Are the Dems going to party like it's 1984?

Take yourself back in time to 1984, Gary Hart was the new insurgent candidate of new ideas and a break from the old time pols in the Democratic Party. Walter Mondale was the old standard bearer, backed by all the old party faithful as in his words, he was "ready" to be president.

Well, as the story goes, Mondale was the inevitable nominee (sound familiar?) and Hart knocked him off his throne on the way to his coronation, shocking him in the New Hampshire primary, and winning more primaries and caucuses along the way than did the presumptive nominee, Mondale.

As Hart picked up momentum, Mondale mounted an increasingly negative campaign, mocking Hart's "new ideas" and new programs by asking, "Where's the beef?", a slogan from an old Wendy's commercial. Mondale also ran the obligatory red telephone advertisement against Hart, questioning Hart's readiness to be president (does this sound familiar?).

At any rate, pledged delegates were roughly equal between the two camps, and Hart scored far better in the polls than did Mondate shortly before the convention in match-ups with President Reagan (does this sound familiar?).

Then along came the so-called "superdelegates, the old guard of the party who took away the nomination from Hart and handed it to the sure loser Mondale, who went on to lose 49 states in November.

Fast forward to 2008. The current contest seems eerily similar to 1984 with Obama playing the role of Hart and Clinton playing the part of Mondale. My hope is that the similarities stop and the superdelegates do not come rushing in like knights on white horses to hand the nomination to Clinton. If this happens, many of the newcomers that Obama has brought into the process will feel disenfranchised (rightly so) and may sit the election out in November, thus leaving us with essentially a third Bush term under McCain.

Let's hope that history does not repeat itself in 2008. Let's hope the Dems get it right this time.