Barack Obama's ULTIMATE ace-in-the-hole superdelegate argument

[hokies4ever]

Fact is, the political pundits and the media ARE idiots, just like Olbermann said on Letterman. They assume that both the Hillary and Obama camps are making their best superdelegate arguments public. That couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is that Hillary has chosen to make her best superdelegate arguments public, whereas Barack Obama has not.

Hillary's argument revolves around a mixture of being able to win 'important' states, 'important' voting blocks (white working class), and a lesser of the two evils argument, saying that you know she's going to be trashed by the Republicans, but just imagine what they might say about Obama. Debatable arguments, but not as powerful as Obama's single best argument. If you notice, all the political pundits have failed to realize the flaw in Hillary's superdelegate argument and her subsequent path to the nomination:

It depends on Barack Obama accepting the vice presidency. If I had to design the best path to victory for the Republican Party in November, it would be Hillary stealing the nomination by a superdelegate coup and Obama not being on the ticket at all. All Obama has to say at the convention (if it goes that far) is that he will not accept the vice presidency. Just make the argument that he can't in good conscience run at the bottom of the ticket since he finished a good ~150 pledged delegates ahead of Hillary. How he's looked up to as a leader in the African-American community and his conscience will not allow for such a horrible injustice to take place on his legitimate claim as the Democratic Party nominee, that he must stand up for what is right. How he doesn't want to look his daughters in their eyes when they get older and answer why he didn't stand up for the injustice done to him, and how that's contrary to everything he's been teaching them.

All this time Hillary has been making the argument that Obama can't win, if she had spent just a few minutes thinking about this, she would realize that it is SHE who cannot win. Just because Obama is screaming his best superdelegate argument at the top of his lungs on every network from CNN to FOX News, don't be fooled into thinking that Hillary has the best superdelegate argument, because she doesn't. Obama just has to call the superdelgate coup on their bluff and privately threaten not to run 2nd fiddle to Hillary, and even Hillary superdelegates might jump her ship.

[chimpymustgo]

1. Then who's tearing up the party?? Clinton/Obama would unite the party.

[hokies4ever]

3. Nancy Pelosi's political philosophy

You're assuming that the purpose of the vice-presidency is to win the election. Nancy Pelosi has publicly reminded people that is not its real purpose. It is PART of it, but she just stated yesterday that the vice-presidency selection is to help the President govern. That is why the choice has always been given to the party nominee, not to the voters. Clearly Obama would best know who would be able to best help him govern.

Early in US history the person with the 2nd most votes was the vice president. Eventually people realized that this did not help the President govern, thereby causing changes to allow the President to select his/her vice president before the election.

The Vice President does the bidding of the President. The President doesn't even have to give the Vice President an office in Washington if he/she doesn't want to. Try to keep in mind the role of the Vice President in the executive branch before advocating forcing Obama to take Hillary Clinton. She won't have any power that Obama doesn't allow her to have. Do you think she's going to get her mandate on health care as Vice President? If so, please pass the Kool-Aid. :toast:

[yourguide]

4. The fact of the matter is you have to support the captain of the ship...

And if Clinton is the captain of the ship, I cant see Obama saying yes to a veep slot with such a treacherous captain.

Power is indeed the issue, and who wants to work for a crappy boss?

[hokies4ever]

6. Agreed

If only the media idiots would wake up and realize that they're just pawns in Hillary's quest to make her superdelegate appeal through the media instead of privately, ultimately trying to undermine their decision if they don't choose her, almost daring them not to choose her. Good riddance to her fake monarchy.

[Cosmocat]

7. eh ...

Hillary's position is barely tenable ... In reality, it isn't tenable at all, but it only is tenable before a media that both wants a prolonged reality show spin off for ratings, as well as having a republican bias, is lending passive credence to her position to advance both agendas ...

The basic math based on the "rules" of the game before it started has Obama as the winner now ... It should be called, like any other election, because there is no way he cannot win ...

But, only because it makes for good theater, and because it warms the hearts of republicans, the media has allowed Hillary to advance the message that the loser should in fact be the winner, and now somehow the person who rightfully has won should step down to the second position to unite the party ???

[hokies4ever]

10. Rachel Maddow on top of her game

yesterday when she said that all of this 'momentum' was purely fake and media-driven, since neither candidate can secure the nomination by just the remaining primaries and caucuses. The superdelegates will decide it in the end. Also, the 'momentum' just doesn't make sense. Do people seriously think that Obama supporters are going to waver just because he lost PA by 9 points? What an idiotic suggestion, I'm almost ashamed to have written it even facetiously. Commonsense tells you that's not how people are going to vote.

Also, I'm pretty sure that I could have ran a much better campaign for Hillary than she has. Just another reason why she isn't qualified to be President.

[Seeker30]

2. Fact is, the political pundits and the media ARE idiots, just like Olbermann said

Fact is, the political pundits and the media ARE idiots, just like Olbermann said

:shrug:

[phrigndumass]

5. K/R - Welcome to DU, hokies4ever!

btw, you should change the second sentence in the last paragraph from "Just because Obama is" to "Just because Obama isn't" ...

Mr. Super on demconwatch (an anonymous superdelegate) says most of the remaining elected superdelegates are members of the Pelosi Club. The DNC supers are up for grabs, and there's only 126 of those left. Senator Clinton is screaming for these 126, which would still leave her delegate count over 100 short of the nomination even after her expected pledged delegate gains from the rest of the state contests.

http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/04/mr-supers-take-on-where-undeclared.html

[hokies4ever]

8. Thanks

Quick question, what is Q/R? Sorry, kind of new to these boards (but definitely love them!).

Hillary's campaign has no foresight. I saw Lanny Davis, the Clinton mouthpiece, accusing Howard Dean on FOX News of tossing the NC debate without any evidence and suggesting he should resign. I mean, you've gotta figure that his superdelegate vote is worth at least 5 to 10 votes since he gets to pick a few add-ons I think.

My analysis leads me to believe that Hillary has given up on the nomination and is just campaigning for the Vice Presidency. All of her actions point that way at least, intended or not. She's trying to divide the Democratic Party so that she can show up at the convention and hold them hostage with a threat to not endorse Obama's candidacy unless she gets something in return.

[phrigndumass]

12. Re: VP ... I seem to recall Senator Clinton saying "This is where it's all going"

She said this to a media personality on a cable news network, after Texas, (IIRC - if I remember correctly). Wish I had the link, I'll dig around for it later when I have time.

It seems the Clinton campaign was expecting Howard Dean to govern the DNC just like Terry McAuliffe did. Because Dean sticks to the DNC board rules, unlike McAuliffe, Dean is a liability to them.

K/R means Kicked and Recommended (nominated for greatest page)

:hi:

[dbmk]

14. K/R = Kick/Recommended

= Post moved back up top in list
The amount of posting here can move a thread out of sight faster than you can start it sometimes. So posting in the thread will move it back up top for other people to see - hopefully.

and:
= Given a recommendation using the option at the bottom of the OP. If given enough it will be listed in the Greatest threads overview and if given a lot be listed on the front page.
Takes some posts before that option is open to you. (And you can't rec youor own post :) )

[Cosmocat]

9. In the end, any sensible SD knows ...

that is BO outright wins both the pledged delegates tne the popular vote, to steal, and it would be stealing, the nominatiom from BO would likely destroy the party ...

People are scared of saying it, but the fact is, African American's in mass would not show up in November, and would legitimately become fair game for the Rs ... AND, the massive shift of youth voters and LEGIT R and I newcomers would similary be lost to the party ...

[hokies4ever]

11. Great point

and one that the media has failed to make, except for that black CNN analyst Obama supporter (not Roland Martin). Everybody is quick to say that Obama has a white, working-class, blue-collar 'problem'. Yet nobody points out Hillary's African-American 'problem'. As a black man, I understand why few blacks are voting for Hillary. I think that Gov. Bill Richardson summed it up best speaking in Spanish when he endorse Obama, a phrase which translated as, "He will respect us." Members of minority groups want to feel respected, plain and simple. Not treated as more important than other people, just treated as equals and respected equally. Blacks don't feel like they have been respected by Hillary's campaign. I honestly didn't know that Jesse Jackson had won the SC primaries twice until Bill Clinton was happy to teach me. Thanks Slick Willie! I also don't appreciate all of the 'Obama has a white working class problem' insinuations. Guess my black vote isn't as important as theirs then. As long as her campaign does not respect blacks, she'll stay in the single digits with their vote.

[hokies4ever]

13. Oops!

editing time expired. Anyway, the last paragraph of my first post should read:

All this time Hillary has been making the argument that Obama can't win, if she had spent just a few minutes thinking about this, she would realize that it is SHE who cannot win. Just because Obama isn't screaming his best superdelegate argument at the top of his lungs on every network from CNN to FOX News, don't be fooled into thinking that Hillary has the best superdelegate argument, because she doesn't. Obama just has to call the superdelgate coup on their bluff and privately threaten not to run 2nd fiddle to Hillary, and even Hillary superdelegates might jump her ship.