Delegate Fun

Blogger has been acting up horribly this evening, so we'll see whether this actually shows up online or not. Hillary, of course, is working desperately hard to come up with extra delegates, but it's Obama who's actually raising the number of delegates in his column. Iowa held county conventions today, a step closer to selecting the delegates who will actually attend the Democratic convention in August. Eight of John Edwards's elected delegates have shifted over to Obama, as has one of Hillary's so that actually provides Obama with a net gain of ten delegates over Hillary. The same Washington Post linked to above also reveals that a final count of delegates in California provides Hillary with a gain of two and Obama with a gain of five. Put all of that together, and Obama ends up with 14 new delegates while Hillary gets only one, meaning that Obama increases his lead by 13 delegates. All--or at least most--of the caucus states have a similar system--the delegates aren't firmly in place, and they may change their allegiance in county and state caucuses. It'll pay to keep watch over these caucus states as they progress through each level. The number called on caucus nights is not necessarily the same number who will show up at the Democratic convention, so it looks like there's an oportunity there for somebody.