Day Forty-Seven, May 28

As far as Obama's world goes, it doesn't get much more momentous than today. At least not as far as this blog is concerned. Because today Barack Obama paid a visit to the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, the school I student taught at last fall and have been subbing at full-time since January. There are countless reasons that I have stuck with MESA (mainly the character of the student body and the world-class teaching faculty), but I never imagined that this would be one of them. Friday morning the staff was informed that the visit would be taking place, the story broke in the Denver Post over the Labor Day weekend, and today, the big day finally arrived, and it was as stunning as we all imagined.

I won't divulge the full itinerary of Obama's visit, but he started off the day by taking a tour of the school (lead by MESA director Mike Johnston, with guides representing the 8th and 11th grade classes), learning more about what the school does and makes its formula so successful. One of the reasons that the Obama camp was attracted to MESA is the fact that this year it was the first public high school in Colorado history to graduate 100% of its senior class and have them all admitted into a four-year college of university. After seeing his way around campus, Obama was invited to sit in on a class of 8th graders' passage portfolio presentations, a necessary step for every 8th, 10th, and 12th grader to move on to the next step of their education. Barack listened to two students practice their portfolios in front of the class, and then gave them feedback to improve their presentations for the real deal later this week (can you imagine a better judge to critique your public speaking skills?).

At lunchtime, the hour the entire school had been waiting for arrived, as Barack made his way to the school auditorium and gave a fantastic speech on his platforms on education reform, followed by a 30-minute question and answer session with audience members. Standing before MESA's inaugural graduating class--this year's seniors--Obama spoke passionately on points such as struggling inner city schools, the lightened role of standardized testing, and the demand to reform No Child Left Behind. He repeatedly touched on MESA as a model for what inner city schools can achieve with a dedicated staff, student body, and family members to push the model to success. "Recently, eighty-seven percent of Colorado teachers said that testing was crowding out subjects like music and art," Obama said in his opening remarks. "But we need to look no further than MESA to see that accountability does not need to come at the expense of a well-rounded education: it can help complete it. And it should." During the Q&A that followed his speech, audience members posed questions to Obama to tackle some of the specifics of his education policies. One recently-graduated member of the senior class asked Obama what he would do to aid children of illegal immigrants attend college.

Here is a video of the speech Obama gave to the audience at MESA:



One hell of a way to close out the school year, no? Before he left MESA's campus, Obama paid one last visit to the most important members of the MESA population: the students. Making a surprise appearance at a final school assembly at the end of the day, Obama posed for a group photograph with the school's staff (totally in there!), before commending the entire student body on their hard work and offering some encouraging remarks to next year's class of seniors. A common gripe overheard amongst MESA students today was the fact that they wouldn't even get to see or meet Obama, so what a treat it was for them to get an audience with him at the end of the day!

Of course, if the students were excited to see Obama in person, the staff at MESA were downright giddy. And with good cause. Political affiliations aside, a tremendous amount of work was completed by the staff in the two school days leading up to Barack's visit, and being the last day of school, it would've been understandable if staff members were simply running on fumes to finish the year. Instead, I have never seen a more enthusiastic, positive, and supportive team of teachers in my entire life. As he entered the school's gymnasium to address the students, Obama shook hands with faculty members before beginning his speech (I got a quick one in while trying to salvage a decent photo from his grand entrance). As he spoke, I began to think about how unforgettable the occasion was for those of us in attendance, but also what sort of message the visit gave about Obama as a candidate. I feel that today's visit is the only proof one needs to see that Obama recognizes not only the struggles thousands of schools in America are facing, but also the triumphs that we share. In his speech, Obama remarked how students in Denver today face competition all over the world, and that a good education is "no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, but a prerequisite ". Tell it like it is, sir. We're all ears.

It was truly a school day to remember, and one that has given me enough fuel to keep this blog going for a long time to come. I've been scouring the net to try and find as much documentation of today's visit as possible, and I've uncovered a slideshow on CBS4, a detailed write-up of Obama's tour in the Rocky Mountain News, and a glowing account of the Senator's visit on the dailycamera.com All the photos I captured with my digital camera came out pretty blurry (or too far off to be worth a close look), but if I can get a hold of some better pictures, I'll post them.

What a day!

Day Forty-Six, May 20

For those of you out there still paying attention (to the national news media, not your humble narrator, of course), a lot has been going on in Obamaland since I made my last post. In order to bring the blog up to speed, I'll be posting three videos that help encapsulate just how much progress Barack's campaign has made in a little under a week, and provide a glimpse into how this will impact his oncoming candidacy for the Democratic party.

First off, the news so HUGE it demands capital letters and a bold typeface to boot: John Edwards got off the fence, and we're delighted to have him on our side! Ever since he withdrew his own bid for the presidency way back on January 30, Edwards has been very upright about his oath to keep his lips sealed until he was good and ready to lend his support to either Hillary or Barack. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan last Wednesday, Edwards gave a speech introducing the candidate to his rabid audience and finally put a country of Obamaphiles' worries to rest by coming out for our candidate. A perennial 'good guy' in both 2004 and 2008's Democratic races, Edwards' decision to show his support for Barack is great news, and gives major push for the Obama campaign, especially in the South (Edwards has served as a Senator, representing the voters of North Carolina). Like many of the other celebrity delegates who have come out in favor of Obama this year, Edwards' endorsement speech consisted of several glowing descriptions of the candidate, but in true Edwards fashion, his seventeen-minute speech focused on the issues that he is passionate about (education, poverty, health care), and societal ills that Obama can help solve as President. Here is a full length capture of that speech:



Next on this post's agenda is a breathtaking sight: at a rally held this Monday in Portland, OR, Obama drew over 75,000 people to hear him speak! The impressive--nay, astounding--collection of folks gathered in a single rally is a great example of how Obama's gaining momentum not just on tv news programs and in the papers, but in real, demonstrative ways. People are coming out more than ever, in real life, to see the man spread his message. If this many people are coming out to see him deliver the goods now, still six months before the general election, it makes me giddy to think what we will be a part of when the DNC comes to our front door in August.

Besides the sheer awesome glimpse of an ocean of people coming out Obama (and in spite of the forced twang in the background music), another promising side to this video is the tone of Barack's rhetoric. With his nomination as good as sealed by now, Obama has shifted his tone back to the more hopeful, inclusive type of speech that gained him national notoriety earlier in the year. In a quote taken from the clip, Obama said, "This campaign and this election are not about Barack Obama. It's not about Hillary Clinton. It's not about John McCain. It's about your hopes, it's about your dreams. It's about what's possible when a new generations of Americans stand up and say, 'We're not gonna settle for what is, we're gonna imagine what might be.'" The rest of that quote, and a glimpse of its landmark audience, can be viewed here:



Finally, and most pertinently tonight, it would be criminal to create a post without acknowledging Obama's victory in today's Oregon Democratic primary. Besides overtaking the state's polls by a margin of sixteen points, (cnn.com estimates here, as of 11pm MST Tuesday night), today Obama has also reached a significant goal in the delegate count, having now claimed over half of the pledged delegates up for grabs in the Democratic race. In other words, as analysts have been phoning in for several weeks now, it is now mathematically impossible for Hillary to win her party's nomination (at least in the delegate count). Although it must also be pointed out that Senator Clinton came away with a handy victory in the Kentucky primary (65-30 points), also held today, and that neither candidate is going to claim the 2,015 delegates needed to definitively seal the primary. However, taking the majority lead is an important accomplishment, and provides yet another mile marker in how far this campaign has come in just over a year of politicking. Wolf Blitzer's beard was among the first to report the nab here, while Obama himself addressed this noteworthy milestone at a speech in Des Moines, Iowa, where his presidential bid really took off just five months ago:

Day Forty-five, May 14

Alright, so anybody who's been paying attention to this blog (who is anybody, really) may have noticed that I haven't updated my posts since last Friday, giving a sense of false advertising to the journal's very name. This is because 'real life' stuff has recently had a tendency of getting in my way of posting on here on a regular basis, and since this isn't the first time I've fallen behind on my daily commitment, I've decided to cut back a little bit on the blogging. The downside is that I won't be as informed or rapidly up-to-date on all things Obama. The good news is that each post will return to the original intent of the blog: to post something inspiring about the candidate as they come along. So for at least a while, it's going to be the Bi-daily Dose of Hope or the As-Often-As-I-Can-Manage Dose of Hope, but like I said, the content should hopefully improve* as a result.

* This also means a lot less picking on Hillary or McCain, which quite a few of my most recent posts were thinly-veiled diatribes against.

As for today's content, I'd like to include a lengthy but revealing article from last month's Time magazine. I'd originally planned this feature to coincide with Mother's Day on Sunday (love you, mom!), but the , written by Amanda Ripley, is certainly worthwhile enough to post it a few days after the holiday. You can click here to start reading the article.

In the midst of Obama's almost certain claim as the chosen nominee for his party, the media is giving more air to the candidate's issues, less attention is being paid to the people that surround him. In certain cases, like Reverend Wright, this is allowing Obama to continue picking up political speed uninhibited. However, this also means that a part of the more human side of Barack is getting lost in the politics of today. Much has been made of Obama's Kenyan-born father, Barack Obama Sr., who returned to Africa without his family when Barack was only a child, but that more tender, human side to the Obama family story is there: the tale of Obama's mother, S. Ann Sutero. At a time where Obama is still (unbelievably) being typecast as an 'elitist', one needs look no further than the story of his mother's life to see just how rocky life has been for Barack. Speaking about his mother in the article, Obama told Ripley, "When I think about my mother. I think that there was a certain combination of being very grounded in who she was, what she believed in. But also a certain recklessness. I think she was always searching for something. She wasn't comfortable seeing her life confined to a certain box."

Throughout the article, Ripley traces the course of the rest of Stanley's (her father had wanted a boy, she soon settled on the name 'Ann' instead) life, and the values she imparted in her son. From the Sutero family's move to Hawaii just after Ann graduated from high school to falling in love with Barack's father to the impetus that took the family to Indonesia just a few years later, Ann Sutero's story is a compelling one. It also an eye-opening glimpse into some of the core values that her son still carries today: generosity, education, tolerance, devotion and (you guessed it) hope. In the article, the author quotes one of Ann's friends Nancy Peluso. "When Barack smiles," says Peluso, "there's just a certain Ann look. He lights up in a particular way that she did." From collecting food stamps in Indonesia to finishing her 1,000 page dissertation in the field of anthropology in her 50's, this is easily the most rewarding as well as surprising article I've included in this blog thus far. If you want to know where Obama got some of the inspiration that pushes him forward today, I can't recommend it enough.

Day Forty-four, May 9

Here's another reason to support Senator Obama's bid for the presidency: the man can do math. And on a day like today, that sort of thing comes in handy. The reason's as important as learning your multiplication tables, but much quicker to figure out: today he picked up nine superdelegates. In just a few short hours this afternoon, superdelegates all over the United States were jumping into the ring for Obama, devouring Senator Clinton's narrow lead in no time. Nine supers in a single day is important record in recent months of the Democratic race, and one that is only helping Obama gain steam in the days following what may have been the table-turning primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. The most important part of the equation is that these superdelegates bring Obama's count up to 271, a mere one-half of a superdelegate of Hillary's total*. Although Senator Clinton also picked up one superdelegate's endorsement today, Obama is currently leading the overall delegate count 1,859.5 delegates, to 1,697. That math could be what it takes to make Obama his party's official candidate before the DNC comes to Denver three months from now.

To put this gain into better perspective, on the day before Super Tuesday, Senator Clinton was leading the superdelegate count 169-63. What a difference a few months can make!

As reported in our own Denver Post today (via the Associated Press), superdelegates from the country have come out to stand behind Obama's run for the Oval Office. A few of them have even defected from the Hillary camp (yet again) to board the Hope train right before it gains full steam this summer. New Jersey representative Donald Payne originally came out for Senator Clinton's campaign on January 1st, but was one of the nine superdelegates to lend his support to Obama today. Payne summed up his switch to Obama, saying, "After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs." He is the tenth superdelegate to defect to Obama's campaign this year; so far, Obama has not lost any of his supporters to Senator Clinton. Obama also picked up an endorsement from The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a Washington D.C.-based workers' union. Said John Gage, president of the AFGE, "Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign." It seemed to be an easy choice for the union, according to Gage, who went on to say "I think it's time we start really focusing in on McCain, who just has a terrible record when it comes to federal employees." Amen, brother. And we might just take a few more of those superdelegates with us!

* Can someone please explain to me why delegates are being split between the two candidates, accounting for a .5 lead? I missed this when it happened last month.

Day Forty-three, May 8

In another post that will suggest I'm somehow running out of things to be genuinely hopeful about when it comes to Obama, today I'd like to give some recognition to one of the lesser-reported aspects of Barack's lifestyle: his taste in beverages. First up, his breakfast drink of choice. In a country gone mad for caffeinated beverages, here is a man who stands up to the Starbucks' and Folgers' of the world. The following is an excerpt from a discussion between Chris Matthews and David Schuster on the April 11th episode of Hardball:

SHUSTER: Well, here's the other thing that we saw on the tape, Chris, is that, when Obama went in, he was offered coffee, and he said, "I'll have orange juice."

MATTHEWS: No.

SHUSTER: He did.

And it's just one of those sort of weird things. You know, when the owner of the diner says, "Here, have some coffee," you say, "Yes, thank you," and, "Oh, can I also please have some orange juice, in addition to this?" You don't just say, "No, I'll take orange juice," and then turn away and start shaking hands. That's what happens [unintelligible] --

MATTHEWS: You don't ask for a substitute on the menu.

SHUSTER: Exactly.

MATTHEWS: David, what a regular guy. You could do this. Anyway, thank you, David Shuster. I mean, go to the diners.

Hear that, coffee addicts? Your vitamin c intake is limited at best, and your days are numbered! As a fellow abstainer of the java (and OJ addict), I can't help but feel my hope glands swell ever so slightly, yet sillily, whenever I pour my glass of Tropicana every morning.

But gloating about your candidate's preference of juice over coffee is a little smug, right? That's why I'm also taking advantage of the recent photo of Obama toasting his North Carolina victory in Raleigh bar with a beer in his hand.


That beer he's sipping? None other than Pabst Blue Ribbon. Although I have a 'take it or leave it' policy on PBR, and I doubt he'll be keeping it on tap in the White House, still, it's a nice gesture. And a smooth, canned aftertaste!

Day Forth-two, April 7

So the day after the potential tie-breaker primary in Indiana, it turns out that Hillary actually did win--albeit very narrowly--and kept some hope alive for her supporters. But will that slim margin of victory be enough to sustain a credible run for the presidency? If you picked up virtually any newspaper in the country today, the answer is 'no'.

Take today's Rocky Mountain News for example, and Mike Littwin's (largely editorial) feature, "Say 'Hil-la-ry' with a straight face'. Written from the floor where Hillary gave her victory speech in Indianapolis last night, Littwin sums up just what kind of death knell such a close primary race could spell for Clinton. After describing that smile that just won't quit on Hillary's face, Littwin turns to the cold reality at hand, writing, "the entire basis for the Clinton candidacy at this point - late, late in the campaign - is to continue making the argument to superdelegates that Barack Obama can't win and that they must therefore turn to a smiling Clinton, the happy warrior." And, while biased, he's got a point that's hard to bat down here; the sun appears to be setting on Senator Clinton's bid for the presidency. After squeaking ahead in the last 'upset' state she had left, and with the next-biggest primary being Oregon's election next week (65 delegates at stake there, as opposed to the 134 up for grabs in North Carolina yesterday), Hillary's on her last leg of the race, and losing wind at a sharp pace. A 2% margin of victory in a state as important as Indiana isn't much to brag about, and as Littberg summizes, "at this point a subpar day for Clinton is devastating enough."

In spite of a hard-fought victory in Indiana (and largely because of the less-reported 14-point loss in North Carolina on the same day), Senator Clinton's ship of popularity and believability is sinking fast. This is, of course, welcome news to Obama's supporters, and countless talking heads and bloggers are already predicting that Hillary will beckon rationality's call and withdrawal her bid within the next two weeks (google 'Obama+pundit' to get an idea how much the race has changed in the last 24 hours). The even better news, however, is that Obama appears to be taking his gains with grace, and maybe even a grain of salt. As reported in this blog by Leonard Doyle on the Independent.co.uk website, Obama is calling for an end to the race with Clinton, but seems ready to wait it out, if that's what it takes to seal the nomination proper. "We have a clear path to victory," he said. "But now is the time for each one of us to step up and do what we can to close out this primary." (from the article) Doyle then went on to suggest how Obama's success in yesterday's primaries are proof of his resilience in the face of dirty politics and controversy, and his refusal to pander to voters by standing up to the 'gas tax holiday' proposal. Last night, in his address to supporters in Raleigh, NC "Because of you, we've seen that it's possible to overcome the politics of division and the politics of distraction. That it's possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems." Video of that speech can be found here, on Barack's Youtube page.

This week will play a big part in sealing the deal for Obama, and it's worth noting that he hasn't resorted to cutting down his opponent just to claim a premature victory. Even better, Barack's started using his 'us' message again, and is focusing less and less on the differences between himself and Hillary. Now is the time to reunite the party in preparation for the A-game that the Republicans will assuredly bring in the next six months. I'll try not to devote much more of this blog to any perceived Hillary-bashing, but as a party, it's time to wrap up the nomination so we can put Barack up on the banner and start marching together toward a victory in November. And yesterday his campaign got several giant steps closer to finishing that march.

Day Forty-one, May 6

As of one minute ago (10:38pm MST), and with 95% of precincts reporting CNN.com is giving Senator Clinton a 2% lead over Barack Obama in Indiana. An hour ago, at 85% precincts reporting, Hillary was ahead by 4%, at 52 to 48. And, ten minutes to midnight in Indianapolis, it's still too close to call at this point. Both candidates knew it was going to be close, with even Obama conceding victory to his rival before voters even hit the polls, but the slim possibility that it could end in a dead-heat is great news. Similar to when Obama managed to narrow the polling gap to within six points in Pennsylvania in April, a primary race as close as this one is all the campaign needs to keep its edge in the delegate count. Of course, all of this work is diminished (barely) today as Hillary demands that the delegate count include the already voided districts in Michigan and Florida. That would push the required amount of delegates from 2,025 (which Barack is within earshot of after today's victory in North Carolina) up to 2,209, a mathematical impossibility for either candidate since votes from the aforementioned states will assuredly not be counted. Click here to read more on that hissyfit (and Hillary's repeated recognition of the 2,025 delegate total).

In the rapid counting pace of the Indiana primary that will make this blog post obsolete before tomorrow morning, I thought I'd post an even more primitive assessment of the election, this article from the Associated Press, "Obama wins N.C. primary, Clinton leads in Indiana". I can only hope that headline will take on a 'Dewey Deafeats Truman'-esque faleshood by the time all the votes are counted, but in the meantime, it's worth reading in order to shed some light on the vigor that both candidates have put into this competition since April 22. The report, written by David Espo and Liz Sidoti, offers a glimpse into what propelled voters toward both candidate, and also provides some refreshing news on what factors helped Obama close the voting gap. Most notably, while six out of ten voters said that the Reverend Wright debacle affected their vote for Hillary, more voters in the Obama camp said that it wasn't a factor in their decision (probably won't hear that on Good Morning America anytime soon, unfortunately). This little step is welcomed news to those of us who want to return the Obama campaign to the issues at hand, rather than spending more time pondering the company the Senator no longer chooses to keep for himself. Furthermore, although less surprisingly, is how the economy played a part in influencing voter decisions: "The economy was the top issue by far in both states, according to interviews with voters as they left their polling places," the authors state in the article. Depending on how it's depicted in the media, this could be good news for Obama's campaign, as the gas tax debate appears to be the next stop on the media's roulette wheel for the ongoing campaign season.

Day Forty, May 5

Tonight a friend took me to see DJ Spooky (Paul Miller) speak at Denver University, and the man gave one hell of a stimulating presentation. Miller's discussion covered a wide variety of topics, focusing mainly on the place of 'cut-and-paste' aesthetic in art, text, and music, but occasionally he did veer into the political arena. At one point, he took advantage of the opportunity to throw in a hearty cheer for Obama, which made me wonder just what he had done for the campaign lately (not like this blog adds up to jack squat). So I went on Google to try and suss out some sort-of DJ Spooky/Obama mash-up online, be it spoken, written, or musical endorsement.

The best search result was the following video, a remix of will.i.am's "Yes We Can" tribute to Barack. At a time where there's been more focus on the actions of Barack's pastor and what he is(n't) wearing on his suit lapel than on his message of hope, I think it's time for this inspiring video to make a comeback. Spooky's website is here, containing much more of his own art, music, and musings, and the original video can be found here at dipdive.com.

Here's DJ Spooky's remix of the moving music video for "Yes We Can":

Day Thirty-nine, May 4

This morning, my favorite Sunday morning political show (Meet the Press) interviewed my favorite presidential candidate (duh), and I missed it! Anyway, Russert talked to Obama for the entire hour of the show, which has already been captured and posted on Youtube. As usual, the staff managed to dig deep in the issues to get the tough questions on the candidate, and Obama held up pretty well (especially since the first 20 minutes are devoted to the Rev. Wright controversy). Obama's starting to look like he's flip-flopping on Wright, when pressed about why he didn't outright disown him during his race speech in March, but other than that, he presents himself as candid, confident, and competent as ever.

Here's the video in five parts, thanks to Youtube user 'VOTERSTHINKdotORG'.

Video Uno

Video Dos

Video Tres

Video Cuatro

Video Cinco

Day Thirty-eight, May 3

Now that only a few days remain until the crucial primary elections in Indiana and North Carolina, the candidates are focusing their attention on the issues they want to highlight in order to appeal to voters' good senses. The political winds are settling for a moment, and Obama's standing in the country (and the media) will go with them. This means that some of the attention is shifted off of Reverend Wright controversy and back onto Obama's stance on gas prices, the recession, and other issues that will affect Americans intimately. It also allows the talking heads to spend less time asking if Obama is really 'elitist' (finally). And they've virtually forgotten all about that dreadful bowling game of his that didn't win over any voters in Pennsylvania last month.

Which is good, according to Globe and Mail writer John Ibbitson, because now we can focus on what really wins voters: hoopskills. In a feature published in last Wednesday's Opinion section, Ibbitson muses about how Barack's love of (and talent for) basketball could be a major benefit for his Indiana campaign next week. By broadening the politics of shooting hoops as far as they will go, the thought-provoking piece suggests that the sport is not mere pandering to voters, but a genuine avenue for the public to relate to Obama, especially with working-class folks in the Hoosier state. "In places like Indiana, with its ethos of hard work and plain speaking, Barack Obama's seemingly dismissive comments about rural folk will hurt him," Ibbitson writes. "Fortunately, he plays basketball." After giving a base explanation about the political appeal that he can tap into by showing off his skills on the court, Ibbitson breaks it down even further, explaining that basketball is just the anchor Obama needs to keep his public opinion from drifting any further away due to a perceived affluence. By keeping his lifestyle and talents both political and relatable, Obama stands to regain a lot of the ground he's lost due to recent controversy and accusations of elitism. In his editorial's closing statement, Ibbitson says that all Obama needs to do "is remind [voters] that he grew up in a house where money was tight, that his grandparents were from Kansas, and that basketball is divinely inspired." Game on.

Day Thirty-seven, May 2

Yesterday morning, Barack and his wife Michelle made an appearance on my morning news broadcast of choice, the Today show, and I missed it! Fortunately, somebody captured the segment and put it on Youtube (duh). In it, that delightful Meredith Viera asks the Obamas questions about the same old shi--er, the most 'pressing matters' in the presidential race, like Reverend Wright and accusations that Obama is 'elitist'. Nice. What a timely interview, NBC. It is a treat to see the two of them together, though! Video courtesy of Youtube poster ewallstreet:

Days Thirty-Six and Seven, April 30 and May 1

Another two-parter, what's wrong with me?

Getting right back into the swing of things, a lot of superdelegates have been emerging in favor of Obama this week, although it's usually not the Bill Richardson-level superstars that grab headlines. One exception did emerge today, though, when former DNC Chairman under President Clinton, Joe Andrew, tipped his hat in for Obama (New York Times reports here, more on that in the second half of today's post). So why isn't there any more talk over the superdelegate race? Is it because the media stopped caring as soon as Reverend Wright started grabbing their attention again? Or maybe we've started paying more attention to what the popular vote has to say in the primaries, and less about the superdelegates' sway in the race.

According to an article from yesterday's Huffington Post, the more logical explanation is because the game is already wrapped up and the officials are just biding their time. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) suggested that the race is as good as over, and now the appointed superdelegates are just deploying their allegiance a few at a time. Strategically, this makes sense for both camps, since neither party ones to be the one to see an inundation of superdelegates only to have their opponent counter with an even bigger wave of support a few days later. By letting a few supporters out every day or two, the race stays relatively even, and subsequently out of the headlines. But the good news, according to Senator McCaskill, is that the majority of those waiting in the wings are on Obama's side. Said McCaskill, "The majority of superdelegates I've talked to are committed, but it is a matter of timing. They're just preferring to make their decision public after the primaries are over. ... They would like someone else to act for them before they talk about it in the cold light of day." McCaskill isn't the first to suggest that the superdelegate race is as good as over now, and many non-mainstream media outlets are already speculating that this will be the coup de grace that gives Obama the nomination in the next month, maybe as early as as next week depending on the outcome of the Indiana and North Carolina primary elections.

So, if such credible speculation is to be believed, we won't have to wait much longer for the party majority to put their support behind Obama. And in that case, as Tom Petty wrote, the waiting's the hardest part.

So then what about that controversial about-face committed by the former DNC Chairman, Joseph J. Andrews? This is the first superdelegate in a few weeks to have made more than a marginal impact on the race at large, and the words 'surprise' and 'betrayal' is popping up in a lot of today's articles on Andrews' switch to Obama. Fortunately, Andrews wasted no time in explaining his rationale for pledging his vote toward Obama. In a letter released today clarifying his position, the former Democratic chairman said that the party must unite behind Obama to move the race and country forward. In the letter, which conveys a touching amount of passion and urgency for unification, Andrew wrote, "What is best for our Party and our country is not blind loyalty, but passionate support for the candidate who can best correct the misguided policies of the last eight years."

Andrew spoke eloquently about what moved him in favor of Obama, even beginning his address with four simple words: "I have been inspired." In a passage intended to persuade fellow Indiana residents to cast their vote for Obama in next week's primary election, Andrew said,

I ask Hoosiers to come together and vote for Barack Obama to be our next President. In an accident of timing, Indiana has been given the opportunity to truly make a difference. Hoosiers should grab that power and do what in their heart they know is right. They should reject the old negative politics and vote for true change. Don't settle for the tried and true and the simplistic slogans, but listen to your heart and dare to be inspired. Only a cynic would be critical of Barack Obama inspiring millions. Only the uninformed could forget that the candidate that wins in November is always the candidate that inspires millions.

That compelling letter can be found here in its entirety, again compliments of today's Huffington Post.