It’s the oldest trick in the political book and Barack Obama is smart enough to play it.

As both he and Hillary Clinton get ready for so-called Super Tuesday, Obama is saying that Clinton has a name recognition advantage going into the virtual national primary next week. But, on a flight to Minnesota, Obama was quick to add, “I don’t think there is any doubt that we’ve made some progress.”

In fact, the latest polls, for what they are worth, would indicate he has made lots of progress and the large leads that Clinton had maintained appear to be shrinking in some key states.

Of course, this should not come as a surprise. The numbers have shown all along that many voters remain undecided (some even in a coma!) and may be right up till the moment they walk into the polling station. So much for deep thought!

The fact of the matter is,though, the rules of the Democratic Party are so screwed up, it is increasingly possible that both Clinton and Obama could end up “winners” on Tuesday: one with the popular vote, the other with the delegate count.

Should this happen, and many think there is a strong possibility it might, the Super-delegates could play a vital role come convention time this summer in Denver.

Super-delegates are party bosses, former governors, congress people, etc, who usually don’t have all that much to do with the final outcome.

This year may be different.

Should there be a brokered convention, something that hasn’t happened in a long time, the non-aligned Super delegates could have a big say in who will be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Let’s wait and see.