Dear colleagues:

I am often asked; "What's the role of a "superdelegate"? Let me suggest four roles we can play to ensure the Democratic Party's unity and strength at the Denver convention and beyond.

• Speak out now!

No, I'm not suggesting we urge one candidate to step aside before the primaries run their course. But I am suggesting we urge both campaigns to cease the intra-party slurs. The problem is not the length of the calendar; it's the negative tone of the dialogue that will hurt our chances in the fall. Our candidate will be a weaker nominee in November if the bitterness continues. None of us should look back from November and ask: "Why didn't I speak out in April?"

If your voice is to be heard at any time in this process, now is the time. Let's urge both campaigns to cease the slash-and-burn tactics and get back to the kitchen-table issues that worry America's families.

• Resolve Florida and Michigan now!

In sports as in life, if you don't play by the rules you must pay a price. The same should be true of politics.

One "price" being considered for Florida and Michigan, both having ignored party rules on the timing of their primaries, is to nevertheless count their votes at what could be a determinative moment late in the calendar. But every candidate knew that neither state held a valid election, so no candidate should be able to claim an advantage from it.

It is equally untenable for our party to convene in Denver without Florida or Michigan being represented. But the answer is not to award them a do-over after they violated the rules. The fairest solution is to divide their delegations equally between the two candidates. The campaigns can work with the state parties to assure appropriate demographic representation.

Let's use our superdelegate influence to insist that the campaigns agree to this solution now. The states need time to plan; the party must abide by its rules and must avoid an unnecessary and divisive credentials battle in Denver.

• Stay focused. It's about the delegates!

Questions are floating as to the real measure of "winning" in the run to the nomination. Number of states? Big states? Popular vote? Electoral College?

Helloooo? ...

We have rules. Everyone understood them at the outset. This is not a national primary; it is not a red-vs.-blue, caucus-vs.-primary or big state-vs.-small state competition. It's a state-by-state contest (some primary, some caucus, some big, some small) by which delegates are selected in proportional representation to the popular vote in each state.

Once the contests are over, do the math. By mid-June, we must unite behind the candidate who has won the most delegates under a process we all understood and approved in advance. After eight years of Bush-Cheney, if we cannot unite our constituencies behind the Democratic nominee, shame on us!

• Close ranks before the Democratic Convention!

Some are trying to equate the contentious 1980 Democratic convention with a potentially divisive Democratic convention this August. Keep in mind: 1) the press relishes a conflict story; 2) the superdelegates' responsibility is to work toward a unified convention; and 3) there is no fair comparison between 1980 and 2008.

In 1980, I was political director of Sen. Edward Kennedy's campaign for the presidency. We trailed in the delegate count, but the rationale for our going on to the convention simply does not exist in 2008.

In 1980, substantial differences separated the Democratic candidates on critical issues facing the country. With hostages seized in Iran, President Jimmy Carter adopted a "Rose Garden strategy," choosing not to debate. Prior to the Democratic Convention, Sen. Kennedy offered to release his delegates in exchange for a single debate. When the Carter campaign refused, the only venue for a policy debate was before the convention's platform committee.

We negotiated substantive platform victories that helped the party. President Carter was renominated. Ronald Reagan defused his "age" issue, spoke optimistically of America's hopes and prevailed in November.

In 2008, only minor policy differences separate the Democratic candidates. When the primaries conclude, there will have been 22 face-to-face debates, the pledged delegate count will be final and that's when we must close ranks.

It's been my privilege to work with many of you who will share the ticket with our Democratic nominee. It is in our enlightened self-interest but, more importantly, in the national interest, to convene the Democratic Convention as a united party so we can all make the strongest case for a new future for America. Each of us can make a difference now! Let's make our voices heard!

Respectfully,

Paul G. Kirk Jr.