The Americans may be having such a hard time pitching democracy around the world because of how confusing it looks on their own TV.

For staters, it takes forever to figure out who to vote for.  That’s a drawn out process if ever there was one.

Now, the Dems are entering the homestretch and a clear leader still hasn’t emerged.  Hillary went into the Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island contests with basically a do-or-die situation and pulled it off.  It looks like neither Obama or Clinton will have the required 2024 delegates needed by convention time, which brings us to the topic of this post.

SUPERDELEGATES!!!!!

Who are these people and what do they do?

Superdelegates are current or former elected officeholders and party officials of the Democrats.  Unlike the delegates we hear about in the primaries and caucuses, superdelegates are free to support whichever candidate they choose for the nomination.

Ugh… this is still confusing.

Here:

Superdelegates are people who get to vote at the convention for whomever they choose.  There are 770 (ish) of them who will cast their ballot either way come convention time.  This is important because, at this moment, Obama leads Clinton with 1257 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1127.  That’s a close race and by the look of things, it’s a race that will be decided by those elite superdelegates.

Phew.  I thought that would clear things up.  Probably not, though.