Pledge? What's a pledge?

After all, they're Democrats:

A little-known loophole in Democratic Party rules potentially frees up every delegate -- even those selected in primaries and caucuses -- to shift their allegiance at the convention. All that delegates are required to do is to "in all good conscience" reflect the sentiments of the voters who chose them. For delegates with flexible consciences, the sky is theoretically the limit. "The press is wrong in exclusively focusing on the superdelegates," says a member of the Democratic National Committee, who has closely studied the convention rulebook. "If it goes to the Convention, everybody's up for grabs."

(Via Memeorandum.) A Democrat with a "good conscience"? Good luck finding one of those in Denver!

So long as Hillary can keep it close going into the convention, she can promise those delegates the moon (not to mention Cabinet posts and ambassadorships) and basically buy the nomination. Failing that, Team Clinton will steal it.

Bribery, blackmail, threats, promises, violence, extortion -- count on Team Clinton to do whatever it takes. You can talk all you want about Hope and Change, but if this thing comes down to backroom bare-knuckle cut-throat politics, Obama is doomed.

UPDATE: Of course, most journalists would consider it a professional faux-pas to suggest that a candidate for the office of President of These United States -- indeed, a distinguished Senator from the Great State of New York -- would resort to outright crime in order to win her party's nomination.

Yet we are, after all, talking about Democrats. Having co-authored the definitive book on Democratic Party corruption, I assure you that no act of political skullduggery to which the Clinton campaign is likely to resort would be anything new in the history of a party that was co-founded by Aaron Burr.

Nor do I mean to suggest that Team Obama is a bunch of Boy Scouts, incapable of the kind of treachery, swindling and graft necessary to success in the Democratic Party. I mean, hey, they're Chicago Democrats, OK?

All I'm saying is that Hillary has by far the more experienced and distinguished team of liars, cheats and hoodlums on her payroll. I certainly intend no aspersions the goon squad at Obama HQ, but I think even David Axelrod would admit that his gang of ambitious young villains has their work cut out for them, going up against Clinton's crew of seasoned scoundrels. Axelrod has no one on his roguish roster who can compare to the sinister likes of Lanny Davis and Sid Blumenthal.

So when I say that Team Clinton will have a decisive advantage if the Democratic nomination comes down to dirty-dealing in Denver, this should not be considered an expression of bias against the Obama campaign. It's just a neutral, objective fact.