What the Hell is a Super-Delegate, Anyway?

I mean, do they get to wear a cool uniform to the convention or something? And why the hell are there so many more Democrat delegates as opposed to Republicans?

There are no rational answers to most of these questions, but basically a "super-delegate" is a Democrat office holder(Senator, Congressman, Governor) or party member who can hold the candidates by the short hairs by pledging their vote to the other candidate. They vote at the convention for whomever they please, regardless of how their states vote. It's really kind of cool when you think about it, but most people do not take the time to understand how they work or why they're around at all, so they have an animus toward it. Sort of like hockey in the South.

The super-delegates are a response to the dimished power the party leaders held after the changes of the McGovern-Fraser Commission were instituted--see, simple, right?
Delegates used to be chosen in secret after caucuses were held by the party leaders of the state, giving no true power to the voters, and especially dimishing the vote of minorities. So the commission comes along and says that delegates have to represent, proportionally, the percentage of votes the candidates received.

This left the party leaders feeling vulnerable, so they created the unpledged delegates made up of elected officials and party leaders. They represent approximately 20 percent of all the delegates, so, in a close race, like this one, the super-delegates hold a great deal of power, especially the ones who wait to the last minute to endorse a candidate. Some super-delegates hold no power, like Joe Liebermann whose super-delegate status was stripped when he endorsed John McCain. Tough luck, Joe, but you know the Democratic Party has no use for a man who votes his conscience instead of toeing the party line.

The Republicans have a similar group but they represent only around five percent of the total delegates, so their impact is not as powerful. As well, nobody seems to know what the hell is going to happen with the Michigan or Florida delegates, so this whole thing could blow up in our faces worse then Dade County in 2000. God, I love politics.