John Edwards: The Power Broker

I've spent a disproportionate amount of time writing about the Democrats. By most accounts, the Democratic side of the nomination process is more entertaining, but remember that there will be two candidates after all of this. That being said, this will be my last post on the Democrats for a few days. Given the emergent theme of race over the last week, I find it very interesting that the White man who is being openly ignored by most may be the most powerful individual in this process. Why and how?

Why?
In many of the Democratic primaries, delegates are awarded based on representation (votes) in congressional districts. This means that the winner of a state rarely receives all of the delegates a state has to offer. This is why Senator Obama received one more delegate than Senator Clinton in Nevada eventhough he did not win the popular vote (maybe he is Bill Clinton '92 redux.) Many, if not every Democratic national office holder (and governor) is a super delegate and they can vote whatever way they'd like.

The magic number is 50% plus one. For Democrats, that equals 2025 delegates needed to win the nomination.

How?

John Edwards will have the right to "throw" his delegates If neither Obama or Clinton hit that number and Edwards has enough delegates, then his delegation can crown the nominee. Isn't that interesting?

Is it possible? At this rate, it certainly is.

Questions:
What are your thoughts on the delegate awarding process?
What are your thoughts on Edwards being the power broker?


Recommended Reads:
Edwards the Power Broker
What are Delegates?
How are Delegates Awarded?
Hard Choices