Thought all the Democratic superdelegates were Congresspeople and a bunch of political insiders? Not so fast. These are just three of the 200 superdelegates HuffPost's OffTheBus members have profiled as part of our Superdelegate Investigation.
*The host of the Ms. American Samoa Beauty Pageant, who owns the Fox-affiliated Malama TV and is about to open Pago Pago's second McDonalds.
*A former English and French teacher turned rancher who, according to the American Prospect, "ticked off her local library board" for purchasing the library a gift subscription to The Nation.
*A lawyer who occasionally moonlights as a Harry Truman impersonator, for which he's received high reviews.
With neither Obama or Clinton expected to win the absolute majority of the more than 4,000 Democratic delegates who ultimately elect the party nominee, the votes of the 795 so-called "superdelegates" will be needed this year to push one or the other candidate over the edge. But who are the Democratic superdelegates and what do they - as people - tell us about the Democratic Party? What are their political interests and pet issues?
These are just some of the questions we're trying to answer, and we need your help. SIGN UP to research one of the remaining superdelegates by sending an email to campaigntrail@ huffingtonpost.com with "superdelegate" in the subject line.
All it takes are an hour or two of your time over the next week and an Internet connection. We'll provide you with a research form, research tips, and access to a chatroom where you can discuss your work with other OffTheBus members.
To date more than 200 OffTheBus members have completed more than 200 profiles, which we've donated to the Superdelegate Transparency Project. OffTheBus writers have used the profiles for more than a dozen stories, including Marc Cooper's "Clinton Campaign Cuts Back Wooing of Superdelegates" and John Tomasic's "California Superdelegates: No Brokered Convention."
Our goal is to publish a more exhaustive survey of the DNC superdelegates, but we can't do that until we've researched them all.
And, if you're still dying to know who I'm referring to above, they are (in order): Fagafaga Daniel Langkilde (American Samoa), Jean Lemire Dahlman (Montana), and Dan Slater (Colorado). You can find out more about them by going to OffTheBus's Superdelegate Investigation page.
Follow Amanda Michel on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AmandaRMichel
Put the same words in the mouth of a Hillary superdelegate from an Obama-majority state, and watch the HuffPo analysts get out the tar and feathers.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D) Missouri, elected for the first time to the United States Senate in November 2006, explained why she was supporting Senator Barack Obama to be President of the United States. She is the only one of the 16 female Senators who is so far.
These are her words. “It was a little nudging from my 18 year old Daughter.” “It was Maddie in my face.” “She, (Maddie), said, ‘How can you look yourself in the mirror, you’re a slug, you’re playing it politically safe, I believe in this guy, I’ll never speak to you again if you don’t stand up and have some courage.’ “ “It was pretty intense, she was right, it was like a cold bucket of water on my head, she was absolutely right.”
Can you believe that a grown woman who serves in Congress and is a superdelegate admitted this on national television?
BTW, conjuring up the image of a "smoke-filled room" is subterfuge as well and doesn't help. This will be a simple vote for one candidate or the other.
Ferraro doesn't help either--she should shut her big wide trap.
( She's only three years old, a loophole in the superdelegate bylaws, so if some of the text seems garbled thats the reason. )
G-Hello, Cindy Lou.
CLW- I'm fee...
G-I'm sorry what?
CLW- I'm fee...
G- Oh, you're three. Yes you are.
CLW's MOM- She'll be four next month.
G- Well congratulations. Now Cindy, how does it feel to have the fate of the Democratic Party resting in your hands right now, in what might possibly turn out to be a brokered convention in Denver.
CLW- Fee...
G- Yes, three.
CLW's MOM- She's truly honored to be participating in the democratic system, and hopes that the awesome responsibility she's been entrusted with will be justified by her decision.
G- Did she say that?
CLW MOM- Well, she implied it.
G- Oh, I didn't catch that.
CLW's MOM- Yes, when she yanks her foot like that it means she's honored.
G- Oh, fascinating. Well, to further pursue my line of inquiry, Cindy to what exactly do you attibute the honor of this vote.
( she yanks on her foot and slaps the couch two times at this point in the interview )
CLW's MOM- She's been in a family that's voted Democrat her entire life.
G- Three years.
CLW's MOM- Yes. Well, that's not entirely true. My husband voted for Nader once. We're divorced.
G- But back to Cindy, what especially qualifies her to make the decision between Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, if the delegate count is too close to declare an outright winner.
CLW'S - Well, look at her . She's adorable!
G- Yes, no argument there. But is there some special insight she has, to justify her wielding what many are calling an unfairly powerful vote.
( CLW'S MOM at this juncture leans close to her daughter, who might be whispering in her ear. Either that or kissing her.)
CLW's MOM- Cindy says the democratic party is a private organization, and can find a nominee however they please.
G- Did she really say that?
CLW's MOM- Yes.
G- Oh, well if that's the case, Cindy, why do you come to the mass electorate to nominate a candidate in the first place. Why not just decide in private, and say screw the people.
( She leans in again and Cindy Lou clearly pulls a lock of her mothers hair, and giggles )
CLW'S MOM - Let go! She says they want the publics opinion on who to nominate, but just in case their opinions wrong, they want a failsafe mechanism in place.
G- She said failsafe?
CLW's MOM nods.
G- so its kind of a semi democratic system they're trying to enact.
CLW'S MOM- exactly. I mean look at the Caucuses, where people vote twice. Democracy isn't perfect.
G- Are you saying this or is Cindy saying this?
( At this point CLW's eyes shift a little )
CLW's MOM- she's saying this. I'm just her mother.
G- I see. So you have no influence on how she'll vote.
CLW's MOM- Of course not.
CLW- Mama, i'm hungry...
G- Okay, well thanks for the information and your time.
Back to you at Off the Bus...