A Good Leader Knows How To Delegate

Seeking closure of the bitter dispute that rocked Florida's Democratic primary, presumptive nominee Barack Obama asked the national party Sunday to let the state's and Michigan's delegates cast full votes at the convention in Denver.

Obviously this is the right play, especially as Florida and Michigan are swing states. Just as obviously, it's an empty gesture, since Obama is guaranteed the nomination. If he'd allowed these delegates to vote when it made a difference, that would have meant something. (I have no doubt Hillary would still try to win at the convention if there were any chance, but there isn't, so put that out of your mind--though it would have been fun to see what would happen if Obama were taking a beating in the polls, and the superdelegates were nervous.)

I'm reminded of the Florida recount in 2000. A (Gore-voting) friend told me he had the perfect solution--they should split the delegates. He was being serious. Leaving aside that this wasn't legal, it also would have had the effect of handing the presidency to Gore. But it's a fair way to deal with a state where no one knows who won, he said. I said how about this, we'll split it down the middle: give Gore all the popular votes, and Bush all the electoral votes.