"He said, 'Neither one of them can say that right now because they're both going for the top job.' "
Marquez said she was working at her home computer recently when the phone rang and the voice on the other end told her that Bill Clinton would like to speak to her. He then got on the line and made a case for his wife.
Marquez supports Obama and nothing Clinton said persuaded her to jump ship. Explaining her position, she noted that her state, Colorado, broke for Obama by about 2 to 1 in its Feb. 5 contest.
Along with such personal contacts, the two rival Democratic camps have funneled campaign funds to many of the superdelegates who also run for office. A study by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics released last week found that over the last three years, Obama doled out about $698,000 in donations to elected officials who are superdelegates, Clinton gave about $206,000.
Amid an intensifying debate about what should guide superdelegates in making their choices, Marquez said she saw no clear-cut answer.
She said: "There's no direction" from the Democratic National Committee, on which she has served for about four years. "There is nothing that says this is how you must do it. So that's why everyone is struggling."
Rep. James E. Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat who is the House's third-ranking leader, recently said that superdelegates should not base their support on primary or caucus results and instead should make up their own minds.
His position is consistent with that of the Clinton campaign. In a conference call with reporters Saturday, senior Clinton strategist Harold Ickes said superdelegates should exercise their own judgment, considering among other matters which of the two candidates stands the best chance of defeating the likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has staked out the opposite position, saying in a recent interview that it would be a mistake for superdelegates to ignore the popular vote. "I think there is a concern when the public speaks and there is a counterdecision made to that," the San Francisco Democrat said on Bloomberg Television.
That position lines up with Obama's view. His camp argues that superdelegates should take their cue from which candidate has racked up more regular delegates; presently, Obama is ahead on this score.
Some superdelegates are wondering themselves about the power they may exert.
"I don't think any of us got into this thinking we would somehow be part of a small group of people who get to select the next president of the United States -- or at least the party's nominee," Millin said. "Most reasonable people assumed the race would be over by Super Tuesday, if not in New Hampshire."
peter.nicholas@latimes.com
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Times staff writers Richard Simon and Peter Wallsten contributed to this report.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
By the numbers
Superdelegates can shift their allegiance at any time.
Superdelegates
Clinton: 241
Obama: 164
Uncommitted: 391
Total: 796
Associated Press tally as of Thursday.
Overall delegates
Obama: 1,280
Clinton: 1,218
Associated Press tally as of Saturday.
