Superdelegates feeling the pressure

CLEVELAND, March 3 (UPI) -- Superdelegates to August's Democratic National Convention are facing intense pressure in advance of Tuesday's primaries in Ohio and Texas.

Those who are backing either Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., or Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., are being lobbied to switch sides while unaligned superdelegates are feeling the heat to choose one candidate or the other, especially if they are African-American.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, is standing firm on her decision to support Clinton for the party's presidential nomination despite pressure to switch to Obama, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Tubbs Jones has lambasted what she calls the "Harvard arrogance" of Obama backers who demand that African-American leaders back Obama's quest to become the country's first black president.

Another Ohio superdelegate feeling the pressure is Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin.

McLin said he recently received a phone call from actress Alfre Woodard to talk about Woodard's support of Barack Obama.

"This is the first time I've every known that I have counted," McLin told USA Today.