With the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama a virtual dead heat, the role of the superdelegates is getting a lot of attention. The issue is, what role should they play in the process? "Should they ratify the decision by regular delegates and vote for the candidate who is ahead in June, no matter how small the lead? Are they obligated to follow the vote of their constituents in primaries or caucuses? Or should they simply follow their conscience and vote for whomever they think is the best nominee?"
Not surprisingly, Sen. Clinton, who enjoys an edge of 204-99 over Obama, takes the position that superdelegates should be free to vote for the candidate they believe has the best chance of winning in November and the strongest president. Sen. Obama argues that the superdelegates should follow the will of the voters as expressed in the primaries and caucuses.
The notion that superdelegates should ignore the voters and exercise their own judgment is shortsighted and misguided. It will subvert the idea that it is the voters in the Democratic party who ultimately determine its party's nominee. It will alienate segments of Democratic voters who were inspired to participate in the process out of hope and idealism that the 2008 election would not be business as usual. And it will provide fodder for Republicans to exploit the hypocrisy of the Democratic party as the party of fairness.
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