A Clinton superdelegate who can't vote -- yet

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, sidelined superdelegate and supporter of Hillary Clinton, still sees a path for Clinton to claim the party's presidential nomination -- if she runs the tables of major primary elections in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and beyond.

"Then the momentum is with her... and at that point it's a jump ball,'' Nelson said in a program to air Sunday on C-SPAN's Newsmakers. Yet Nelson, whose vote as a superdelegate has been frozen as part of the penalty on Florida and Michigan for holding early primaries, suggests that his fellow superdelegates will be hard-pressed to ignore the candidate who claims the most votes when the primaries end in June.

"If I had a vote as a superdelegate, I'd want to know who won the states that are going to be critical in November,'' says Nelson, pressed on what his advice for fellow senators and other party superdelegates will be if Barack Obama can claim the most support in June. Nelson also sees little likelihood of resolution of the campaign ...

before then: "I think we're in a stalemate for at least another couple of months, until the course of the primaries run.''

Nelson, who was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune and Politico.com for the program airing on Sunday at 10 a.m. EDT and 6 p.m. Eastern time, has made considerable efforts to broker an agreement among the Democratic National Committee, the parties in Florida and Michigan, and the Obama and Clinton campaigns.

The crossfire between the Clinton and Obama campaigns also is cause for great concern, Nelson suggests, saying, as does DNC Chairman Howard Dean, that the conflict between the two could damage the party in November.

"The fact that they are almost even-Steven and neither of them are able to get to the needed delegates ... certainly is damaging,'' Nelson said.

Asked to envision a peaceful resolution of all of this -- with the party coalescing around one of the candidates by June and the convention finding a way to accommodate the disputed delegates in some way -- Nelson was asked what it will take to win the voters of a swing state such as his, which could prove critical to anyone's formula for winning the White House.

People are looking for change, and they are looking for leadership. "They want a president they can believe in,'' the senator says. "They want a president who, like Teddy Roosevelt said, can speak softly and carry a big stick.''

-- Mark Silva

Mark Silva writes for the Swamp, a blog by the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau.

Comments

[N.E. BodybutHillary]

Just ignore the smaller states even though they make up the majority of delegates right Bill?

[Fear Everything]

To all you "Hope" people, just know that there is no hope. This country is run by liars and criminals and always will be. There is nothing you can do to change this fact. The same washington elite will continue to decide who will run this country, and you won't be one of the deciders - Ever. Give up your silly "Hopes and Dreams!, as that's all they will ever be.

[gdewar]

Funny how the insiders tried to rig the schedule for one of their folks and it didn't work out.

If they'd left California's primary alone, we'd have had tons of "attention" and been the deal breaker for Clinton or Obama. As it stands we're just sitting around waiting for other folks to have the topper.

[anita d. cruz]

DNC HAS A BAD RULES ABOUT ALLOCATIONS OF DELEGATES! 1.) DNC PENALIZED STATE'S DISTRICTS WHO DIDNT VOTE YR 2000 AND 2004 -THEIR DISTRICTS WERE STRIPPED OF SOME DELEGATES. (2ND) IF THE DO THE SAME RULINGS LIKE RNC WINNER TAKE ALL-THEN WE CAN FIND OUT RIGHT AWAY THE WINNER OF THIS DEM.RACE! AND BY NOW MAYBE HILLARY IS THE WINNER HERE ! COZ HILLARY WON THE BIGGER BLUE STATES AND BIG SWING STATES AND BIGGER RED STATES LIKE TEXAS MARCH 4TH SUPPOSEDLY WE HAD FOUND OUT THE WINNER HERE! ITS HILLARY !! IF DNC MAKES A WINNER TAKE ALL STATES SPECIALLY SHE WON MOSTLY OF THE BIGGER BLUE STATES AND SEN. LEAHY, JOHN KERRY,TED KENNEDY,NANCY PELOSI,BILL RICHARDSON WONT DICTATE AND DEMAND FOR HILLARY TO DROP OUT. THIS RACE IS NOT OVER YET COZ NO ONE HAS REACH THE 2025 DELEGATES TO BE NOMINATED. AND I HOPED THOSE SUPERDELEGATES WONT BE INTIMIDATED BY PELOSI AND THE RESTS TO BE DICTATED WHOM THEY GONNA ENDORSE, BUT INSTEAD THEY HAVE TO WEIGH IN WHO WIN AND WON THE BIGGER STATES THAT WILL LEAD THE DEM.PARTY TO VICTORY COMES GEN.ELECTIO THIS NOV. OBAMA WON MOSTLY THE REPUBLICAN STATES COZ HE CANT WIN THE BLUE STATES FROM THE HANDS OF HILLARY, AND OF COURSE FROM THE SUPPORTS OF THOSE HISPANIC VOTERS AND WHITE VOTERS WHO VOTED FOR HILLARY. WHY PELOSI AND THE RESTS LIKE HER THINKS WHEN A CANDIDATE REACH 1500 DELEGATES THAT CANDIDATE IS THE WINNER? AND THAT THE OTHER CANDIDATE HAS TO DROP OUT? SO WHY NOT PELOSI CHANGE THE DNC RULES NOW THAT ONCE THE CANDIDATE HAS 1500 OR 1600 DELEGATES-THATS IT AND THE OTHER CANDIDATE HAS TO AUTOMATICALLY DROP OUT!! AND I AM HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER HER IN HOUSTON,TEXAS AND I WANT HER TO CONTINUE THE RACE UNTIL SOMEONE GETS THE 2025 DELEGATES, LIKE WHEN MCCAIN REACHED 1195 AND THATS THE ONLY TIME MIKE HUCKABEE DROP OUT AND HE WAS RIGHT, HE GOT ALL THE RIGHTS TO RUN UNTIL SOMEONE WINS, I APPLAUD MIKE FOR THIS, AND I WAS ROOTING FOR HIM IN THIS REPUBLICAN RACE THAN MCCAIN. GO HILLARY, WE LOVE YOU HERE IN HOUSTON,TX.

[anita d. cruz]

I WONDERED IF THE SUPPORTERS OF OBAMA HAD CHANGED THE NUMBER OF DELEGATES TO WIN THE NOMINEE? DID PELOSI AND THE RESTS CHANGED IT TO 1600 DELEGATES FOR THE OTHER CANDIDATE TO AUTOMATICALLY DROP OUT FROM THE RACE? IF SO, WHEN WAS THAT DNC RULINGS CHANGED? AND THOSE SUPERDELEGATES HAS THEIR OWN BRAINS AND NOT BE DICTATED BY PELOSI,RICHARDSON,LEAHY AND THE RESTS. THEY HAVE TO BEAR IN MINDS THE CANDIDATE WHO WON THE DEMOCRATIC LEANING STATES, AND HILLARY WON THE BIGGER POPULATED DEM.LEANING STATES AND BIG RED STATES LIKE TEXAS, AND THE DNC RULES THE CANDIDATE WHO WON THE BIGGER STATES GETS MORE SUPPORTS FROM THE SUPERDELEGATES, AND NOW THESE PELOSI , LEAHY,RICHARDSON AND THE RESTS, WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? THIS RACE AINT OVER YET MEN!!! NO WAY THAT WE WANT HILLARY TO DROP OUT, MAYBE OVER OUR DEAD BODIES, HERE IN HOUSTON,TX WE CAMPAIGNED FOR HER, RALLIED AND WENT DOOR TO DOOR JUST TO GET SOMEONE TO VOTE FOR HER MARCH 4TH. AND ALSO IF THE DNC DIDNT PENALIZE THE STATE'S DISTRICTS STRIPPED SOME OF THE DISTRICTS DELEGATES COZ THEY DIDNT VOTE LAST 2000 AND 2004 ELECTION, SO THOSE DISTRICTS LEANING TO HILLARY GOT LESS DELEGATES COZ OF THESE PENALTY BY THE DNC, AND THE BLACK POPULATED DISTRICTS LEANING OBAMA, THEIR DISTRICTS WERE NOT PENALIZED COZ IT SAID THAT THE BLACK VOTED LAST 2000 AND 2004 ELECTION. AND SO IF THEY DIDNT VOTE? WHY DO U HAVE TO PENALIZE IF THE VOTERS DECIDED TO VOTE THIS YR. THAT RULING SUCKS! THEY HAVE TO CHANGE THAT! AND DNC HAS TO ABOLISH THIS CAUCUS, VOTERS HERE IN HOUSTON, THEY STAYED UP TO 3A.M WAITING FOR THEIR TURN TO CAUCUS AND SOME SLEEPING IN THEIR CHAIRS, AND SOME HUNGRY. AND ME N MY SON, WERE LINED UP OUTSIDE THE PARKING LOT NEAR THE ROAD IN THE FREEZING WEATHER, AT LEAST NOT RAINING. SOME DISTRICTS RAN OUT OF SIGNING SHEETS AND THEY HAVE TO USE A REGULAR PAPER, I HOPED THAT COUNTS. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO SOME DISTRICTS THE SIGNING SHEETS WERE MISSING? HILLARY WON 101,000 VOTES THAN OBAMA AND I WONDER HOW OBAMA WON THE CAUCUS?

[N.E. BodybutHillary]

So many capital letters. So So many.

[Chris Calloway]

ahem Anita...Hillary did not win Texas.

Also if you study history you will find that what candidate wins a State in the primary has very little correlation in the general. There were several big States where Sen. Kerry won in the primary yet GWB blew him away in the general. The fact that Clinton won New York and California in the primary, in no way implies Sen. Obama would lose them in a general election to a republican. I would have thought this was common sense but the Clinton campaign is expert at obscuring the truth and her followers tend not to be readers so they are fooled.

A better measure is who can win non partisan voters and swing States. Based on that criteria Hillary has no chance vs Obama or McCain. They both have more appeal to independents and voters who vote based on the issues and not the party.