Thursday, June 05, 2008
DemConWatch Congratulates Barack Obama
WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
Barack Obama is the Democratic Presidential Nominee for the 2008 General Election, so DemConWatch has decided that we will no longer be updating our superdelegate lists or tables.
We would like to thank everyone who has helped us out with our Superdelegate Lists and Delegate Trackers. Special thanks go to Yousri, Quon_mom, Amot, Charlie and Ed Espinoza. Thanks also to all of our readers and commenters, who have provided us with much of the information you see on these pages. When we started the lists in early January we had no idea that we would get so much attention or that we would be updating the list into June.
We also never expected to get the media coverage we received. We had stories written about us in the NY Times, Wired, Politico, The Wall Street Journal and US News and World Report to name a few. If you were lucky you may have also heard us do interviews on CNN Radio, NPR and XM Radio’s POTUS `08.
We will now return you to our regularly scheduled program and bring you everything you want and need to know about the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
We’ll be reporting on the speakers and the media, the protests and the parties.
We will be live blogging from inside and outside the Pepsi Center for the entire week. You’ll get reports on the events and people that make up the convention and will meet some of the friends we’ve met along the way.
We’ll also be turning our attention to the fall election, providing all the numbers, charts and information as only DemConWatch can.
Thanks again!
Update: Due to popular demand, we’ll do a mini-update tonight…
Posted by Oreo at 12:15 AM 
So sad — I’ve been refreshing my browser like a crack monkey for the last four months…
On the other hand, I guess we’ve moved on — so adieu, delegate counts (and good riddance!).
You’re the best, demconwatch. You’ve shaped this election more than you can know. Regards,
Marshall High
Boise, ID
I understand but I think you may end up regretting your decision if some more drama happen right before the convention.
If something happens, the actual numbers may end up being relevant again 🙂
But thanks so much for ur hard work ! Was awesome 🙂
Speaking of protests – have you seen:
http://www.unconventionalaction.org/
Congrats of the convention creds again, and thanks.
It is sad to see that ya’ll are no longer going to add supers to the lists!
It would be nice if ya’ll would continue for a couple more days… you never know what will happen and besides we have a contest going on on the Open Thread regarding what the number will be Sunday!
Thank you for your tireless effort to keep us aware of our process. I found you project to be more reliable than any other news source tracking the super delegates as everything was transparent.
Thanks!
You’ve been doing the superdelegate tracker for five months. You deserve the right to end it when the nomination battle is over – as it is now.
Thanks for all the great work you have done. I’ve been tracking the superdelegates constantly using your site virtually every day for quite a while. Yes, it’s a bit bittersweet, but so is the end of the primary season. It had to happen sometime, and now we move on to the next phase of the process – getting Obama elected president!
I agree with Ben and Leah, you just can’t cut us off cold turkey now, can you wean us off for a couple of days?
That said, what a great job you have done. Good luck,and God bless!
I would suggest you guys keep the lists yourselves. You all know the rules. Reach a consensus (no different than Oreo and I did), and keep a running total by day.
Use this thread, or the superd comment thread, which remains open.
Or, you could just give Obama 823.5 and be done with it!
We’ll be watching to see how you folks do!
Hi, first of all thank you so very much for this sterling site, which I do check all day long.
Second, you must be exhausted, don’t know how you do it.
Third, could you please go just one more day, so we can see who meets the Reid-Pelosi request and who doesn’t?
I think you perform an important function, helping to keep the SD’s feet to the fire in terms of when they endorse, and whom.
Wish you could continue for awhile longer. Meanwhile, where is the next best site with SD endorsements presented in as timely a manner as possible.
Thanks again!
Heather
Congrats guys. You folks are heroes and I admire the way you have covered this historic and remarkable campaign.
On to November.
-James
SwingStateProject.com
Matt-
Okay I am over the initial shock now 😉
Cutting us off ‘cold turkey’ like that really came out of the blue! Ya’ll get us addicted our refresh buttons and then BOOM! LOL 😉
We will use the delegate count on the BarackObama.com site to settle our contest – that is if they don’t stop updating their numbers over there too.
____
MATT, OREO, and the whole gang here at DCW ya’ll have done an awesome job – have a great time in Denver – ya’ll deserve it!
OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA ’08
.
Thank you so much for all the work you’ve done! I’m like “scantron” refreshing my browser like a you know what! I need some time to let go. ;-P) If we begged really nice, “pant, pant,” would you consider continuing the delegate counter until all the supers have endorsed? Or until it appears no more will do so?
Thanks so much,
Gladstone, OR
Thanks, guys. You have enriched this contest more than you know, I suspect. Great job!
-Hippolytus
Thanks for providing the most neutral SD updates available!
I even recommended you to two of our news channels since they kept screwing up and copy-pasted from AP and Reuters without checking anything out for themselves
– Some Dane
The superdelegate watch has been my daily fix for weeks. Now what am I going to do?!
You guys are super stars. Thanks for the great work.
Looking forward to your convention coverage. Best to all y’all!
I am going to go through superdelegate withdraw, lol.
How bout you just cut back to one update a day? I understand the fun will be over once all delegates have chosen sides, but we’ve still got 100 to go!
Could I suggest Veep Watch? 😉
Oh no, did I just say that? Obviously, someone should have told me superdelegates were a gateway drug!
I would reflect the comments here of all. This has been unquestionably the best site for superdelegate updates providing the transparency that regular media outlets such as AP, CBS, CNN do not.
The role you have performed is an important one even as recently as yesterday when Camp Clinton were deciding whether or not to concede. The weight of endorsements and the quick and easily referenced reporting on this site ensure that the mainstream media are fully up to speed with what is happening.
I do still think that endorsements between now and Saturday (when Clinton says she will ‘suspend’ her campaign) are important. Clinton is planning on retaining her delegates and having another 100 or so undeclared delegates leaves open the possibility for her that something might happen to persuade 50 or so Obama SDs to defect. The race needs to be closed down completely and the best way for this to be achieved is for every undeclared SD to back Obama now. Hopefully some of Clinton’s own SDs will also jump ship. The bigger the differential in SDs, the more likely that Clinton will concede in her heart and fully commit quickly to supporting Obama’s presidential bid.
Indeed, if the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Dean and Gore do not endorse Obama, doesn’t that actually say something quite damaging that the GOP can use?
The Dems must fully pivot to the general fight now. If you look at any of the polling match ups with McCain for individual states, Obama’s figures are held back by 15-20% of Dem voters who are either undecided or backing McCain (go check Survey USA’s data for clear evidence of this). If these Dem voters come home, there is every chance of absolutely sweeping McCain.
Let’s get it done.
I agree with p smith and second what erikwm has suggested. The joint memorandum requires that all supers commit by tomorrow. Can you for the sake of unity set your differences with computation aside for two more days and please give us once-daily updates until Saturday?? Pretty please?
Besides, I don’t think I can withdraw that fast …. 🙂
Moreover, you are, deservedly, the best, most credible and most reliable source on the net for this information by far. Congratulations on doing such a superb job these many months, and thank you.
Please don’t stop yet!!!
Knowing the superdelegate count is still very important.
It will be very desirable if Obama can, at the convention, make a motion to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations in their entirety rather than as half-votes.
He can only do this if he knows that it will not impede his chances of getting the nomination.
In any event, thank you so much for your great work during this primary season!!!
Thanks to all of you! You provided the best coverage of the primary. May be, you can use your model to create Drudge on steroids.
I am having a great time reading your blog.
You DCW guys are utterly brilliant. Looking forward to your convention coverage and of course the election coverage.
I guess that DCW 2012 won’t be quite as interesting, assuming (hoping!) that it’s the incumbent President Obama running for re-election, but I look forward to your coverage of the 2016 nomination fight.
Any chance O’Bama will pick one of you for VP? That’d cement my vote!
From Lisbon, Portugal, I want to thank you for the excellence of your work.
I’ve been using your site every day for quite a while.
For USA Barack will be the change you need and you deserves.
Barack for me, and for a lot of others citizens of the world, I am sure, is a refreshing hope and a new chance for Peace and for a better world.
To all of you democrats, independents, even republicans who supporting Barack Obama, my best wishes.
Thanks again
GOBAMA, GO!
Thanks, guys! You have provided invaluable information to us statistically-starved political wonks over the last five months. You’ve also taken a huge step towards showing what can be accomplished by a couple of guys with computers in our brave new Web 2.0 world! Congrats!
I have really appreciated your work, and I wish you weren’t stopping yet. I still like seeing the numbers go up as people declare. No chance you will keep us up on totals, or switches, or anything?
In any case, that you for a job very well done.
To the DCW crew. Congratulation on an extremely informative, in depth, and up to date coverage of a facinating political event.
An outstanding effort!
Al
P.S. Will you be doing an electoral college blog?
Thank you for doing honest, important, and detailed work.
Oh phooey. I’m gonna miss the hourly super updates very much. (Couldn’t you at least continue it till Friday?)
And let me just say how annoyed I am at the remaining 91 undeclared (named) supers who are still too cowardly to endorse. Where the hell is Al Gore, for example???
Well, Matt & Oreo, I expect to hear live blogging as you patrol the various Denver hotel lobbies and hallways, updating us on which state delegations drink the most, party the hardest, and do the worst chicken dance.
thanks for the work… I’ve lived and died by your delegate count!
This is the most fun, and the most involvement I have ever taken in any political campaign. I owe it all to you guys at DCW. It has really been fun, and my kids have learned a lot. Thank you so much…. now all I have to do is find a new addiction. Great Job!!!
I love the Superman pose.
I just wonder what y’all going to do in the mean time? I mean you have been keeping up with the supers and I would expect you to do something else. What is that?
As I’ve said throughout, you guys and gal ROCK!! As I promised earlir, check your collection plate – a couple of beers on me!
My very warmest regards,
MKSinSA
a long time ago, i predicted that superdelegates, FL and MI wouldn’t matter at the convention because they WOULD be seated and they would vote for the same candidate everyone else was voting for – OUR NOMINEE.
Well, I don’t know, maybe two months later, we are finally at that point. Hooray!
But those two months have been easier with your help. You have done great work. This site is one of the reasons Al Gore created the internet:) Thank you, thank you, thank you.
As I used to say when I was a door-to-door fundraiser “Please support our work in the form of a check”. And nowadays all you need to do is hit the donate button. I did, and I’m glad I did.
-grateful fan
Thank you, DemConWatch, you’ve been a godsend in this campaign. I look forward to your contributions in the GE.
I understand the decision, but I am still disappointed. I was very much looking forward to knowing precisely when Obama reached the 2209 threshold beyond which Obama will be able to graciously ask that the Michigan and Florida delegations have their full votes in Denver.
All right, folks, dut to popular demand, we’ll do a quick endorsement list this evening. We won’t be updating our tables, but we’ll include new numbers within the post. Thanks for all the appreciation today. – Matt
Richard – Obama doesn’t need supderdelegates to reach 2209. If the number is 2209, then his Florida delegates get full votes, and he gets 38.5 more votes to put him over this milestone. Michigan would be another wrinkle, depending on whether they just give full votes on the current allocation 69-59, or go back to the original allocation of 73-55 (uncommitted). But the bottom line is he’s already over the number now, and by the convention, with 80-90% of the superdelegates voting for him, there will be no problem giving MI and FL there full votes.
And to answer a question earlier, we hope to have our first Electoral College preview up before the weekend is done.
Encore! Encore!
Bravo! Bravo!
Back by popular demand …
The DemConWatch Crew
YEAH
Matt and Oreo,
DCW has been my favorite ‘site since January when I located you on the ‘net. Thanks for everything you’ve done and for making it possible for me to update my nerdy spreadsheets.
As you properly note, the nomination has been settled and it’s time to get going on other things. Could we revisit an idea I suggested earlier and open up a thread dedicated to the question of what changes and reforms the Democratic Party needs to make going forward?
I would like the opportunity to discuss with your learned posters such questions as: “Should we scrap the superdelegate system?” “How can we improve proportional allocation?” “Is there a way to keep states in line in the future?” “Are we always going to have a situation where Iowa and New Hampshire get primacy over the other states?” “Is there a way to assure that pledged delegates will vote for the candidate that they are assigned to?” “66% of the delegates were chosen over a fifteen day period and, later, we went six weeks with no primaries at all. Is there a way to ‘smooth things out’ so that delegates are chosen in a more orderly way?” “Are caucuses really democratic? Should we continue to allow them?” “Is the 15% threshold for viability a good idea — would it be possible for voters to express ‘preference’ so that if their candidate isn’t viable they can vote for one who is?”
I’m sure that once we got started the posters would think up even better questions than the ones I proposed. Maybe it would make sense to open up a thread for each individual issue. I don’t think the ‘open thread’ is a good venue as we skip from one topic to the next and often don’t see posts that respond to earlier posts we’ve made.
I know its quite time-intensive but… I think you should keep updating your SuperDelegate lists so everybody knows who’s voting for who – for the record. Plus, that’s your bread-and-butter!! The lists and the tables! Why do you think you’ve gotten the media coverage that you have? Not for the fringe convention info, but the SuperDelegate tracker. I think your hit count will diminish if you don’t keep the lists and tables updated. This has become many people’s favorite site because of that. It has also been the most thorough of the SD trackers b/c of the community aspect. Maybe you can keep the trackers updated on a scaled back basis…? Please keep up the great work – you all have been awsome!
Just wanted to thank you for updating tonight. In appreciation, I just donated to your paypal account! You have done a great job. Can you please keep updating through the weekend. It should pretty much end after that. Thanks so much. Anne
Paul and others: Discussion thread on reforming the nomination process will be up at 7:00 AM Friday.