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Hillary Clinton will take the Democratic nomination even if she does not win the popular vote, but persuades enough superdelegates to vote for her at the convention, her campaign advisers say. The New York senator, who lost three primaries Tuesday night, now lags slightly behind her rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, in the delegate count. She is even further behind in "pledged'' delegates, those assigned by virtue of primaries and caucuses. But Clinton will not concede the race to Obama if he wins a greater number of pledged delegates by the end of the primary season, and will count on...

NASHVILLE — The national Democratic Party’s nearly 800 “superdelegates” could decide who wins the tight presidential nomination battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but some, including Tennessee superdelegate Gov. Phil Bredesen, won’t name the candidate they support. “I have not either endorsed anybody or pledged my superdelegate vote to anybody, and frankly don’t expect to” until much later, Gov. Bredesen, one of state Democrats’ 17 officially unpledged superdelegates, said Tuesday. “I do think the superdelegates, it’s shaping up like they’re going to have a real role to play in the convention.” “Superdelegates” are the 796 unpledged Democratic Party delegates,...

For years, Bill and Hillary Clinton treated the Democratic National Committee and party activists as extensions of their White House ambitions, pawns in a game of success and survival. more stories like this. She may pay a high price for their selfishness soon. Top Democrats, including some inside Hillary Clinton's campaign, say many party leaders -- the so-called super delegates -- won't hesitate to ditch the former New York senator for Barack Obama if her political problems persist. Their loyalty to the first couple is build on shaky ground. "If (Barack) Obama continues to win .... the whole raison d'etre...

There is a really funny opening bit about superdelegates that's about 2 minutes long on this podcast at www.itsfirstfriday.com.

Vicious personal attacks. Tears. Hope. Change. All of it has transformed the normally insipid process of presidential politics into a bearable spectacle. And nothing adds drama like a close race. So the entertainment value will only ratchet up if, as many suggest, superdelegates ultimately decide the Democratic Party's nominee for president. What is a superdelegate? Well, a bunch of unpledged elected officials and party operatives in the Democratic Party who possess far more power than you or I. Folks like governors, senators, mayors and party chairpersons. The idea of having superdelegates is to create party unity at the convention by...

................Rae got the one-on-one treatment from the former — and possibly future — first daughter because he is a Democratic National Committee member from Wisconsin and thus a "super delegate," one of the 796 free agents who can back any candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination

People worldwide -- and indeed, most Americans -- are under the impression that whichever party candidate has the most delegates at the end of the primary elections is assured the party nomination for president. And who can blame them? In a typical year, one candidate will emerge from the primary campaign with a majority of the delegates, and he will have the nomination secured. But this year's race is unprecedented; a woman and black man, running neck to neck against each other to try and reach the magic number of 2025 delegates to lock the nomination. There are 4,049 total...

With Super Tuesday now behind us, 24 states have voiced their choice of party presidential nominees and the Democratic race is left decidedly inconclusive. With the Democratic campaigns now proceeding into rarely traversed territory (like Seattle), both Clinton and Obama are scrambling for every delegate they can get. With the race so closely tied and the delegate count of such importance, attention is now focused on the role of so-called “superdelegates” in the primaries’ outcome. Created after the Democratic Party nominations of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter in 1972 and 1976 — both candidates considered unacceptably rebellious by Democratic Party...

by Richard Lawrence Poe Monday, January 7, 2008 Permanent LinkPast Columns FORGET IOWA. Forget New Hampshire. Forget the Democratic primaries altogether. The fix is in for Hillary Clinton. When Democrats convene this August in Denver, they will nominate Hillary as their candidate for President of the United States. The day after Hillary’s loss in Iowa last Thursday, her campaign chief Terry McAuliffe told reporters, “Listen, Hillary is going to be the nominee. There’s no question.” McAuliffe was not indulging in wishful thinking. He was stating a fact. He knows things the rest of us do not. One thing McAuliffe...

Party leaders, elected officials can shape outcome of a close race. When Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama January 28, he moved Obama one vote closer to becoming the Democratic Party's nominee. Kennedy is a "superdelegate" to the Democratic Party's convention, so his vote, along with other party leaders' votes, will be counted to determine the party's nominee. Democratic leaders and others appointed or elected by the Democratic National Committee will be able to vote as superdelegates at the convention this summer. Superdelegates are not bound by the primary or caucus voting in their states, unlike the...

~EXCERPT~ After Super Tuesday, the Democrats' superdelegates look like they could play a crucial role in determining whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama notch the party's nomination. So exactly who -- and what -- are superdelegates? Here's a FAQ-style explainer:What are superdelegates? Most delegates for the Democratic convention -- 3,253 or roughly 80% -- will be assigned through state primaries or caucuses. For instance, during Super Tuesday's voting blitz, 1,678 of these delegates were up for grabs. Because of party rules, these delegates cast their votes at the convention according to the decision of the voters back home. That's why...

While the public's eye is on Hillary Rodham Clinton's primary win Tuesday in California, a second, behind-the-scenes fight is being waged in the Democratic ranks over "superdelegates" - party insiders who make up 71 of the state's 441 delegates. These delegates answer to no one, but they could well tip the balance in a tight national race. And in this contest, most give Clinton the edge.Thirty-one of the superdelegates are members of Congress and the rest are members of the Democratic National Committee. Being insiders, most have long ties to the Clintons.So far, the Clinton campaign counts 34 superdelegates in...

Part 1:  Hillary Clinton's Michigan Power-Play Part 2:  Hillary Clinton Wins MichiganPart 3:  Hillary Clinton Wins Florida (Uncontested) Part 4:  Hillary Clinton and the superdelegates (Part Four in a series examining how Hillary's campaign goes beyond the voting booth and into the very power structure of the Democratic party itself.)  The Democratic Party has 4,049 delegates scheduled for its convention Whoever wins needs 50% + 1, or 2,025 delegates.  3,253 of these delegates are up for grabs in the primary election voting process, but 796 are given to party leaders, insiders, advisors, and top contributors.  These super-delegates can vote...

The Tyranny of Super-Delegates Barack Obama's stirring victory in Iowa was also a good night for our democracy. The turnout broke records and young people – who were mobilized and organized – participated in unprecedented numbers. And now that Iowans have spoken – the first citizens in the nation to do so – here's the Democratic delegate count for the top three candidates (2,025 delegates are needed to secure the nomination): Clinton – 169 Obama – 66 Edwards – 47 "Huh?" you say. "vanden Heuvel, you made a MAJOR typo." In fact, those numbers are correct: the third-place finishing Sen....