Clinton Attacks Result In ... Superdelegates and Fundraisers Defecting to Obama

Today Indianapolis native and superdelegate Joe Andrew, who had been appointed chairman of the Democratic National Committee by Bill Clinton, switched his endorsement from Hillary to Obama. In his announcement he suggested Hillary's campaign was harmful to the Democratic party:

I am convinced that the primary process has devolved to the point that it's now bad for the Democratic Party.... [A] vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue this process, and a vote to continue this process is a vote that assists (Republican) John McCain.

Last week, also citing concern about the tone of the Clinton campaign, former ambassador to Chile, Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon, who reportedly raised nearly $500,000 for Clinton, decided to switch his support to Clinton, according to NBC news.

Since the Pennsylvania primary, Obama has gained 11 superdelegates to Clinton's 5; since the Ohio and Texas primaries he's picked up 35 to her 14.

Meanwhile Politico.com and the Wall Street Journal reported that:

Despite his loss in Pennsylvania and other campaign bumps, Barack Obama is heavily favored to win what will be the final and decisive contest for the Democratic presidential nomination -- the "invisible primary" for the convention votes of party leaders.

Obama's perceived electability, but also his effective grass-roots organizing, fundraising, recruitment of new voters, and a commitment to mount a 50-state voter-mobilization operation have impressed elected officials among the ranks of superdelegates.

Writing in the National Journal, veteran political analyst Charlie Cook wrote:

Almost half of the delegate advantage [Clinton] netted against Obama in Pennsylvania was offset by losses of superdelegates the same week. Colby College political scientist and delegate selection expert Anthony Corrado estimates that Clinton would need to win about 69 percent of the remaining delegates, a virtual impossibility given proportional representation of the nominating contests.

On his own site, Cook noted that:

But you can’t change how the game is played once it has begun. The Democrats have decided that the nominee will be determined by the number of delegates won, not by the popular vote, and that primaries held in direct violation of party rules (in this case, Florida’s and Michigan’s) don’t count. End of discussion.

I doubt that having won the popular vote in the 2000 general election is of much solace to Al Gore. Many a football team gains more yards than its opponent in a game yet loses on that important technicality called points.