Kwame Kilpatrick: An Unwanted Superdelegate

Joel Millman reports on the presidential race. The last person Barack Obama ’s campaign wants near the convention spotlight may be Detroit’s embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick : the 38-year old Detroit politician is awaiting trial on perjury and other charges stemming from a scandal that resulted from the discovery of a sexual liaison with an aide. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears in court on August 8, 2008 in Detroit. (AP) Today the Obama campaign learned plenty about the ties that bind—tethers, if you will—as in the electronic tether the mayor must wear at all times as a condition of his release from jail while awaiting trial. The mayor, who is contesting the charges against him, is also a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention–and he wants to attend. On Thursday, Wayne County Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend ruled that Kilpatrick could shuck the device that tracks his moves and travel to Denver. That created a dilemma for the Obama campaign, ... (link)