Hoping to avoid a summer-long bloodbath for the Democratic presidential nomination, some party leaders such as Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen have urged a convention of superdelegates in June, after the caucuses and primaries are over.
The idea sounds exotic, but recent public declarations and Politico interviews with top Democratic officials have made clear that something like what Bredesen proposed is already underway — not with a big meeting but with an intensifying series of exchanges among party elites. The early voting in this virtual convention is bad news for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her hope that Democratic leaders will settle the nomination is starting to come true — with Barack Obama so far emerging as the beneficiary.
I still have a problem with this, however, and it's not with the supers. It's with the Clinton campaign, including Bill and all of her handlers. The media is far too aware of every nook and cranny of the inner workings of the Democratic party. If Hillary is dragged out kicking and screaming, even as a unified act of the supers, a significant portion of her supporters may still sit out in November. The only real solution which avoids having the Democrats once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is for one of the candidates (most likely Hillary) to do it on their own.
More healing time is better, true, so having it happen in June is far preferable to having it happen at the end of August. But that still doesn't solve the issue of party unity. The only real solution that assures a Democratic victory in November is for the two candidates to settle it between them like adults in an adult fashion. And that does NOT include trying to push the matter to a fight for the committee folks in Denver.
If Hillary can pull off an unprecedented series of miracles in the next ten contests, then I say fine. Have Obama be the adult and go home. If not, it's time to pull the plug on this science experiment.
