A superdelegate tips the Obama campaign off that his or her "vote" is going for Obama. The campaign then times the announcement -- using the endorsement as a trump card when needed. Or not.
It is unclear whether the timing of the show-stopping endorsements is the product of luck or design. Both the candidates and the superdelegates are on virgin turf, feeling their way through a primary phase that has never been tested since the nominating rules were written in the late 1980s. Obama’s campaign won’t elaborate on its superdelegate strategy. “As people tell us they support us, we release it,” said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.
Jeanne Cummings writes at Politico that -- whatever the perception of just when and how these announcements come -- the "rookie" has been doing a great job with his super d announcements. But sometimes you have to wonder.
Such a hands-off approach, of course, doesn’t fully explain the made-for-television moments that surrounded the Edwards and Richardson endorsements. And people close to the campaign say that some superdelegate announcements have been delayed a day or two to ensure full impact.
The overall strategy, whatever the tactics, is good. The Obama campaign hasn't used superdelegate announcements to push his opponent out of the race. And remember: both the Edwards and Richardson endorsements were "leaked" hours before the announcements were made, deflating some of the effect they might have had if the announcement had really come out of the blue.
“By doing it that way, they are avoiding the charge that the bosses, the party leaders and insiders, are conspiring to deny Hillary a voice and voters a choice,” said [Democratic consultant Doug] Schoen.
“My sense of it is that everything is working to their advantage. They get more press each time they do it. They are not looking like they are trying to steamroll Hillary. And the inevitability is fed,” he added.
