Resistance is futile...

by Don Wheeler

"resistance is futile - you will be assimilated"
-- the Borg

This attitude has been assimilated by many supporters and minions of Senator Barack Obama - though not by the candidate himself.

It is reminiscent of significant number of John Edwards supporters, when he very clearly left the race. These folks didn't believe him, or thought he could be coaxed back, or something. Likewise, this particular group of Obama folks don't seem to believe or honor their guy when he says clearly that Hillary Clinton should stay in the race.

Instead, through scolding, sarcasm. preaching, lecturing etc. they make it plain that they know what's best for us, the Democratic Party and the country. It's all quite condescending, and therefor, insulting.

This will be the first contested Presidential Primary in Indiana since 1968. Yet it seems there are those who wish to deny us our rare opportunity to actually weigh in on the matter. In so doing, they would also deny us a small bump in economic activity, which naturally accompanies major campaigns. Why?

One claim is that Barack Obama is already the nominal nominee - all that follows is mere formality.

If that's the case, then do what successful sports teams do in this situation - run out the clock.

What's more likely to be at work here is a preemptive paranoia about a "brokered convention".

Senator Obama will not go to the convention with enough pledged delegates to win a first round nomination. His roughly ten percent lead in pledged delegates (over Sen. Clinton) looks like a safe cushion and though Ms. Clinton could surpass him in the popular vote in theory, popular vote total is merely an interesting footnote in the process. So although Mr. Obama is in a superior position, the convention will be brokered in some sense and in any case.

A lot of these folks want to short circuit the process and claim that superdelegates have no role other than to rubber stamp the wishes of the plurality. This claim is to stare reality in the face and deny it.

The superdelegate concept was designed to deal with situations like this and we really haven't tested it since its inception. One can reasonably argue it's a bad idea, but one cannot reasonably argue it doesn't exist. So we might as well take it out for a spin and see what it will do.

And here's the most ludicrous claim: Hillary Clinton is coming up with negative observations of Mr. Obama the Republicans never would have come up with on their own. At least, that seems the implication.

I guess I'm naive, but I don't think Mud, Dirt and Mayhem, Inc. is counting on any of us for their material. Besides which, Mr. McCain is mighty fat target of his own.

The real irony is that this campaign of paranoia could become self-fulfilling.

I'd suggest we relax, let events play out, and get ready for a vigorous fall campaign.