Are we sick of hearing about superdelegates yet? Yes, we most probably already reached the tipping point about three weeks ago. Yet here we are, and the talk is only going to get more intense and superdelegates are an even bigger factor in the Democratic presidential race. If the television press keeps up with all this super-speculation about the role of superdelegates, the voters will really be put off the political process.
It is the most politically salacious story going, which brings us to this week's first two guests - Chuck Schumer (D-NY and Clinton spokesman) and Dick Durbin (D-IL and Obama spokesman). Senator Schumer keep referring to internecine battles, which would damage the party. Internecine is defined in Oxford as a general slaughtering or mutually destructive. Schumer was using the word with the latter definition in mind, but rest assured, if superdelegates play an integral part in nominating the Democratic candidate for President, then the former definition will be the operative one. It will be a general slaughtering in as much as Democratic voters will be so turned off by the process that the Democrats will lose the Presidency. Yes, they will lose it!
The debate today was silly and speculative, but here are some observations. With Obama winning right now, what do you think Senator Durbin is going to say... Let the will of the people prevail and don't let the superdelegates decide. For Senator Schumer, he said the supers should vote their conscience. What he's saying is for Washington political insiders to vote their conscience, which sounds oxymoronic at best, right?
Sen. Schumer also said that this nomination should not be decided with some back room deal. If it's close, that is exactly what's going to happen, make no mistake. He couldn't give a straight answer to Mr. Russert for the entire interview. It is a wasteful and derisive conversation at this point. Let primaries take place first because it always ends up that the American people, when it comes to politics are always the smartest ones. Washington insiders are very arrogant in this regard and assume that the people don't know best. The Supreme Court chose George W. Bush when another guy got the popular vote. Does more need to be said?
The panel discussion featured the return of the Capitol Gang - Al Hunt, Margaret Carlson, Mark Shields, Bob Novak, and Kate O'Beirne. The significance of these people getting together again is negligible. Going around the table, Mark Shields admitted that his own political prognosticating is less than credible, being on the losing side of the last four Presidential elections. Mr. Novak warned him chided him on being a political operative instead of an impartial journalist. Are you kidding, Novak is the worst of them all. He is not a conservative. He is a Republican political mouthpiece. His conduct during the entire affair of outing Valerie Plame was inexcusable and disqualifies any credibility that he has so by extension anything that he says, including what was said on today's program, carries no weight. If it hasn't be made perfectly clear - this column has little to no use for Robert Novak at all and would be happy to never see him appear on Meet The Press again. Those privileges should have been retracted long ago. If you want a true conservative, look to Kate O'Beirne. You may disagree with her political views, but she commands respect because she does not back away from criticizing Republicans when they contradict that conservative philosophy that she adheres to.
All the pundits had his/her own take and observations on the Democratic race, breaking it down into bullet points, which is the best reason for pundits to exist. The frustration is evident on the part of Hillary Clinton, as Ms. O'Beirne said. Of course, when she laid out her strategy, there wasn't an Obama tsunami on radar. The notion of 28 years of Bush and Clinton names dominating the presidential conversation is not something the American people want. Most people would say to give someone else a shot. Again, the people are correct in that having that idea.
The Republican contest was touched on briefly and the consensus was that Huckabee is just a monkey in the wrench and should step away. Internecine battles are what Washington is all about. Eating your own is the modus operandi on both sides and it is the exact thing the people don't want. But the general slaughter will continue with the press providing the ammunition. And as these mutually destructive internal battles continue, the rest of the country sat through a disturbing week, in which they watched Americans citizens walk into schools and universities with guns killing their own.
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