Influential Democrats Waiting to Choose Sides

Democratic voters in Wyoming submit their ballots at a caucus site in Casper. With 22 out of 23 precincts reporting, Barack Obama was declared the winner. (By David Zalubowski -- Associated Press)

Party rules allocating delegates on a proportional basis make it virtually certain that Obama will finish the primary season with more pledged delegates than Clinton. But neither he nor his rival can clinch the nomination without the superdelegates.

So far Clinton, with 242 superdelegates, has had more success soliciting their support than Obama, who has the backing of 210. In addition to the 719 superdelegates whose identities are already known, a group of 77 "add-ons" will be named later by state party leaders.

In interviews, superdelegates described calls from the candidates or from Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton. They described pressure to endorse coming in e-mails, phone calls and even old-fashioned letters from allies of the campaigns.

"I'm thinking of changing my phone number," joked Doyle, who had supported New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson but is now uncommitted. He said he got a surprise call from Bill Clinton on Super Bowl Sunday while cooking osso buco for his family. Tony Podesta, a Washington lobbyist who is one of Clinton's top organizers in Pennsylvania, called from Istanbul at midnight recently inviting Doyle to dinner.

Doyle continues to resist the overtures.

The potential power of these superdelegates to decide the race has conjured up fears of party bosses repairing to smoke-filled rooms to pick a nominee, but the reality is far different. These delegates have never met as a group, and the first time they do may be on the floor of the convention, along with more than 4,000 pledged delegates.

The superdelegates are a cross-section of the party, young and old, women and men, of all races and creeds, famous and obscure. They approach the role with more caution than gusto -- and they are now among the most closely monitored Americans on the planet, the focus of elaborate courting and tracking inside the Clinton and Obama campaigns.

By one analysis provided to The Post, half of the uncommitted delegates are elected officials, almost a third come from states that have not yet held primaries or caucuses, a third are women, and about a fifth are black or Hispanic. Others say there is no real pattern to who has taken sides and who remains on the fence.

Clinton jumped into an early lead in the superdelegate battle, leveraging her connections and a belief among party regulars early in the process that she was the all-but-inevitable nominee.

When Obama went on his February winning streak, the tide shifted and he began to catch up. He gained new endorsements and converted a few Clinton supporters, most prominently Rep. John Lewis (Ga.). Now, after Clinton's victories in Texas and Ohio, the two candidates are fiercely competing for the backing of these delegates. But the superdelegates are resisting.

Jenny Greenleaf, a Democratic National Committee member from Oregon, is one of these reluctant powerbrokers who is in no hurry to declare her allegiance. "I'm maybe a little utopian," she said, "but I would like to wait for the process to play out and hope there will be a clear leader."

While these delegates might prefer to see the race determined by the results of the primaries and caucuses, many said they do not feel bound to support the candidate who has more pledged delegates, especially if the race is close.