Clinton's needs more superdelegates, quickly

Samantha Hayes, in Washington, D.C.

May 28, 2008

     I can't blame the reporter who asked Hillary Clinton, as she stood in front of Mount Rushmore this morning, if she could see herself, or her husband, added to the monument. With the Democratic primary season winding down, a clever response would have made a nice touch for a campaign stop that probably didn't lend itself to making much news.  Clinton apparently rolled her eyes and in a sort of joking way told reporters to "go learn something" about Mount Rushmore.  Clinton called the stop a tourist visit, and it's the beginning of a two day campaign through South Dakota, one of two states voting on Tuesday.

     Time is running out for Clinton. And as she tries to end the primary season with a few more wins, she knows it will take more than that. She has to win the argument. And she's making her case, in black and white, to superdelegates now.

     In a letter outlining her case, Clinton points to record turnout in her sweeping victories in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. She argues that polls and election results show she is ahead in swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.  And she claims that "nearly all independent analyses show that I am in a stronger position to win the Electoral College, primarily because I lead Senator McCain in Florida and Ohio."

     Its Clinton's hope that superdelegates will take her argument to heart as the Rules and Bylaws committee meets in Washington, DC this weekend.  Clinton's case rests on the Democratic National Committee counting delegates in disqualified contests in Michigan and Florida.

     As it stands now, the CNN delegate count shows Barack Obama 48 delegates away from clinching the nomination. Clinton is 246 delegates shy. There are 86 pledged delegates left, and about 200 superdelegates remaining.

     It's impossible sounding math for Hillary Clinton-- whose nomination once seemed to be carved in stone.