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respected the popular will as expressed in the primaries and caucuses, they also expected that the super delegates could play a significant if not necessarily decisive role in the selection process. However, it did not work out that way. Popular will has put one candidate far enough ahead by the convention that the super delegates haven't come into play. Every nominee since these reforms has been decided based on the primary and caucus votes." (Los Angeles Times Article, 1/19/2008 "Super delegates may sink the Democrats")

Basically, the above cited article confirms my suspicions that there is, or at least can be, some calculated manipulation of the super delegates, their votes, and the roles they play in the nomination process. See the article for the full story. In effect, it says that there were unsatisfactory outcomes in both the 1968 and 1972 elections and the super delegates were created to influence the outcome of future conventions, when necessary or desirable.

The article continues, "This year might be different. Because no front-runner has emerged, and the compressed time frame of the election may prevent any candidate from gaining enough momentum, no candidate may have enough delegates by convention time. In that case, the super delegates, the majority of whom currently support Hillary Rodham Clinton - but who could switch sides at any time - could well be the decision-makers at the convention. And this could be a real problem for the Democratic Party."

Whether or not the super-delegates come into play in August (and I expect they might, since the race is even closer than it was in January, when the article was written), in the end the decision about our next President will be decided by the Electoral College.

To learn much more about the Electoral College, visit the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website. The FAQs page is a good place to start: http://www.archives.gov/federa l-register/electoral-college/f aq.html. Here's a sample of what you can learn:

"MUST ELECTORS VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE WHO WON THEIR STATE'S POPULAR VOTE?
There is no Constitutional provision or Federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some States, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties."

"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE ELECTORAL VOTE TO PRODUCE A DIFFERENT

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