To The Editor: The Democratic primary system has thrown the search for a candidate into a cocked hat. Who created this mess? The Democratic National Committee (DNC) headed by Chairman Howard Dean. He learned how to lose big in 2004, and is proving it once again. Their self-destructive, almost fanatical obsession with fairness and rules, fails to recognize that in politics there is only one firm rule: you play to win. Now, neither Clinton nor Obama can win enough delegates in the remaining primaries to gain the 2,025 necessary for nomination. In the bloodletting that is sure to come before the convention in August, any coalition by the candidates may be impossible. If so, they may lose the general election. How did this come about? It wasn’t easy. Fairness: the DNC replaced the winner-take-all method of prior years and awarded delegates in accordance with proportional representation; win 51 percent of the vote and you win only 51 percent of the delegates. Rules: they decided that any state that held its primary before Feb. 5 would not have its delegates counted at the convention. When Florida and Michigan moved primaries to January, the candidates agreed not to campaign in either state. Clinton broke her promise and campaigned in Michigan. Obama kept his word and had his name removed from the Michigan ballot. Since that time these two major, delegate-rich states have been in political limbo; people voted but their ballots would not be recognized. Adding to Clinton’s present dilemma was her overconfidence and the presumption that the nomination was hers for the asking. She would march through the early primaries and on Super Tuesday any remaining contenders would simply step aside for her coronation. Then, as Robert Burns said about the best-laid plans of mice and men, something unexpected happened. The voters in Iowa lifted Hillary’s Cloak of Inevitability and showed us that the Empress had no clothes. Her distant third place finish to Obama meant all bets were off. She rallied to win in New Hampshire by a small margin (39 percent to 36 percent), but Obama continued to add to his delegate count by winning the next 11 primaries. Exclusive of Florida and Michigan, he now leads Hillary by 600,000 votes, in states by a 2-1 margin and in delegates by 130. In order for Hillary to arrive at the convention as the presumptive nominee, she would have to win the remaining primaries by margins of 70-80 percent, something she has not been able to do even in her home state of Arkansas. Although Obama’s lead may be insurmountable, he may also be short of the number required for nomination. How can this impasse be resolved? Change the rules, seat the Florida and Michigan delegations and let them vote? How can the delegates determine a true voter preference when Obama didn’t campaign in their states? Do they hold second primaries? It’s likely Clinton would win Florida and Obama would win Michigan, setting up the same impasse. In their idiocy, the DNC has developed a method for a tie-breaker: 796 Super delegates (members of Congress, governors, and party officials) whose purpose is to “vote their conscience” in choosing a candidate who can win the general election. If Obama leads in both the delegate and popular vote totals, should they be allowed to overturn the will of the people and deny him the nomination? An important constituency, African-Americans, would see this as a sign of racism, abandon the party and make victory in November impossible. As a conservative Republican, I want to thank the DNC. What a mess! GERALD F. STAHLECKER Seaville