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(DENVER) Remember when you were in junior high school and all of the cool kids sat at the back of the school bus? Political conventions work the same way, only in reverse, with a few privileged delegations getting the best seats at the Pepsi Center.

Yesterday, I took a stroll across the convention floor where workers were putting up the final placards to mark the seating locations for the 56 delegations (50 states, American Samoa, The District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, and Democrats abroad).

Front and center is the delegation from Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois, flanked by Delaware (Joe Biden’s home state) and Colorado (the host state). The delegates from Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean’s home state of Vermont also get front-row seats.

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UPDATED Barack Obama has sent a letter to the co-chairs of the Democratic National Convention’s Credentials Committee urging them to pass a resolution allowing the Democratic delegations from Florida and Michigan to be fully represented at the Democratic National Convention.

The states were stripped of their delegates as punishment for moving their primaries before February 5th in violation of Democratic National Committee rules. They were awarded half-votes at a May meeting.

The Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns sparred during the primaries over how the delegates from the two states would be allocated, with the debate centering on whether the allocation would be based on the popular vote or some other measure. Clinton won both states, though Obama was not on the ballot in Michigan, complicating efforts to award delegates.

As Clinton looked to keep her campaign alive towards the end of the primary process, she called on the DNC to fully seat the delegations from the two states. The Obama campaign, which would have been hurt in its battle for the nomination had the delegations been fully seated at that point, did not join Clinton's call.

A Democratic source told CBS News today that Obama walked a "fine line" during the primary by deferring to the DNC while Clinton was using the question of full representation issue as a rallying point.

"...I believe Party unity calls for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be able to participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories," Obama wrote in the letter. "Accordingly, I ask that the Credentials Committee, when it meets on August 24 to approve the delegates for the National Convention, pass a resolution that would entitle each delegate from Florida and Michigan to cast a full vote."

He continued:

"As a candidate for the nomination, I supported the DNC’s efforts to establish and enforce a schedule for primaries and caucuses that would broaden the opportunity for Democrats from all regions of the country and all backgrounds and walks of life to have a meaningful voice....As we prepare to come together in Denver, however, we must be – and will be – united in our determination to change the course of our nation. To that end, Democrats in Florida and Michigan must know that they are full partners and colleagues in our historic mission to reshape Washington and lead our country in a new direction."

The DNC released a statement in response to the letter.

"Today we received a letter from Senator Obama requesting that the Convention's Credentials Committee grant each delegate from Florida and Michigan a full vote. We deeply appreciate and value Senator Obama's perspective on this important issue. This matter will be the top priority for the Credentials Committee when we meet on August 24th. As always our goal is to ensure a fair process and a unified Democratic Party so that we can win in November."

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Former President Jimmy Carter said he will endorse Barack Obama once the polls close in South Dakota and Montana tonight, the Associated Press reports. "The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight," Carter told the AP after a public appearance in Georgia today. Carter joins a veritable flood of party leaders, or superdelegates, who have publicly backed Obama today as the clock ticks down in the final two primaries of the contest. Polls in South Dakota close at 9:00pm, and in Montana at 10:00pm.

Just ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the Democratic National Committee's rules committee to decide how to count the delegates from Florida and Michigan – states that were punished by the DNC for moving their primaries forward on the calendar – a group headed by Hillary Clinton donors has begin running an ad calling for the full delegations from both states to be seated.

The New York Times reports that the group, Count The Votes Cast, formed a political action committee this week. Their 30-second spot, running in Washington, D.C. and on CNN, shows five founding members of the group talking straight into the camera.

“We are Democrats," they say in the spot. "We care about what happens in November. We urge the Democratic National Committee to seat all of the delegates from Florida and Michigan. There’s no question about the validity of votes, it’s whether they’ll count. After 2000, how can any Democrat support votes not being counted? Count all the votes. Not to do so will fracture the party and bring disaster in November.”

Watch it:

Remember James Clyburn? The powerful House majority whip caused quite the stir earlier this year when he publicly flirted with endorsing Barack Obama after pledging to stay neutral throughout the contest. After a few days of seeming to endorse, Clyburn finally declared himself to be “undeclared.” Well, Clyburn tells the Stamford Advocate in Connecticut that he will unveil his pick at 11am Tuesday -- while voters in Montana and South Dakota are going to the polls for the final two contests.

“As the House majority whip, I didn't want to interject myself into the process,” Clyburn said of his earlier non-decision. Clyburn did vote for a candidate in his home state of South Carolina and told the paper, “I'm not undecided, just unpledged." Clyburn should be expected to give his endorsement to Obama. He has criticized Hillary Clinton’s campaign for injecting race into the contest and his home state voted heavily for Obama in January.

Barack Obama has picked up endorsements from eight superdelegates since the end of last week, the biggest of which is West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, who made his endorsement in a statement today. While Hillary Clinton won West Virginia’s primary by 41 points last week, Byrd explained his decision to back Obama: "After a great deal of thought, consideration and prayer over the situation in Iraq, I have decided that, as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, I will cast my vote for Senator Barack Obama for President. Both Senators Clinton and Obama are extraordinary individuals, whose integrity, honor, love for this country and strong belief in our Constitution I deeply respect."

More Byrd: "I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."

Obama leads in the CBS News overall delegate count with 1,907 compared to 1,714 for Clinton. While Obama is unlikely to reach the number needed for the nomination (now 2,026 due to Mississippi’s special House election) with tomorrow’s contests, he is expected to have won the majority of the pledged delegates available overall when the results from Kentucky and Oregon are in.

And there continue to be signs that Democrats are coalescing around Obama’s candidacy. The Politico reports that former Clinton campaign manager (and longtime aide) Patti Solis Doyle is considering taking a job in the Obama campaign. Doyle was ousted from the Clinton campaign following a string of loses in February.

In a memo to “interested parties,” Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson pushes back against the idea that Barack Obama will be able to claim a measure of victory following tomorrow’s primaries in Kentucky and Oregon. Full text of the memo follows:

Senator Obama’s plan to declare himself the Democratic nominee tomorrow night in Iowa [link] is a slap in the face to the millions of voters in the remaining primary states and to Senator Clinton’s 17 million supporters.

There is no scenario under the rules of the Democratic National Committee by which Senator Obama will be able to claim the nomination tomorrow night. He will not have 2210 delegates, the number needed with Florida and Michigan included in the process, nor will he have 2025 delegates, the number needed to secure the nomination without Florida and Michigan.

Premature victory laps and false declarations of victory are unwarranted. Declaring mission accomplished does not make it so.

While Senator Obama inaccurately declares himself the nominee, Senator Clinton will continue to work hard, campaigning for every vote in the upcoming states and making the case that she will be the best nominee to take on John McCain and be our next President.

Obama will be in Iowa tomorrow night, the site of the caucus victory which launched his campaign. The symbolic move is a “terrific way to bring things full circle,” Obama told reporters Sunday while shying away from declaring outright victory. But in an e-mail to supporters today, Obama manager David Plouffe argues differently. Partial text:

We're poised to reach a major milestone tomorrow.

When the votes are counted in Oregon and Kentucky, we could secure a majority of delegates elected by the voters.

A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message -- the people have spoken, and they are ready for change.

As we near victory in one contest, the next challenge is already heating up. President Bush and Senator McCain have begun coordinating their attacks on Barack Obama in an effort to extend their failed policies for a third term.

Barack Obama may end up losing some of his delegate margin in West Virginia when the results come in tonight but his campaign continues to roll out the superdelegate endorsements today. Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin endorsed Obama this morning and the campaign held a conference call with former DNC Chair/Colorado Gov. Roy Romer to discuss his decision to back Obama.

“A lot of people in the party are ready to close down the primary and get on with the general election,” Romer told reporters. “This has been a very vigorous primary and Senator Clinton has been a very strong and formidable candidate, and she’s a strong friend … but the math is controlling. This race I believe is over, Senator Obama has accumulated a lead in delegates chosen by primaries, caucuses and superdelegates that cannot be overcome.”

Romer was quick to point out that he was not trying to add any pressure on Clinton to drop out of the race, saying that clearing up the picture of where superdelegates line up serves only to provide her with more information on which to base decisions. “The more clarity we can give, those of who are superdelegates, the sooner we can make it clear, I think it will help her in whatever decision that she will make. But that is a decision she has to make,” Romer said.

Romer’s support is important beyond the superdelegate count because Colorado is potentially a key battleground and Obama won the caucuses there with 62 percent on Super Tuesday. Campaign manager David Plouffe stressed the competitive nature of Western states and said Colorado is a state Obama can win in November.

In an open letter to her Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton asks Barack Obama to help her "arrive at a solution that honors the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan."

After Tuesday's results in North Carolina and Indiana have led many pundits to declare the Democratic race all but over, the Clinton campaign has revved up its effort to get counted the disqualified results of the Michigan and Florida primaries.

Clinton writes that finding a resolution to the Michigan and Florida issue "could be the difference between winning and losing in November" and that "our commitment to the voters of these states must be clearly stated and your support for a fair and quick resolution must be clearly demonstrated."

Read the full letter below.

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Former President Jimmy Carter isn't on board with Hillary Clinton's argument that the disputed delegates from Florida and Michigan must be seated.

Carter told Jay Leno that the states "disqualified themselves" by moving their primary dates forward in violation of party rules, the Associated Press reports. He also said that if superdelegates were to give the nomination to the candidate who trails in the popular vote and delegate count – presumably Clinton – it "would be an almost unacceptable thing."

"It would be a catastrophe for the party," Carter said.

As we noted in a story yesterday, Clinton has a nearly impossible path to her party's nomination, barring some event that convinces a large majority of superdelegates that Obama should not be the Democratic nominee.

Carter himself is among the undecided superdelegates, though he has said this: "My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama. As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for, but I leave you to make that guess."