Chris Matthews just asked an interesting question about who among them had picked Obama to win the nomination in the beginning of the race.

Nobody on his panel.

The only one I can think of among the punditocracy is former McCain strategist Michael Murphy.  Got to give him credit.

Anyone know of any others?

This little nugget came from a story on Rupert Murdoch's gloomy  take on the economy at a recent conference:
So is he optimistic about anything? Yes, he is: He's cautiously intrigued by... Barack Obama. Murdoch, who said that he was responsible for the New York Post's endorsement of Obama during the New York primary, said he wasn't ready to endorse Obama or to vote for him. But he's pretty close: "I want to be convinced that Obama is the real thing, that can really carry through. I'm open to that."
On McCain: "has been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of compromises. So what's he really stand for?... I think he has a lot of problems."
What on earth with Fox News do if Murdoch comes out for Obama?  Brit Hume's head might explode.
Link here:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/5/murdoch_u_s_economy_in_for_a_very_hard_time_

It has been conventional wisdom, and I have also believed, that once Obama wrapped up the pledged delegate majority we would see a rapid consolidation of remaining super delegates behind him.  Yet since Obama crossed the pledged delegate threshold on Tuesday, there has not been much movement.
So what's going on?  What are they waiting for at this point?
My thoughts:
Waiting for resolution to MI & FL.  They don't want to appear that they are rendering the decision on that moot.  Although, on the flip side, how will Obama ever agree to anything that risks his majority?
Waiting for the end of the primaries.  This is out of respect for Clinton, allowing her to finish the way she wants to before officially backing Obama.  
Waiting for the summer or the convention.  This would be if the remaining super delegates are genuinely skeptical about Obama's electability and are still weighing whether on not they should back Clinton.  But it would have to be a vast majority of remaining super delegates thinking this way, which seems very unlikely.
Any other possibilities?

PA GOP senator Arlen Specter said candidly on Bill Maher's show Friday night that Obama would be a tougher general election candidate than Hillary.  Also, Specter described Obama as a "phenomenon".  
This coming from a GOP senator I think is generally regarded as a straight shooter.  Watch the interview, I don't think you can interpret this as anything other than an honest answer by Specter.  Certainly he isn't buying any of this "unelectable" nonsense.
The question comes at about 1:44 into the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghbTxHctFwQ

One of the arguments being put forth by the Clinton campaign is that the caucuses aren't truly representative of the popular will of the voters.  What logically follows is that even if she loses the pledged delegate race, the super delegates are fair game to swing the nomination because of the "illegitimacy" of the delegates awarded from caucuses.
For the sake of argument, let's say she's right.  Let's say caucuses are not legitimate determiners of popular vote.  Where does the pledged delegate race stand if you eliminate all the caucuses?  
A good question, I thought.  I used the CBS delegate totals, copied them to a spreadsheet and deleted all the caucus states.  The results?
Clinton:  534Obama:  593
Uh oh.  Clinton is still losing the delegate battle in primary only states.  Seems to undermine her super delegate argument a bit.
Not sure how to attach the spreadsheet, but here are the numbers:

Clinton
Obama


DC




15 Delegates
3
10


Maryland




70 Delegates
24
44


Virginia




83 Delegates
27
56


Louisiana




56 Delegates
22
34


Alabama




13 Delegates
4
9


Arizona




56 Delegates
31
25


Arkansas




35 Delegates
27
8


California




55 Delegates
13
32


Connecticut




48 Delegates
22
26


Delaware




15 Delegates
6
9


Georgia




18 Delegates
3
15


Illinois




32 Delegates
9
23


Mass.




72 Delegates
24
48


Missouri




72 Delegates
36
36


New Jersey




107 Delegates
59
48


New York




232 Delegates
139
93


Oklahoma




38 Delegates
24
14


Tennessee




68 Delegates
38
28


Utah




3 Delegates
2
1


Dems Abroad




7 Delegates
-
-


Florida




0 Delegates
-
-


South Carolina




45 Delegates
12
25


Michigan




0 Delegates
-
-


New Hampshire




22 Delegates
9
9







Total Primary Dels
534
593