Ms Greenleaf,

My name is [Nezua], I am an Oregon voter and resident. I am also the MTV News Street Team 08 Citizen Journalist representing Oregon for the 2008 election year. [...]

Before Oregon voted in this year's primaries, you were quoted in the Guardian talking about your endorsement, not yet made. You said,

"We have a long way to go - Oregon hasn't had its primary yet. I want to see if there's a clear winner. As a superdelegate, my job is to ratify the choice of the people."

If you've publicly endorsed Barack Obama yet, I haven't found the stories on it yet, and if that's the case, I ask your forgiveness for missing them. But I am writing to ask you to please now endorse Obama. The people have spoken and he is the desired candidate for Oregon by a clear majority of voters. You can help unify and strengthen the Democratic party by adding your support to the stream of superdelegates joining the Obama campaign already.

Thank you for your time,
[Nezua]

Her reply:

Hi [Nezua],

Thanks for taking the time to write to me.

I will be endorsing very soon.

Democratically yours,

Jenny Greenleaf
DNC Member, Oregon

I wrote her back, inquiring why superdelegates were still not announcing in situations like hers. (I didn't want to be too confrontational by asking about her personally.) I also tried to explain I was basically new on understanding some politics and as she must know more than me, I would appreciate being educated on the issue. I told her I read enough spin and news, but as a journalist I'd love to hear it from her, which might be less sensationalized, but more telling of reality.

Her first email came back within minutes. That was 2:10 pm yesterday. She has not, as of yet, replied to my second email. Perhaps she thought I was being facetious. But I wasn't, of course. I honestly don't understand what would compel a superdelegate to wait at this point, when their public stance has been to reflect the People's voices, the People have spoken, and a clear decision on this nomination would seem best for all parties. But then again, there is still much about our entire government process that is unknown to me. I keep looking for more Schoolhouse Rock videos, but I think I've watched them all already.

Of course it occurs to me that it's entirely possible (and perhaps probable?) that Obama has asked her and others to declare at certain strategic moments and not before then. And I would understand that it wouldn't pay to inform any journalist types of this. Nor do I think that she was under any compulsion to answer me. It would have been nice. At least a reply. But I don't mind. I just can't help asking people or talking to them up front like that. Man, you should see some of my letters to utility companies and faceless corporation situations when I was in my early 20s. I thought you could actually talk to people earnestly and they would understand and respond in kind. I thought this about cops for a short while, too. Such presumptions are best dispensed carefully and rarely.

Anyway.

UPDATE 14:21 PST: Excellent! Ms. Greenleaf endorsed today as well! That certainly was "very soon," after all.

UPDATE May 24 08: Ms. Greenleaf did get in touch with me and took the time out of her schedule to lay out a few scenarios in which superdelegates might hold back their endorsements. I appreciated getting the info from her, or at all, as well as the response.