HIllary Clinton Has An Ace In The Hole

There are two features of the Democratic nomination process that could help Hillary.

First, Democratic primaries and caucuses allocate delegates proportionally. Candidates win "pledged" delegates based not on whether they win a state - but on how many voters support them. So, for instance, even though Clinton and Edwards lost Iowa, they still won a few delegates.

Second, about 20% of all delegates to the Democratic convention are "super" or "unpledged" delegates. This quirky provision - which does not have a corollary on the Republican side - has its origins in Chicago, 1968. In the wake of that disastrous convention, the DNC formed the McGovern-Fraser Commission to recommend improvements for the nomination process. McGovern-Fraser suggested that the process be opened to rank-and-file Democrats on the principle of "one Democrat, one vote." The reforms contributed to George McGovern (the same McGovern from the commission) winning the nomination in 1972. The party establishment did not like this. So, it added the super delegate provision to serve as a check on the party rank-and-file.

This year, according to the indispensable Green Papers, there will be 798 super delegates at the convention in Denver. They include all elected members of the Democratic National Committee, all current Democratic members of Congress (including non-voting delegates), all sitting Democratic governors, and past party luminaries (e.g. former presidents). Unlike pledged delegates, who are bound to particular candidates, super delegates are free to vote their consciences.

Here is how these rules could help Clinton.

Read the rest at Horse Race Blog.

Don't count her out...as much as we would like to do so...we can't. Because the super-delegates will act as a check on the rank-and-file Democrat. This will allow the party elites to call the shots unless there is an overwhelming vote against their candidate.
One thing the article does not take into account is, what if the super delegates come out in favor of Obama?

I will have to get a satellite dish in order to watch the conventions, even if I do have to run 500 foot of cable from the nearest place with a clear shot of the southern sky. At times like these, living in a gorge is uncool.

And watch this video of the media love-fest with the HildaBaest: