Obama vs. Axelrod on Superdelegates

by Taylor Marsh

This is classic.

Obama on superdelegates last week:

Obama said superdelegates "would have to think long and hard about how they approach the nomination when the people they claim to represent have said, 'Obama's our guy.' "

Then today, David Axelrod was asked about two very superdelegates in the state of Massachussetts; you know, where Clinton stood up against the Kennedy machine, Deval Patrick, and John Kerry, to beat them all back and win the state. What should Senators Kennedy and Kerry do and whom should they support, considering they've endorsed Obama, but the people of Massachusetts chose Clinton? Axelrod talking with Matt Lauer:

AXELROD: I think that the role of the superdelegate is to act as, sort of, a party elder. These are elected officials from across the country and they're supposed to exercise their judgment as to what would be best for the party. And as they look at this, they need to decide who would be the strongest candidate for the party...

LAUER: David, you're not answering. Should those two senators vote for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?

AXELROD: I think they and all the superdelegates should vote according to what they think is best for the party and the country. And I think that we need the strongest possible candidate against John McCain...

So I guess Obama's strategy is to accept superdelegates who say "Obama's our guy," but if the voters say "Hillary's our girl," those superdelegates should think long and hard about how they approach the nomination and ignore the voters' choice. Got it.

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