The Credentials Committee

Assuming that Florida and Michigan Democrats do not submit new delegate selection plans to the Democratic national committee, their plea to seat their delegations will fall on the ears of the DNC's committee on credentials.

The chairs of the committee are all veterans of the Clinton administration in some way: Alexis Herman, James Roosevelt, Jr. and Eliseo Roques-Arroyo: this led to certain conspiracy theories. But all three have maintained their neutrality; there are many Clinton officials supporting Obama, and it's hard to find prominent Dems who didn't play some role in the Clinton administration.

Anyway, Mr. Dean has not packed the committee with Clinton loyalists. He's packed the committee with, well, Dean loyalists. Those of us who covered the Dean campaign will be familiar with many of the names:

Kate O'Connor, his gubernatorial chief of staff and campaign senior adviser; Bob Rogan, a campaign deputy manager who worked closely with current DNC executive director Tom McMahon; Kathy Hoyt, another former chief of staff to Dean in Vermont; Jane Stetson, a Democratic fundraiser from Vermont; Dr. Dean's college roommate, Dr. Ralph Dawson; Adelita Grijalva, daughter of Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), an early Dean endorsee; Scott Maddox, a former chair of the Florida Democratic Party who supported Dean and who warred with the current regime at the Florida Democratic Party; William Strauss, a Massachusetts state representative who was one of Dean's earliest campaign endorsee; Tina Flournoy; a longtime Dean adviser; and many others.

Some of the members of the committee have allegiances to the candidates: Mr. Beyer raises money for Barack Obama; Flournoy is one of Clinton's top outside advisers. She also happens to be on the party's rules and bylaws committee.

But most are loyal to Dean. And Dean's overwhelming priority is to maintain the integrity of the rules.

The members of the committee are:

Dean Aguillen
Don Beyer
Jose Ceballos
Ralph Dawson
Sheila Dixon, Mayor
Christopher Edley, Jr.
Hartina Flournoy
Maryscott "Scotty" Greenwood
Janice Griffin
Laura Harris
Kathy Hoyt
Carol Juneau, State Senator
Scott Maddox
Iman Malik Mujahid
Adelita Grijalva
Maria Neira
Kate O'Connor
Carol Pensky
Bob Rogan
Leila Sahar
Marc Stanley
Michael Steed
William Straus, State Representative