By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Photograph by Otis P. Motley

(Posted May 8, 2008) – Today is the day Sen. Barack Obama will pitch his presidential prowess to super-delegates, telling them he’s the best pick for the Democratic Party. The candidate who has won the most states, the most popular votes and the most pledged delegates shouldn’t have a problem.  Should he?  

The two contests earlier this week in North Carolina and Indiana will make the pitch to  some of the remaining undecided delegates much easier for the 46-year-old freshman senator.  Super-delegates already on board have cited several reasons why Obama’s the candidate to deliver the win in November.

But other super-delegates need to be convinced. And here’s what he’ll most likely tell those undecided super-delegates: He is the front-runner with more pledged delegates and in the largest share of the popular vote; his message is one of unity and bringing the party together; and he has the ability to attract new voters, young voters and Independents.

But that’s not all.

Super-delegates already in the Obama camp are also beginning to acknowledge that Obama is the best pick.  They point to how impressed they were with his handling of the comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  They also know his appeal to Black voters, a block they can’t alienate and win in November; and overall, they see Obama as a more attractive candidate with fewer negatives than his rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton had a similar meeting on Wednesday with super-delegates, hoping to build her case, but she’s in a tougher spot because of the numbers.   Clinton would need to win 70 percent of the vote in all the remaining contests to even come close to besting Obama.  

Carter Eskew, a Democratic consultant not affiliated with either candidate, said, “Unfortunately for her, the math reasserts itself. I don’t think this changes very much of anything.”

Clinton is still pushing for the delegates in Michigan and Florida to be seated. There is still no decision on how to allocate this votes.

The Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet in Washington at the end of the month to decide how best to deal fairly with the Michigan and Florida delegations. 

Let’s hope they can come up with something Clinton and Obama will agree on and that it will soon bring the primary season to an end.