If it were the Olympics, Hillary Clinton would be a fraction of a point from gold. The primary race between her and Obama was the closest since primaries became a bigger part of the nominee selection process.  She and her supporters deserve their moment in court.  They ought to get a roll call vote at the Democratic convention, now only days away.

Why not allow her name to be put in nomination?  The obvious reason is that Obama doesn't want to highlight the closeness of the primary electionn, the number of delegates who didn't vote for him.  Understandable.  Others fear it would broadcast a message of disunity. The media has been wringing their hands over the unity factor. However, Clinton supporters want their day at court.  She earned it, and it may take an act such as a roll call to satisfy them.  Let's not forget that the delegate count is the reason for a national convention, and there are plenty of historical precedents of roll calls for candidates who were not nearly as close.

Former candidate Gary Hart suggests a vote is not necessarily bad.  He recalls that in 1984 his supporters put on a demonstration that went on for 10 or 15 minutes.  "They felt very good about it afterward," he told the Denver Post.

Ted Kennedy in 1980 tried to get Jimmy Carter's delegates released at the convention so they could vote for him.  He had only half as many delegates as Carter -- not nearly as many as Sen. Clinton has.  In 1984, Jesse Jackson was the only Democratic candidate for the nomination not to withdraw before the convention although Michael Dukakis obviously had the delegate strength to be nominated. He stayed in the race and his supporters made a big show at the convention to guarantee that African-American interests were represented in the platform.

This year, the Clinton backers have gotten some platform language, to wit: "Demeaning portrayals of women cheapen our debates, dampen the dreams of our daughters, and deny us the contributions of too many."  Also, echoing Sen. Clinton's withdrawal speech, "Our party is proud that we have put 18 million cracks in the highest glass ceiling."

But that language and prime-time speaking roles for Hillary and Bill haven't satisfied all Clinton supporters.  Various groups have designs to keep the Hillary effort alive in Denver, such as one called the Denver Group, which is pushing for Clinton's name to be placed in nomination. As Heidi Li Feldman, co-founder of the Denver Group, has said: "The only way a Democrat Party will have the credibility to elect a Democrat in November is if the party uses a legitimate process to choose its nominee."

One of the most famous delegate fights occurred in 1976 in the Republican Party, when Gerald Ford went to the Kansas City convention just short of enough delegates to be nominated.  Ronald Reagan named Texan James Baker (later Secretary of State) to be his "delegate counter," and Baker's role was to pluck uncommitteds and woo Ford delegates.  It was an upfront campaign to wrest the nomination away from the sitting president.  Reagan took the then-unusual move of naming his v.p. choice in advance, liberal Sen. Richard Schweiker, to pull in moderates, but it didn't work, and Ford won on the first ballot.

Nobody knows what the true delegate count is until a vote is taken at the convention.  Any other tally is just an estimate collected by the campaigns or the media.  And while super delegates may declare one way or another, their vote is never truly tallied until the convention.

I'm not harboring any idea of Hillary actually getting the nomination at the convention but agree with her point that her delegates want to be heard.  This was a historic primary election, the longest and most exciting primary contest in 40 years between between candidates who a few years ago would have been considered tokens. 

Speaking about her supporters, Clinton has said, "I think that people want to feel like, "OK, it's a catharsis, we're here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Sen. Obama.'"  For his part, Obama isn't looking for catharsis but, as he said, "what we're looking for is energy and excitement."

Obama isn't rising in the polls and still needs the enthusiastic support of the Clintonites. My thought is that he would have far more energy out of Clinton supporters if he gives them their due at the convention with a roll call vote.    

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