And you thought the Clinton-Obama horse race was already hot — the candidates virtually tied for votes and delegates. Now the party is locked in a behind-the-scenes horse race for the votes of superdelegates.

Those are the 795 party elites — free agents — whose votes at the Democratic convention this summer will not necessarily be bound by the will of Democratic voters.

That’s right. Talk of backroom deals and a brokered convention is real. So is talk of a Democratic train wreck as the party heads into November.

This hour, On Point: the Democrats’ superdelegate dilemma.

-Jane Clayson

Guests:

Gary Hart, former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from Colorado, now a professor at the University of Colorado and a supporter of Senator Barack Obama.

Elaine Kamarck, lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, former aide to President Bill Clinton, and a superdelegate supporting Senator Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Gwen Moore, Democratic congresswoman from Wisconsin and superdelegate supporting Barack Obama.

Matt Bai, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of “The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics.”

Tags: 2008 Democratic Convention, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, politics, superdelegates