Deputy campaign managers for the Obama and McCain campaigns see the silver lining in the long extended primary battle. But, I hold the same attitude I had during the primary. Never again.
The extensive Democratic primary was a huge edge for the Democrats," said Christian Ferry, deputy campaign manager for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
The intense media focus on the historic Democratic scrum left McCain forgotten and adrift, the experts said. It gave Obama time to develop his sea legs. Case in point: the hot debate over a proposed suspension of the 18-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Clinton and McCain favored the idea. Obama opposed it and, following a fierce exchange with his rivals, gained points for doing so.
"It gave him confidence," said Steve Hildebrand, Obama’s deputy campaign manager.
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The fact that Obama won does not underscore that the process almost tore the party in half, caused heated exchanges between loyalist and enabled non-voters named the Superdelegates to have the power to decide the election.
I compliment Obama and Clinton for working out their differences and supporting each other. Clinton and Obama represent the best of the party. But let's face it, the Democratic Party did little to repair the damage caused during the primary. If it were not for the efforts of Obama and Clinton deciding to make it work, we could have faced a very different outcome. What if there were other personalities involved? What if there was a convention fight? With Dean out, who will see that we restructure the Superdelegate process?
I have so many issues with the current system, including the number of Superdelegates, the opportunity for back door dealing, the lack of transparency in the selection and qualifications of non-elected Supeprdelegates, and on and on.
In the end, there was a silver lining - Obama won. But that fact alone does not escape the reality that the Superdelegete system is broken and needs to be changed.