2008 Woodie Awards
STAFF EDITORIAL, 3/10: Obama needs help of Democratic delegates
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Opinion
Nebraska Democrats will send 31 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August.
In February, the first-ever presidential caucus here allocated 16 delegates for Sen. Barack Obama and eight for Sen. Hillary Clinton after Obama won a decisive victory.
One more delegate emergefromwill be determined at the state convention later this spring -; the other six Nebraska delegates are represented by those "superdelegates" you've been reading about so much lately.
Superdelegates within the Democratic Party will almost certainly determine the nominee, as neither Obama nor Clinton will be able to garner enough pledged delegates to win the nomination outright. If enough superdelegates wait to commit their support to a particular candidate, the Democratic nomination could well go all the way to the August convention. This would, of course, be horrible news for Democrats.
As Obama and Clinton spend all summer duking it out, Sen. John McCain will get a free ride to attack both possible nominees. This editorial board has endorsed Obama, and we don't want to see that situation come to fruition. We think he can beat McCain given time to distinguish himself from the Arizona senator and defend his record, but Obama won't get that chance if this drags out too long.
Sen. Ben Nelson is a Nebraska superdelegate, along with five other party officials. Including Nelson, who has emerged as a key Senate ally of Obama, four superdelegates have already declared their intention to cast a vote for Obama.
It's only fitting, seeing as these superdelegates are Nebraska Democrats, and Democratic voters here declared two-to-one support for the Illinois senator at the caucus.
Two superdelegates - Democratic Party Chair Steven Achelpohl and Vice Chair Audra Ostergard are waiting to cast their ballots until the race becomes more clear.
"As someone who has a vote in this, I want to see this play out a little longer, and I want to give her an opportunity to show what she can show," Achelpohl told reporters March 5, the day after Clinton won in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island.
In February, the first-ever presidential caucus here allocated 16 delegates for Sen. Barack Obama and eight for Sen. Hillary Clinton after Obama won a decisive victory.
One more delegate emergefromwill be determined at the state convention later this spring -; the other six Nebraska delegates are represented by those "superdelegates" you've been reading about so much lately.
Superdelegates within the Democratic Party will almost certainly determine the nominee, as neither Obama nor Clinton will be able to garner enough pledged delegates to win the nomination outright. If enough superdelegates wait to commit their support to a particular candidate, the Democratic nomination could well go all the way to the August convention. This would, of course, be horrible news for Democrats.
As Obama and Clinton spend all summer duking it out, Sen. John McCain will get a free ride to attack both possible nominees. This editorial board has endorsed Obama, and we don't want to see that situation come to fruition. We think he can beat McCain given time to distinguish himself from the Arizona senator and defend his record, but Obama won't get that chance if this drags out too long.
Sen. Ben Nelson is a Nebraska superdelegate, along with five other party officials. Including Nelson, who has emerged as a key Senate ally of Obama, four superdelegates have already declared their intention to cast a vote for Obama.
It's only fitting, seeing as these superdelegates are Nebraska Democrats, and Democratic voters here declared two-to-one support for the Illinois senator at the caucus.
Two superdelegates - Democratic Party Chair Steven Achelpohl and Vice Chair Audra Ostergard are waiting to cast their ballots until the race becomes more clear.
"As someone who has a vote in this, I want to see this play out a little longer, and I want to give her an opportunity to show what she can show," Achelpohl told reporters March 5, the day after Clinton won in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island.
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