Is fear causing Super Delegates to be hesitant to commit?

[NJmaverick]

If I were an SD and wanted to endorse Obama, I think I would be hesitant. It's pretty clear the Clintons are powerful people with many powerful friends. Consider what happened to Nancy Pelosi, when she made comments about the SDs not over turning the will of the people. Wealthy donors threatened to withhold funds. Then consider what they did to Richardson when he came out in favor of Obama.

It seems to me the Clintons can be vindictive and have the power to make that matter.

So do you think there are SDs, who would like to speak out in favor of Obama, but fear the Clinton's wrath?

[DJ13]

1. Yes, as Congress illustrates, Dems by in large have a BIG yellow streak

It doesnt help that next to Bush 43 the Clintons are nearly as infamous for holding a grudge and getting even if you dont give them what they want.

[Vinca]

2. Yep - the Clinton blacklist is a bad place to be. nt

[H2O Man]

3. Many of the super delegates

have decided who they will support, but have not announced their decision.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Nah, the Clintons are toothless at this point, I think.

They're old news.

I think superdelegates are waiting because they all want to be the last person to endorse.

[polichick]

5. They're probably just not sure which side of their bread the butter's on yet...

Except for a few "elders" who are trying to stay neutral in case they're needed to broker a peace.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

14. Yep - plus they are wating to see if any more scandals or slipups happen w/either candidate.

After snipergate and pastorgate - they're just waiting to see if anything else happens. Both candidates are damaged and they're waiting to see if another scandal might happen that will put the nail in the coffin of either one.

[BeyondGeography]

6. They'll do it en masse at the end to close this thing down

Meantime, they talk up pledged delegates as the determining factor and trickle out in favor of Obama to lay the foundation for the final decision. I think the choreography is quite sophisticated, actually.

[Lucky 13]

7. People are realizing that the Clintons lack the power to give their "wrath" any teeth.

Please. What the fuck are they gonna do?

1) Ok we know they'll call these people "traitors", but that line is played out. You can only call the first few hundred people traitors before everyone starts tuning you out.
2) You can only call so many people traitors before people start to ask who the real traitors are... and start looking back at you.
3) If Hillary can bury the hatchet with SCAIFE, everybody knows she has NO GROUND to be angry at an endorsement.

They don't scare me at all anymore. And I'm sure they don't scare any delegates either.

They are starting to remind me of my cat. She's like 12 years old, only 7 pounds, and is missing some teeth. Tiny little thing and cute as a button. But if she feels threatened (like when trying to administer medicine), she stands up on her tip toes, arches her back, puffs out her fur, and tries to make herself look as big and as scary as possible. There's also this horrible growl and hiss that goes along with it. When I first saw her do it, I was SCARED. She was suddenly a demon in a tiny kitten's body! But you gotta do what you gotta do, so I sucked it up and grabbed her little punk ass. She immediately dropped the act and went limp. There was no bite behind that bark, so to speak...

[kwenu]

8. Yup. They've got to do it together and hasten her end.

[Symarip]

9. I don't think it's just the Clinton backlash

If the superdelegates appear to be moving before the primaries are concluded, the perception may be they are attempting to manipulate the electorate which would ultimately be bad for these individuals. By allowing the primaries to continue the more vulnerable SD's (which appears to be most of them) won't have to worry about a backlash from their respective constituents. Plus, if Hillary were to drop out without SD intervention for financial reasons or poor primary performance, then the SD's are off the hook completely. If you ask me, it's just a case of covering your own ass.

[BigD_95]

10. Im starting to wonder

If Bush was just copying what the Clintons do......

[Tatiana]

11. Timing is everything. Most have already made up their minds.

They are just waiting for the right time to announce their decision. They don't want to appear to be overriding the will of the public.

[Jersey Devil]

12. Yep, Obama is now even with her among elected supers but the DNC ones

I would bet are largely the usual suspects who wind up with jobs and many probably held them under Bill Clinton's Administration. They are not going to cut off the hand that feeds them, until, of course, they see another hand to try to feed from.

[monmouth]

13. The "Big Dawgs" among the SDs like Biden, Edwards, et al would

like to be "king maker" in a sense. They'll wait until the right time, they know what they're doing.

[OzarkDem]

15. There's no clear winner yet, they don't want to commit

The race is still basically a draw, with neither candidate gaining enough of an edge and sufficient momentum to break ahead.

[Arkansas Granny]

16. It's my understanding that the SDs are free to vote their conscience while keeping the

best interests of the party in mind. It could be that they are waiting before they commit to a candidate to make sure they nominate the one who has the best chance of winning the GE. I doubt that it is due to fear of the Clinton's wrath.