Hello to all my Nevada friends (I lived in Vegas from 1983 - 1994.) I am writing you from Michigan.

Like many others interested in politics, I watched much of the debate of the DNC Rules/Bylaws Committee over the seating and representation of the Michigan and Florida delegations to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. Since I am one of the Michigan delegates, and had optimistically bought my airline ticket to Denver back in April, I had a personal interest in the outcome.

I commend the Michigan Democratic Party on its recommendation of splitting the delegates 69 for Clinton and 59 for Obama. It was a compromise between treating the January primary vote as either a legitimate election or a complete sham; it was neither. The MDP had a responsibility to the members of the Democratic Party who didn’t vote because the primary “did not count,” voted for their second choice, voted in the Republican primary simply because it was the only one that “counted,” or who incorrectly tried to write in the name of their candidate (an invalid vote). These Democrats were in various ways hindered or deprived in making their voices heard. The MDP understood this, and had played a role in these errors, so they tried to live up to their responsibilities. They did their best to be fair.

I fully believe that Senator Hillary Clinton will soon “suspend” her candidacy and back Obama, perhaps before you have a chance to read my letter. I urge all of Hillary’s followers to emulate her lead and work to get our party’s presidential nominee fully supported in the critical election that is coming in November. United, we win.

Bob Ciaffone, Saginaw Township