Will Democrats Have a Nominee in June?

With only seven states and 300 superdelegates left, the “Screamer” Howard Dean thinks Democrats might be able to finally make a decision on their official nominee by June. The primaries are over by the beginning of summer, but the illusion of a small-d democratic party still needs time for the VIPs to make up their minds. I find this whole process as hysterical as Howard’s “Yeaaaaaaaaaaarrrggg!!” Just a few months ago the party was already planning the second-floor décor of the White House, and now they have become so divided that their future in the West Wing is more uncertain than ever. What happened?

For one thing, the voters are split. Although many individuals are decided between Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) or Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), the divide is virtually even. Sure, Sen. Obama is leading in North Carolina, but Sen. Clinton has a chance to win Indiana. Each time the party seems close to choosing a nominee, the tides change. After all, Sen. Clinton was almost out of mathematical contention … then she won Pennsylvania and gained the much-needed momentum to at least keep her PR campaign alive that somehow she can pull this thing off.

Besides voter divisions, the superdelegates are holding out in order to figure their own political gain into the equation properly. Beware the superdelegate who tells you he or she wants this process over more than anyone; and that they would just as soon have remained irrelevant throughout this process. Poppycock! They love the attention! Do you think these back-benchers don’t like the idea of an Oprah or former president calling and wooing them? (For the life of me, I don’t know why Clinton ever started making proffers with a guy named Ickes …) If they could milk this attention through 2012, they’d find a way. The superdelegates claim they only want what’s best for the party; however, they don’t seem to actually be doing that. The lack of a resolution has led to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) saving scarce dollars, Sens. Obama and Clinton revealing each other’s inadequacies, and a severely divided party that is nearing damage beyond repair, whether they admit it or not.

Chairman Dean wants the party to decide by June, but he gave the superdelegates another window by suggesting more publicly that sometime before the convention in August would be fine, as well. Democratic voters will have cast their ballots, and the popular vote will be decided, but what about the superdelegates? They were created in the first place to use their expertise to benefit the party, but thus far their indecision has caused harmful divisions that may cost the party the presidency. A decision by June will give them an extra two and a half months to unite the segregated party — will it happen or will politics just get in the way?

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