A guide to the Fla. and Mich. delegate debacle

What is the Obama campaign’s position?

Obama and his aides want to get this controversy behind them as quickly as possible so they can focus on the general election. They’re willing to make a deal in order to do that.

Obama is willing to have some of the delegates seated. His campaign manager David Plouffe said Wednesday, “We’re open to some compromise that’s fair.... If there’s a compromise, she (Clinton) is going to net (gain) a not insignificant amount of delegates,” Plouffe said. He called this “a major concession” by Obama.

But Plouffe added that Obama “is not going to support something that gives her too many delegates.”

He did not specify what “too many” was.

How could the RBC solve the problem of Michigan’s uncommitted delegates — those elected back in January at the behest of Obama supporters?

One proposal, endorsed by several Michigan Democratic leaders, is to split the Michigan delegation with 69 delegates going to Clinton and 59 going to Obama. But Clinton supporter and DNC member Joel Ferguson objected Thursday to that proposal.

In theory there is nothing to prevent the uncommitted delegates from voting for whomever they want at the convention.

There's also no way to know if all those "uncommitted" voters actually intended to vote for Obama.

Do the some of the RBC members have an inherent conflict of interest since some have endorsed or are working for either Clinton or Obama?

“That question makes me angry,” said Flournoy who said she had served on the RBC for many years and that the committee could come up with a decision that is “grounded in the rules” and “fair to the people who voted.”

Was the Jan. 29 Florida primary a genuine indication of strength for Clinton – or were other factors at work?

It is difficult to know for sure. In mid-January, John Edwards was still a viable candidate and he did not campaign in Florida, nor did Obama or Clinton. Who knows what the outcome would have been if they'd campaigned there?

Also on the Florida ballot that same day was a proposed state constitutional amendment to cut taxes. That ballot measure drove up Florida voter turnout.

But despite not campaigning in Florida or running ads there, Clinton did seem to signal to her Florida supporters that they ought to vote. “Florida will vote on Tuesday, which is such an important state for the Democrats to win in November 2008,” Clinton told Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" the Friday before the primary. “I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there.”

Clinton’s robust showing in Florida indicated that despite being told by some in the news media that the primary did not really matter, nearly 1.7 million Florida Democrats showed up to vote anyway. And more of them voted for her than for any of her rivals.

To whom can Michigan or Florida appeal if the Democrats from those states are not willing to accept the Rules & Bylaws Committee’s decision?

There is a 186-member Standing Committees on Credentials which according to party rules “shall determine and resolve questions concerning the seating of delegates and alternates to the Convention.”

But the final judges are the delegates at the convention itself: “The (credentials) committee shall report to the Convention for final determination and resolution of all such questions.”

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