Super Delegates

Volume 5: March 2008 Comments (0)

By Ashley Ornelas and Kaelyne Rocca

There has been an intense battle for the Democratic Presidential nominee
between Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. Lately Obama has been winning the
primaries, but there is still a chance that Clinton might make a comeback. If this
occurs and both candidates continue neck and neck then there is a possibility
that there will be a tie. In this case, the Democratic candidates will have to get
the support from the super delegates.


The job of the Super delegates is to elect a party nominee in case there is a tie
between both democratic candidates. Therefore, if after the primaries there is no
clear winner then the Super delegates will have to make a decision. Super
Delegates consist of elected members of the Democratic National committee,
democratic governors, Democratic US senators and US representatives, Party
leaders (former democratic leaders of the senate and house, former DNC
chairmen, and current and former vice presidents), and lastly people chosen by
the DNC (Democratic National Committee).
Lately Obama has been winning the primaries but Clinton has made a comeback
and has taken the states of Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island. The states that had a
major impact on her were Texas and Ohio because they are larger states and
allowed her to gain more delegates. Though she is trailing a little behind she
still has the possibility of tying with Obama.
Now the stakes are high for Barack Obama. Obama did not take Ohio, Texas, or
Rhode Island, but he did take Vermont. Now with Clinton a little behind him
Obama has to step up is game and win the upcoming primaries if he wants to be
the democratic nominee for president. With the upcoming primaries for
Wyoming, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania those states will decide who will give
us a more clear view of who will win the nomination.
If Obama wins these upcoming primaries he will be a shoe in for the democratic
nomination and Hilary Clinton will be way behind. In this case there will be no
use of super delegates because the winner would be clear.
Yet if Clinton is able to pull it off and win these upcoming primaries then she
could possibly pass Obama or have a tie with him. Therefore super delegates
would be needed and they will make the final decision only if there were to
occur a tie.
Many argue that the use of Super Delegates is idiotic due to the fact that using
super delegates is not democratic. Super delegates do not side with the
presidential candidate chosen by the voters in their district. So, they may
choose whomever they like. Now with these wins for Clinton the idea of using
super delegates has become more clear. Only the upcoming primaries will
decide what will become of these two Democratic candidates.

Works Cited:
http://www.azfamily.com/news/elections/stories/KTVKENews20080211_super_delegates.b112f6ea.html
Comic obtained from
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalcartoons/ig/Political-Cartoons/Super-Delegates.htm

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