Here is an interesting link on Delegate Math.

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Obama wants to have it all ways, popular vote, delegates, and rules, but the trouble is that he uses it selectively when it suits him. One basic question remains. Can Obama win Florida, Ohio, Missouri, and Pennsylvania in November? I am not sure.

Another basic question also remains:

Can Hillary win those states in November? I am not sure if either Democratic candidate can do it. But if they can't do it in 2008, they might as well give up.

Have no fear, the Dems will win. Americans are NOT coming out in record numbers to vote for another Republican.

McCain's biggest problem - besides his age, of course - is that he's still pushing for the war. The American public has sent a very clear message on that subject - and they will not vote McCain in for that reason alone.

There's little evidence to base any answer to that question, unfortunately, but at least as far as Democratic voters are concerned, Obama is at least as reliably on the right side of issues as Clinton when matched up against McCain.

Another interesting question regarding an Obama candidacy is if he can also win Virginia, Colorado, Missouri, and other states that the Republicans have otherwise been able to take for granted...

I'm not sure if McCain's speech on economics did him any great favors, either.

Do you know how delegates are awarded? Roughly 1000 delegates are awarded to states based upon the percentage of electoral votes that state has. Another 2000 delegates are awarded according to the percentage of people who voted for a democratic presidential candidate over the last three presidential cycles.

In essence, the number of delegates represents the importance of that state to the democratic party. They normalize for turnout issues due to voting methodologies, news cycles, weather issues, and other factors.

The rules make sense. If you don't like them, change them for the next time.

@ RM77:

"Obama wants to have it all ways, popular vote, delegates, and rules, but the trouble is that he uses it selectively when it suits him."

Regardless of what Barack Obama wants, the popular vote, delegates, and rules are all in his favor. The NC polls and the trend in the PA polls are also in his favor. After the NC primary Obama's lead in pledged delegates will be insurmountable.

Obama 08!

Re: pwoxby post. This reader misses the point. Sometimes Obama wants use rules as a basis. If it suits him he will throw away the rules. Same logic goes for his argument based on delegates or popular vote. Obama is like any other politician. I just read a piece that in 1996 in his first campaign for political office Obama went to the Court to disqualify all his opponents and finally ran uncontested.

The posted article is one of the worst things I have read in Salon in a while. It has also generated a lot of responses that you should read through.

The gist of the article is if the rules weren't what they were than maybe, just maybe Clinton would be winning. It is idiotic from the start.

What is worse, the author seriously argues in favor of a "winner-take-all" system rather than the far more representative (i.e. democratic) proportional system. If only we had a winner takes all system, in which a winner takes all delegates, even if the final vote tally is 50.1% to 49.9%, then Clinton would be winning.

Pretty pathetic, really. However, it is the only way in which "delegate math" adds up in favor of Clinton--changing the rules after they have been set and the election is already underway.

@ RM77:

"If it suits him [Barack Obama] will throw away the rules."

The rules are made and enforced by the DNC. Barack Obama has complied with all the DNC rules. If you can document evidence to the contrary, please do so.

Obama 08!