DNC Convention = War

(Newser) - Media can't settle on a superdelegate count these days because many of the mucky-mucks refuse to name a candidate, Politico reports. Current figures all have Clinton leading Obama—and she needs the votes badly—but media estimates vary from 256-225 to 221-209. “This is an art rather than a science," the New York Times ’ political editor said. More »

(Newser) - Tonight’s "American Idol" will boast cameos from Miley Cyrus, Brad Pitt, and both the Manning and Jonas brothers—but the most anticipated appearances could be by Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama, the New York Post reports. The charity episode is exhibition-only (no candidate will actually score Paula Abdul’s vote), but there will be much pop-culture popularity at stake. More »

(Newser) - If voters judged the Democratic candidates by the standard Hillary Clinton has been promoting—competent leadership—her own performance at the helm of her campaign isn't making her case, write Jim VandeHei and David Paul Kuhn in Politico. While Clinton’s had two major staff shakeups, major money problems, and a constant message crisis, Barack Obama has led what one Hillary supporter calls “one of the best-run presidential campaigns in the last 20 years.” More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama is beating Hillary Clinton in the delegate count only because of the eccentricities of the Democratic Primary system, argues Sean Wilentz on Salon. Like it or not, the general election will be a winner-take-all affair, and if the primaries were conducted the same way, Clinton would lead Obama 1,430 delegates to 1,257, with her total jumping to 1,743 if Florida and Michigan were counted. More »

(Newser) - Florida and Michigan delegates will likely have to wait until June to see whether they can participate in the party’s convention, Howard Dean said on Face the Nation today. The DNC chairman said Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would rather focus on the final primaries, which will end on June 3, the AP reports. "But I think we can work it out, and I want to work it out," he said. More »

(Newser) - How does a Democratic candidate know it's time to quit? Common indicators like low funds, indifferent press, and fading support may not apply in this year's race, where both hopefuls have enough of all three to last to the convention. Instead, one may quit when fighting on hurts that candidate’s political future, writes John Dickerson in the Washington Post . More »