Who's Super?

Am surprised at the lack of real insight about Super Tuesday. Obviously there is a rift in the democratic party that may be as much generational as it is race or gender-driven. The Boomers aren't really ready to hand over the reins to the new generation X of leadership. We want a chance to make up for the wreckage of our own generation's frat-boy CEO leader. So why not a feminist leader? But at the same time it's hard to ignore Barack's Jedi-mind-trick ability to convert people to whatever it is he is representing.

All the professional pundits aren't offering much by way of explanation of what's happening outside the beltway. What's with this record turnout across the land, not just with Obama voters but all over the Democratic spectrum?

My marketing class has been examining the different techniques of the campaigns. Obama's is "lateral" marketing -- broadening the brand or the appeal to unexpected provinces, while Hillary's is brilliantly "vertical," demonstrating a complete understanding of and ability to tap every identifiable voting demographic. It's a fascinating contrast in styles, not just of the leaders, but of the whole way of operating.

Meanwhile, it looks as though the "Superdelegates" will play a big role in deciding the Dem nominee, and no one seems to remember why they were inserted in the process. Many are "blaming" McGovern, which is partially true, but I recall vividly that August night in 1980 when the Democrats came to sputtering end of a horribly divisive one on one primary battle between the increasingly disliked incumbent Jimmy Carter and the challenger, Ted Kennedy. Kennedy had gotten off to a terrible start and Carter had smoked him in the early primaries, but as the Iran hostage crisis dragged on, and the Soviets made him look weak in Afghanistan, the Olympic boycott irked everyone without moving the Soviets an inch out of Kabul, public opinion coalesced around Kennedy.

But there were no superdelegates, and Carter had a slim but real majority of the convention in pledged -- contractually bound -- delegates. The rest of the story's obvious. Carter nominated, defeated by Reagan, superdelegates added to make sure there would be a cure for late summer "buyer's remorse."

It's a long time till August. Stand by, supermen and superwomen