Local pressure on Tammy Baldwin to back Obama.

Much of what has been reported in the news over the past week has been rough for Barack Obama.  The (expected) loss in Pennsylvania and the war of words with Jeremiah Wright have thrown the candidate off-message.  Meanwhile Hillary Clinton focuses on economic issues, including the high price of gasoline, as we are days away from votes in North Carolina and Indiana (the largest of the states yet left to vote).

Yet Barack Obama still has momentum in the race to secure superdelegates, gaining several -- including Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler -- over the past week.  The push to secure delegates marches on.

Pressure on superdelegates continues to build; not only from us online, but in the media.  The pressure is not limited to undeclared superdelegates, but also ones who have actively campaigned for Hillary Clinton.

This morning's news brought a column from John Nichols of Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times.  He begins it with some math explaining how strong support from Obama is in the city of Madison.  Not only did Obama win the February 19 primary in Wisconsin by double digits, but he carried the 2nd Congressional District (featuring Madison) by a 2-1 margin over Hillary Clinton.  He carried Madison with more votes than every other candidate from both parties (in both parties' primaries) combined.  By Nichols's calculations, Obama got 54% of the district's votes to the Democratic and Republican fields' combined 46%.

Having made the case that Obama is the choice of the people of Madison, Nichols then focuses on the district's Representative, Tammy Baldwin.  She of course is a superdelegate, one who campaigned actively for Hillary Clinton in the weeks leading up to the Wisconsin primary.  Though she is a Clinton endorser, Nichols makes the case that she can and should switch her endorsement, much as Georgia's John Lewis did several weeks ago.  Lewis was a high-profile Clinton supporter, yet in the wake of his district's overwhelming support of Obama (combined with perceived national momentum towards the Illinois senator), he changed his mind, noting "Something's happening in America, something some of us did not see coming. Barack Obama has tapped into something that is extraordinary."

In the wake of the more negative turn the Democratic nomination fight has taken, John Nichols now calls upon Tammy Baldwin to follow in John Lewis's footsteps.

So far, Baldwin has resisted switching, as is her right.

Baldwin's taken some hits for this. But she remains extremely well regarded by her Democratic constituents, so she knows she does not have to switch in order to "protect herself" politically.

Still, Baldwin, as someone who has always taken seriously the sentiments of her district, now has an opportunity to communicate an important message to Clinton. If Baldwin were to switch her support to Obama, at a point when it is increasingly evident that he will be the nominee but when Clinton's continued candidacy can still do him harm politically, she would not just help her party in what will be a tough fall contest for the presidency. Baldwin could -- as she has done so frequently and so well on so many issues -- carry the wisdom of the 2nd District to the national stage.

I find this interesting for a couple of reasons.  One, this is pressure on a superdelegate not from the netroots but from a member of the local media.  Two, Nichols frames his pitch to Rep. Baldwin in a complimentary way, arguing that her switching from Clinton to Obama now would not only help the national party when it needs help (supporting the candidate Nichols presumes is the party's nominee and limiting the damage the primary can inflict on the nominee for the fall campaign), but also would reflect her existing strength in listening to her constituents.  It remains to be seen whether this gentle local pressure changes Rep. Baldwin's mind, but that pressure is out there in this district even after Barack Obama has faced some of the more turbulent days of his campaign.