 |
|
The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Where's the love?
Superdelegates say they're waiting on personal appeals
By Robert Yoon
CNN Political Unit
 |
Sen. John Kerry greets C. Virginia Fields, Manhattan borough president, during a rally in Harlem on Monday.
Story Tools
| ON CNN TV | 
Stay with CNN-USA for ongoing debate and live coverage of reactions to President Bush's call for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage -- and the run-up to the coming 10-state "Super Tuesday" primary contest.
|
VIDEO
|
CNN's Judy Woodruff on the contests in Hawaii, Idaho and Utah.
CNN's Candy Crowley on Democrats and the issue of same-sex marriage.
CNN's Bill Schneider on the president's call for an amendment on marriage.
|
| UPCOMING PRIMARIES |
• Sunday, February 29: Puerto Rico Republican primary • "Super Tuesday," March 2: Primaries in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia; caucuses in Minnesota When is your primary? For more key dates in the 2004 election season, see our special America Votes 2004 Election Calendar |
SPECIAL REPORT
|
|
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
|
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A lot of people are feeling really unloved this morning.
And I'm not even referring to the good people of Utah, Idaho, and Hawaii, who together handed John Kerry another trio of primary and caucus wins for his campaign mantle without so much as a "Thank you, ma'am" or even one of those chin nods that casual acquaintances give each other in the hallway.
Never mind the fact that within nanoseconds after his Valentine's Day wins in D.C. and Nevada, the Massachusetts senator had e-mailed out en masse his sincere thanks to voters in those jurisdictions for delivering the lion's share of their measly 40 delegates. This time around, the Kerry campaign didn't get around to sending out any releases for almost an hour after winning Idaho and Utah, and when they finally did, the headline was an unappreciative "Steve Westly, Tech CEOs to Discuss John Kerry's Tech Plan."
No, the folks who are really feeling neglected this morning are a number of important voters across the country who are following the race closely but haven't endorsed a candidate yet for one main reason: no one has asked them to. What kind of post-Iowa and New Hampshire voter expects to be personally courted by the presidential candidates? Superdelegates. That's who.
A superdelegate, of course, is one of the 800 or so elected officials and Democratic Party leaders who are free to support any candidate they choose and are guaranteed a vote at the convention this summer in Boston. The CNN Political Unit has contacted most of these uber-Democrats to get their thoughts on the presidential race, and a recurring theme in our discussions has been that many superdelegates remain on the fence because no one has made a personal appeal for their support.
Rachel Binah, a retired bed-and-breakfast owner from Mendocino, California, and DNC member, says that she wants to know the candidates' stands on environmental issues before making an endorsement.
"I'm hoping that a candidate will call me soon so we can talk about it," she told the Grind. "Last time, I got a personal commitment from Al Gore to ban offshore drilling. . . . That's what I want from the person I'll endorse."
A male superdelegate from the industrial Midwest who asked not to be identified says that he, too, has a pet issue he'd like to discuss with the candidates.
"What I'm waiting for is the trade debate," he said. "I'm a union man. That's what I'm interested in, not this gay marriage bulls--t."
Mary Ellen Early, another California DNC member, also hasn't decided which candidate to back because "no one has asked me for my support."
The fact is, just like Iowa was described ad nauseum as an "organization state," where strong handshakes and good eye contact went further with voters than free or paid media, superdelegates have become "organization delegates": the campaigns with the best grass-roots operations may stand the best chance of mopping up these undecided kingmakers-in-waiting.
One D.C. superdelegate said she was a strong supporter of Dick Gephardt, and now supports front-runner Kerry because of a personal appeal from the Missouri congressman. "He [Gephardt] has personally asked me to support John Kerry, and that's what I'll do."
Binah says that friends and associates have taken turns trying to persuade her to support one candidate or another, but her response so far has been a polite "I have the utmost respect for your candidate, but I've got to talk to him first."
Both Kerry and John Edwards could get an easy boost from these undecided superdelegates. Kerry leads the overall delegate count with at least 733 as of this morning (222 of them are superdelegates), but still can't clinch the nomination until March 9 at the very earliest, and that's only if he wins every delegate on Super Tuesday. That's highly improbable even for the man who now has won 19 of 21 contests (Yes, we're counting Democrats Abroad). A steady stream of superdelegate endorsements could power him to an earlier nomination victory. Likewise, Edwards could add credibility to his campaign by boosting his delegate numbers, even if he hasn't won a contest since South Carolina. Edwards is second in the delegate hunt with 214 total delegates, 39 of whom are superdelegates.
Of course, some superdelegates are tired of all the extra attention and would rather not be bothered. Ray Buckley, a New Hampshire state representative and Lieberman supporter, says he has no plans to endorse any of the candidates.
"If I do make a decision, I'll be sure to call you, the L.A. Times, the AP, ABC, and The New York Times."
For a complete look at CNN's Delegate Scorecard, go to: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/scorecard/index.html
