Dear Maine superdelegates

Your indecision has a cost.

• You are permitting a candidate who cannot possibly win to tear down our presumptive nominee for no purpose.
• As you sit idle, Clinton supporters are hardening their opposition to Obama, and weakening him in the eyes of the general electorate.
• You are giving John McCain a clear field to consolidate his support among disparate groups, make conflicting promises, and issue misstatements of fact – all with zero press attention.
• You are denying Obama a chance to rest and regroup before the general election.
• You are starving Congressional races of money and attention and alienating potential donors. This is particularly true of lower tier races and long shot challengers.

The time and goodwill you waste cannot be recovered. In the words of opinion writer David Broder, “history shows that the earlier a candidate nails down his nomination, the better his chances of winning.” Broder cogently spells out the political costs of delay in decision making by those of you who remain uncommitted. Please read this column carefully.

Moreover, your fellow citizens are losing respect for you. Here’s Broder quoting Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin on the topic of uncommitted superdelegates:

"They want to avoid hard votes," Durbin told me at midweek, referring to his colleagues. "They want to be spared controversy. Most of them are looking for certainty, for inevitability, before they commit."

It is past time for you to act. Your decision could determine whether or not John McCain becomes our next president and keeps us in Iraq for the next half-century!

Sincerely,
Mr. & Mrs. Alna Dem