And so we begin.

"Let me be one of the first," writes artistdogboy...

"...to call for Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell and Jay Inslee et al to reconsider your pre-caucus endorsement and be willing now to support Barak Obama who has won the Washington State Democratic caucuses overwhelmingly and decisively. There is no doubt now who most Democrats in Washington State want to be the party's nominee. You as our elected leaders and subject to the will of the voters should be willing to support the peoples choice.

No, please. It's not a path we want to take for several reasons. Of course, there's the suggestion that our elected officials should be mandated, contrary to the rules that govern their delegate status, to cast their personal ballot as directed, even if that direction constitutes a violation of their own conscience and best judgment. That's a profound violation of the spirit of democracy, and the principles of Democrats.

Secondly, all we know without doubt is that most Democrats who attended a precinct caucus supported Obama, probably in numbers slightly smaller than his ultimate delegate totals, given the nature of caucus math (in my precinct, nearly a third of the attendees netted Clinton a fourth of the delegates). Right now, six of Washinton's sixteen PLEO delegates have endorsed Clinton, which is a reasonable reflection of Clinton's support. Even if we assume that caucus attendees are representative sample of broader Democratic sentiment (a substantial leap, in my experience), how would Obama merit 100% of the PLEOs?

There is, of course, the question of whether Senator Obama can afford to be held to a similar standard? Should Senators Kerry and Kennedy be required to honor the will of the voters of Massachusetts? Should Senator Obama eschew the support of any PLEOs from New York? California? New Jersey? Clinton's scored well in some big states, folks. No so much, maybe, in the single Congressional district states, but they don't really add up much in the PLEO column. Nope, it's a mathematical loser for Obama.

The rules have been in place since the last national convention. All of the campaigns know what they are, and knew as they plotted their strategies. Let's just drop the calls for the PLEOs to be subjected to an eleventh hour, ad hoc rules change. We elected them to represent us as delegates, as well as in their public or Party offices, according to their conscience with the best interests of our Party in mind. Let's trust that they have done so, even as we may disagree with their decisions.

It's called "representative democracy." We're in favor of it, remember?