WASHINGTON -- The phone just keeps ringing for Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno, whose popularity has soared this presidential campaign season.
The Senate majority whip calls, praising Sen. Barack Obama. Bill Clinton's former White House chief of staff checks in, taking Costa's political pulse. There's an evening reception at Hillary's house; can he make it? Lobbyists weigh in, aligned with one candidate or another.
As a Democratic superdelegate, Costa will help select the party's presidential nominee. And he's uncommitted -- which means he's getting lobbied hard.
"I'm being romanced," Costa said with a laugh, "and I'm enjoying it immensely."
The pleasure is shadowed, though, by one salient rule of politics: Wait too long, and all leverage is lost. So as the 2008 Democratic convention approaches, Costa and the other uncommitted superdelegates must adjust their own timing and tactics amid an intense behind-the-scenes campaign.
The 796 Democratic superdelegates are members of Congress, party leaders and other insiders who are free to support whichever presidential candidate they want. That flexibility distinguishes them from delegates whose votes are determined in state caucuses and primaries.
The flexibility provides bargaining power in an excruciatingly close race. The latest Associated Press tally attributes 1,602 delegates to Obama and 1,497 delegates to Clinton. A candidate needs 2,025 to secure the nomination.
Clinton has the lead over Obama among California's 66 superdelegates, but 23 remain uncommitted, according to Politico.com, a nonpartisan political journalism Web site.
This could be the first time superdelegates have been so important since the system was introduced in the early 1980s.
"This is kind of unbroken ground here," Costa said.
Costa is one of only three Democratic superdelegates from the San Joaquin Valley, the area between Stockton and Bakersfield. One, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, is committed to Clinton. The other, Rep. Jerry McNerney, a Pleasanton Democrat whose district includes Tracy and Manteca, said he is remaining neutral and will support whoever is nominated.
Undeniably, being uncommitted brings attention. On Wednesday, for instance, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Los Angeles, urged Costa to come up to Clinton's house for a little evening get-together. Costa was tempted. He said he always wanted to see the 5,500-square-foot house, which the Clintons bought for $2.85 million, but he finally opted out of the cocktail reception.
Cardoza dropped by for a bit, having already committed to Clinton last December.
"It was very personal," Cardoza said of the evening reception. "It was the right thing to do."
Cardoza, too, fielded appeals from presidential candidates while he was still making up his mind. Previous personal connections can make a difference. Cardoza, who has adopted children out of foster care, recalled sitting next to Clinton at a showing of the movie "Antwone Fisher," about a young man raised in foster homes. It was a moment of common interest.
Last fall, Obama's team threw a breakfast meeting for superdelegates at the Democratic Club on Capitol Hill. Members of the House followed up with phone calls and personal conversations. Costa and Cardoza both wanted something from the candidates.
"I told Obama he needed to come into my district if he wanted my endorsement," Cardoza said. "He didn't come."
Hillary Clinton, for assorted reasons, campaigned in Fresno in October, while Bill Clinton appeared in Stockton last month.
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