The Slow-Motion Brokered Convention Has Begun

by Mark Rhoads

Once upon a time many years ago there was a Republican candidate for Cook County Assessor, an office the GOP never came close to winning.  The candidate, Homer Fields, went to a meeting of the 49th Ward Regular Republican Organization.  After his erudite speech on county tax tables was over, a precinct captain asked Fields, "How many jobs does the Assessor have?  "About 1,400," said Fields.  How many of those jobs can you give to the 49th Ward?," said the captain.  Fields replied, "How many votes can you deliver?"

A similar line of questions is now being asked by Democratic super-delegates on a national scale.  One of two things will happen for Sen. Barack Obama in the next four weeks because of the fact that the Democratic convention has already started in slow motion.

First, there could be a stampede of super-delegates to put him over the top just because they want to be on what they think will be the winning side.  They at least want to put him over the first top, of more than 2,026 delegates to needed to nominate.  If the Democratic Rules Committee were to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan, the majority goes up over 2200.  The second alternative is that the price of the final super-delegates Obama needs will now go sky-high.  All of the super-delegates are professional politicians and they know the value of their votes is going up with each passing minute.  Now the question is how much is Obama willing to promise to the final super-delegates to put him over the first top--or the second one if the numbers expand?

David Axelrod has been a Chicago politician for decades and he knows that the votes of the last super-delegates will not come cheap.  Axelrod will now do for Obama what David Davis did for Abraham Lincoln, he will cut the deals so his candidate will not have to make them.  But his candidate will have to honor them if he wins.  Can you imagine?  How about Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana for Secretary of State?  The mind boggles.  If ever there was a 10-watt bulb in a 60-watt socket, it is Schweitzer, who is by a country mile the dumbest governor in the country.  It will be fun to watch Axelrod put every federal agency on the auction block to win those final votes.

Comments

[spintreebb]

But it's all about the CHANGE, right?