on 02/07/2008

Translation:

"I'm not a candidate... I'm a 'movement', and movements don't play by the rules.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

[Purple Girl]

08:11 AM on 02/07/2008

How many layers can they add to our votes to skew the election their way.
they've pulled out all the stops this time...
Media Coverage (biased, exclusive, unquestioning, no recent history reviews)
Ballot tampering, limited and Rigging
Primary invalidation (unless it will help the Corp sponsored candiate- MI & FL Aces in their Pockets)
Electorol College/ SCOTUS overirdes Popular vote again.
Who the Hell ever heard of Super Delegates before.
The key to providing a FAIR election is to KISS- Keep it simple stupid- otherwise you are trying to baffle US withyour BullShit!!

Many of US see the same shit this election round- If you hand her the crown, we will seek revenge. Just hand her the torch and this powder keg will go up!

Hillary is a Product being sold to US by the Corp'ist, just new packaging.Obama is just another version. Which Focus Group Generated Line will the public Buy?

[OhComeOnNow]

07:00 AM on 02/07/2008

Biting the political hand that feeds him...

Just another example of his ignorance and hubris.

[historyapollo]

02:38 AM on 02/07/2008

Again I restate for those who missed it. This is BS. Pure BS. Let him tell Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Deval Patrick of MA to formally endorse and vote for HRC because she did of course win MA. Thats his logic. Oh wait, he won't because rules do not apply to him. He makes them and he can break'em. Don't forget about Al Gore now. There is no love lost between him and the Clintons, but she did win TN. Theres Corzine in NJ, Bill Bradley, and maybe even Bill Richardson. Let him stand up to the same standard he is setting down then maybe I might support him over John McCain in the fall(that is if he wins the primary)

[RLF11]

02:07 AM on 02/07/2008

History clearly shows that the presidency can Not be won without a victory in, at least, one Southern state. Obama is Not competitive in one Southern state. Obama is highly unlikely to win the general election. A combined ticket, Clinton/Obama would bring a landslide. Possibly taking 3 or 4 southern states.
Just my 2 cents worth

[vbond]

01:04 AM on 02/07/2008

THE SOLUTION:

An Open Letter to The American People, from Al Gore:

I am today announcing my candidacy for the Vice Presidency of The United States of America.

I realize that this announcement may seem to some to be a case of diminished hopes and expectations.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Since 2000, the battle that I have waged for years against ignorance and complacency about the worsening condition of our planet has advanced beyond my wildest dreams.

The recognition that I have personally received in that time is a reflection not so much of my personal efforts as it is an indication of the broad recognition that climate change is the over-arching social and political issue of our time.

The war in Iraq will end. The present economic downturn will end. And we as a nation and as a civilization will survive both.

But more of us than ever now realize that if we do not soon solve the problem of climate change, we may not survive as either a nation or a civilization.

I am deeply appreciative and humbled by the fact that the majority of people in this country had the confidence to vote for me as their President, and I believe that I am at least as qualified as I was eight years ago to fill that office.

But times have changed, and I believe that I have the unique opportunity to make a critical contribution to our national survival: as Vice President.

Why?

Two fundamental reasons.

First, because, in that office, I would have the opportunity to focus the power and resources of our nation on our planet's climate and environmental crises.

Second, because I may have the opportunity to work with a man whom I trust to support the necessary transformation of our government and our society.

That man is Barack Obama.

He alone among our presidential candidates has the vision, the tools, and the judgment to empower the changes that we must all make.

I would proudly serve the American people as his - and your - Vice President.

Albert A. Gore

[BoJaker]

12:37 AM on 02/07/2008

The entire discussion here is bad for the party and bad for the country.

Accusations are being made with no evidence. People are making irrational, dishonest arguments. Both candidates are being slimed. I am absolutely not a Hillary supporter, but I'd like people to be intellegent and rational about who they support and why. There are obvious surrogates from both campaigns all over these message boards spouting total crap, and I'm sure that I'm not alone in saying that it makes me sick.

The more this escalates, the worse this is going to be come November. Step back, take a breath, vote for you candidate, and honor the rules. Don't take the bait that the surragate hacks are planting to demonize either candidate.

[suntzu]

12:36 AM on 02/07/2008

Something tells me that Hillary was being too clever by a half in announcing her "$5 million loan." It raises too many questions that she will have difficulty answering, even if there is nothing illegal about it. I think this thing will become a genie that she will not be able to put back in the bottle. A major gaffe, worse than Omaba's Reagan gaffe.
I have a feeling it was Mark Penn's idea.

[MartinEdwinAndersen]

12:20 AM on 02/07/2008

The news about Hillary Clinton donating $5 million of her own money to her presidential bid struck me as odd.

How was it that someone of once modest means who claimed to have worked selflessly for 35 years ("fighting for YOU!") in the notoriously badly-paid public interest sector had become so wealthy?

Sure there's been some financial scandals.

And as the late Sen. Everett Dirksen used to say, "A million here, a million there" it adds up to real money."

But why focus on the negative?

Then, suddenly, a tune entered my head and I thought, maybe if I offered a tailored version of it to the Clinton campaign, they'd use it to replace that awful Celine Dion song that used to be Hillary's campaign anthem.

And maybe they'd give me some of that moolah.

I promise I wouldn't ask what account at Clintons, Inc. it came from, or which lobbyist forked it over.

(I'm sure it was in a gesture of sheer generosity--why think evil of people, K Street lawyers have hearts too, no? Wasn't it those nice medical insurance lobbyists who hired that couple, Harry and Louise?)

If you ask me, it's like Bill with that race coding thing. How unfair the criticism! (And how slick he was ;) )

Always leave just a little wiggle room, small enough to fit the word "is" through. Or maybe a cigar. ...

Anyway, remember that girls" song, "It"s My Party," written by Wally Gold, John Gluck and Herb Weiner and recorded by Lesley Gore?

Well how about this version for HRC?

IT'S MY (DEMOCRATIC) PARTY

Nobody knows where my Bill has gone
Monica (Gennifer/Kathleen/Paula/etc.) left the same time
Why was he holding her/their hand(s)
When he's supposed to be mine?

It's my Democratic Party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you

Playin' my constituents, flip-flopping like a Wallenda ...

It's my Democratic Party, and I'll cry if I want to ...

[patriotscholar]

12:18 AM on 02/07/2008

Understand this, and understand it well. In fact, ask Hillary the questions. Bill Clinton was an ardent supporter of NAFTA, it passed on his watch, and we all see where that has gotten us. Why do you think Hillary has so much Hispanic support?
After NAFTA, the objective is to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into one huge state, the North American Union. For that to happen, we will have to kiss the Constitution good bye.
Ask Hillary if she supports NAFTA and if she believes we should merge the three countries.
Would she go against Bill?

[BoJaker]

11:53 PM on 02/06/2008

Hypocrites, hypocrites all around....

I've realized that there are 2 arguments in this thread, and some posters here make 2 opposing arguments in a single comments.

There are some HRC supporters here that say "If you don't like the DNC's rules about superdelegates, then find another party" and then in the SAME POST say "...when Michigan and Florida's delegates are seated, as they should be..." While some BO supporters say the exact same thing, only reversed!

The super-delegates will, and should, count, since that's one of the rules of the DEM primary. We all knew about it before this thing started and if we didn't like it, we should have put pressure on the DNC to change it. It will be surprising though if their vote total doesn't mirror the Pledged Delegates. There will be massive pressure from the rest of the party to not add any uncertainty or controversy to the legitimacy of the nominee.

Michigan and Florida will not, or at least should not, be seated. Everyone knew about the rule before the votes, it would be ridiculously unfair to change them now. Same thing with the legitimacy issue too. I'd be willing to bet that these states WILL be having a second primary or caucus though so the DEM voters in these states aren't alienated, particularly in FL.

[HGalal]

10:37 PM on 02/06/2008

I'm confused!!! I thought she was the 'change' candidate? What happened?

[WIDESTANCE]

09:44 PM on 02/06/2008

i don't think that the amount of momentum and enthusiasm that barack obama has generated for the democratic party can be overstated

at this point, it is clear to most people that hillary represents politics as usual and more of the same broken government responsible for the debacle that is george bush

if the many, many millions of voters who have dared to believe in a fair political process again, thanks to senator obama, are disenfranchised by the clinton/dnc machine and it's backroom shenanigans, it will get very ugly indeed

hillary represents the republican wing of the democratic party

barack obama represents americans who are voting, in good faith, for an end to the politics of war, special interests and the military/industrial complex

the difference between them is very clear...

[mmurray21]

09:43 PM on 02/06/2008

I thought he was just the "black" candidate two weeks ago.