Dean's dilemma

THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT (Johnstown, Pa.)

Fri, May 16 2008

— Editorial: Dem chief must push superdelegates to declare

Opinion: The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.

Howard Dean, national chairman for the Democratic Party, says either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton must pull out of the race after the last of the state primaries in June.
He fears that a prolonged battle that lasts until the Democratic Convention in August could be detrimental to his party’s chances in November.
“We really can’t have a divided convention,” he said in an ABC interview.
We think Dean is barking up the wrong tree.
The candidates should not be asked to stay or get out. Both Obama, the overall leader in primaries won, and Clinton, who took a big step by winning Pennsylvania, should stay in the race as long as they think they can capture the nomination.
What Dean should be doing is pushing the party’s superdelegates to publicly confirm their support of one candidate or the other.
This crazy superdelegates set-up is the real problem the party faces – the biggest obstacle to a unified campaign.
The superdelegates are 796 elected officials and party heavies who have the right to support whomever they please between the contenders. These folks include the Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, members of the Democratic National Committee and other leading elected officials from the Democratic Party.
Pennsylvania’s 26 super-delegates include U.S. Rep. John Murtha, Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Bob Casey. Casey has pledged his support for Obama, while Murtha and Rendell have backed Clinton.
A candidate needs 2,025 total delegates, including simple delegates and superdelegates, to take the nomination.
We can see these superdelegates making backroom deals with the potential presidential candidates right up until the last minute. “I know I said I’d support your opponent, but what would you give me to support you? A Cabinet post, perhaps?”
If Dean wants to close the nomination in June, he must call for his superdelegates to declare at that time.
And if there is a clear edge for one candidate or another in both superdelegates plus primaries and caucuses won, then it would be sensible for the other candidate to step aside.
There would be no reason to do otherwise.