They don't wear badges and you might not be able to pick them out of a lineup.  However, I feel you should know there are superdelegates walking among us.

By all accounts, these are ordinary citizens with one extraordinary responsibility.  They may very well pick the next Democratic presidential nominee between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. 

In a nutshell, superdelegates are roughly 800 Democratic representatives, senators, party leaders and activists who each have one vote as a delegate.  The party went to the superdelegate process in the 80s to make sure the party stayed on track with picking an electable Democratic candidate. 

A Democratic presidential candidate needs 2000 delegates to win the nomination.  So, with the race this tight between Clinton and Obama, the 800 superdelegates may choose the nominee.

Superdelegates don't have to "choose" a candidate officially until the convention later this year, but some are lining up behind Clinton or Obama already.  In Ohio, Governor Ted Strickland and Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones have publicly announced they'll support Clinton.  Kentucky Representative John Yarmuth says he'll vote Obama.  By the way, superdelegates can change their support as much as they want from now until the convention.

If you'd like to follow the latest superdelegate count for Obama and Clinton, I found a good website.

  http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

The national media says the pressure on these superdelegates is large.  Many are receiving calls from the elite of the party trying to sway their votes one way or another. 

Don't worry about these superdelegates though -- they're savvy enough to handle it.  At a recent Coal Convention in Charleston, we asked Superdelegate and United States Senator Jay Rockefeller which candidate would be best for coal.  He told us he hadn't thought about it.   No wonder he's a superhero, er, I mean superdelegate.  He showed the ability to leap tall questions in a single vague statement!

Here's a breakdown of uncommitted superdelegates by state:

Ohio

Charlie Wilson, Marcia Kaptur, Betty Sutton, Tim Ryan, Zack Space, Dennis Kucinich, Sherrod Brown, Chris Redfern, Rhine McLin, William Burga, Enid Goubeaux, Mark Mallory, Ronald Malone, Patricia Moss, Sonni Nardi and Joyce Beatty

Kentucky

Ben Chandler, Steve Beshear, Jennifer Moore, Nathan Smith, Moretta Bosley, Terry McBrayer and Jo Etta Wickliffe

West Virginia

Alan Mollohan, Nick Rahall, Robert Byrd, Jay Rockefeller, Alice Germond, Joe Manchin, Nick Casey, Belinda Biofore, Pat Maroney, Marie Prezioso

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The election process appears so much more difficult for everyone this year, doesn't it? 

The GOP convention is in the books in WV and 18 delegates are pledged, but confusion still reigns among some.  This week's Time Magazine laid out the road ahead for the Republican party in primary/caucus season and completely wiped West Virginia's May 13th primary off the schedule.  Remember, only 18 of the 30 delegates were awarded this past week, so voters still do have a reason to go to the polls May 13th.