This could all be over by the first week in March. Hillary must not only win Texas and Ohio, but she must win decisively, or her superdelegates will jump ship for Obama.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/us/po ... nted=print

“She has to win both Ohio and Texas comfortably, or she’s out,” said one superdelegate who has endorsed Mrs. Clinton, and who spoke on condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. “The campaign is starting to come to terms with that.” Campaign advisers, also speaking privately in order to speak plainly, confirmed this view.

Several Clinton superdelegates, whose votes could help decide the nomination, said Monday that they were wavering in the face of Mr. Obama’s momentum after victories in Washington State, Nebraska, Louisiana and Maine last weekend.

Some said that they, like the hundreds of uncommitted superdelegates still at stake, might ultimately “go with the flow,” in the words of one, and support the candidate who appears to show the most strength in the primaries to come.

They have to go with whoever has the popular vote, it's inevitable. Can you imagine the reaction if after years of Democrats complaining that Bush lost the popular vote and was anointed President by the supreme court, they faced a situation of the party elders anointing the lesser vote-getter in their own party?

In fact, going against the popular vote is the whole reason why the superdelegates were created - in case the voters elected someone deamed by the party elders to be unelectable. Up to this point, the superdelegates have made no difference since there hasn't been a close enough delegate contest. This could be the first year that they actually matter.

But no, I still can't imagine them going against the will of the voters, for either Hillary or Obama.

Like Archie said, superdelegates will leave a candidate only if it's clear they can't win. If Clinton can't manage wins in those states, her backyard, obviously her campaign is over and her delegates would go to Obama for the good of the party.

One of Clinton's superdelegates died yesterday.

That sounds like a bad joke. I assume you are referring to Lantos, or is it someone else?

I don't know what they do if Clinton wins Ohio, PA and TX and the vote is really close in all the states combined with Obama having a slim lead. An unlikely situation, but possible.

You got to admit, if you were making a movie of an election campaign, this is how you would have it happen!

Exciting, isn't it?