But this morning, as Clinton made the network morning-show rounds to claim victory, CBS’s Harry Smith did not really ask about the race’s math. Robin Roberts at “Good Morning America” did, but Clinton buzzed past it with a royal bromide—“at the end of the day, we are going to be the nominee”—and Roberts did not follow up. NBC’s Meredith Vieira actually got Clinton to acknowledge the importance of superdelegates and how her campaign wants them to be viewed. (In short, the Clinton line was that superdelegates are meant to weigh late-breaking information and determine who will be the best nominee—an electability argument based on buyer’s remorse.)

Obama has strong arguments to counter Clinton’s. Many will, like Clinton’s, overlap and contradict. (Think of how a “Rules are Rules” argument would cut both ways for Obama—stunting Clinton’s quest to get Michigan and Florida through the door, while de-stigmatizing superdelegates. After all, they are called for in the party rules.) But Obama occupies the high ground—Clinton’s arguments must be so strong as to change the status quo, and overcome any queasiness about superdelegates pulling a convention flip-flop.

Any argument so important deserves careful and aggressive parsing by the press. This isn’t about red states or blue states, or dissecting exit polls. It’s about demanding some honesty in a complicated debate.

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