Tony Campbell at Examiner.com on July 30 reported that Hillary Clinton supporters are quietly planning a coup to claim the presidential nomination from Barack Obama on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention.

Campbell writes, “The group, P.U.M.A. (Party Unity My A**), claims that 15 delegates have switched from Obama to Clinton in July. There is still the possibility of a floor convention vote to fully seat the delegates of Michigan and Florida, which would benefit Senator Clinton. Finally, the Obama flip-flop on the FISA bill has not been well received by the more liberal segments of the Democratic faithful.”

Given that 2025 votes are needed for the nomination, the pro-Hillary website DoneDems.com suggests these hopeful numbers: “Obama has about 2229.5 delegate votes, with 1766.5 pledged delegates and 463 superdelegates. Clinton has 1896.5 delegate votes, with 1639.5 pledged and 257 super delegates. Shift just 175 delegates from Obama to Clinton, and Obama’s power grab comes to a halt.”

By my own count, Hillary is only 128.5 votes short of 2025, which actually is easier to acheive than 175 votes, but I’m not sure even this number is correct. I’ll do some more reporting on this point and report my findings here.

The core question remains: Could a Clinton coup happen?  The odds are against success, but Obama is vulnerable.

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Barack Obama may announce his running mate this week, or he may just wait until we get closer to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. On the off chance this decision is not yet settled, I  suggest that Wesley Clark might be the best choice to ensure Obama’s election.

Some may feel Obama must choose Hillary Clinton to ensure his election. They think this would be the dream ticket. The announcement that Hillary is speaking the second night of the convention, however, effectively tells the world that she is not the VP pick.

If Obama chooses a southern white male, as a core group of party leaders believes he must, would John Edwards survive the sexual scandal attacks, valid or not? Some want Al Gore, but I just can’t imagine him giving up his newfound happiness and authenticity to play second banana again.

When I look at the entire field of presidential hopefuls in the Democratic primaries, the process of elimination for “electability” leaves Clark as the one clear choice.

Yeah, I know, some believe Clark probably was taken off the short list because of his quip that being a prisoner of war in Vietnam does not in itself qualify John McCain to be president. Logically, Clark made an accurate statement. Emotionally, his comment raised some hackles.  Let’s look past that faux pax to consider Clark’s  qualifications. Read the rest of this entry »