Hillary is Mondale Without the Locked-In Superdelegates

[Adelante]

Gary Hart: Obama Won't Fade

The Barack of '84 Thinks Hillary is Mondale Without the Locked-In Superdelegates

Hart sees the Clinton-Obama race playing out the way his did, but with the potential for a very different ending.

“It will go to the convention like it did in ‘84, but (Obama’s) got a much better chance of getting support from superdelegates than I did, because most of them were lined up with Fritz before New Hampshire.”

That’s the key difference: While Hart had toiled in virtual anonymity before New Hampshire made him a star, superdelegates have been aware of Obama from the beginning of this race. And they may be savvier in 2008 about not lining up so quickly behind the establishment favorite. Superdelegates were a new creation in 1984.

“I assume (Hillary) and her husband are on the phone with them now, and they’re saying, ‘Remember when I had you to the White House,’ or ‘Remember when I campaigned for you,’” Hart said.

Obama’s pitch, Hart believes, is his ability to attract independents and Republicans to the ticket in the fall.

“It’s going to be a question of loyalty versus electability,” he said, “because it’s going to be clear to everyone by then that (Obama) is the strongest general election candidate.”

The electability argument, he stressed, is not just about whether either candidate is capable of winning the general election; it’s a matter of what effect their presence will have on other Democratic candidates who will be on the ballot with the ultimate nominee -- more than a few of whom will be superdelegates at the convention.

“If some of them are elected officials who will be up in ‘08, they might be persuaded,” said Hart. “The idea is not just to win -- it’s not to get dragged down.”

http://www.observer.com/2008/gary-hart-obama-wont-fade