The problem with the Super Delegates is not that they are elitist or biased or even too prone to support the "status quo". While I am certain that at the individual level some or all of these criticisms do apply, the truth is that much the same could be said of any voter. In this sense, the Super Delegate are identical to the regular delegates and to those average citizens whose votes pledged these delegates to one or another candidate. On the whole I do not see this as an inherent failure in the nominating system.

A system that relies on Super Delegates, however, <span style="font-style:italic;">is </span>structurally flawed. By and large Super Delegates are politicians. As such their primary concern is the continued growth of their own individual power and importance. Political success trumps policy objectives. This added layer of personal self-interest is the core problem with Super Delegates.

There has been much discussion about how the Super Delegates should pledge their support to one of the candidates and in so doing end the current fratricide that many people think is damaging the Democrats' chances in November. Why hasn't this happened? Quite simply because each Super Delegate is seeking to maximize the value of their endorsement and to get as much in return as possible. Endorsements from politicians always - ALWAYS- have a price attached to them. This price may be financial - promises of funding for home district projects, for instance - or it may be personal - appointment to a key position that will further the career of the person lending their endorsement.  The price extracted by the endorser is based on the perceived value that this person brings to a candidate. This value can wax and wane over time, depending on the electoral circumstances.

It is clear that neither Obama nor Clinton will have enough pledged regular delegates to secure the nomination. So we find ourselves in a situation where with each passing day, the value of a Super Delegates endorsement and the price that they can extract for these endorsements grows.  This is a complicated calculus that has to take in to account a variety of factors to a) insure that you end up on the winning side and b)time the endorsement perfectly. Right now, the longer a Super Delegate waits, the more leverage they have.  Until this equation changes, don't expect to see any rush of Super Delegates pledging their votes.

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