Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama know who the
superdelegates are - their campaigns probably have them on speed dial.

But where could a curious voter find a complete list of these party
leaders and elected officials - the people who, in the end, may play a
decisive role in determining the Democratic presidential nominee?

That's one of the four questions being answered in this week's "Ask AP,"
a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions
about the news.


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Q: Where might we, the lowly "non-supers," find a list of just who these
superdelegates are?

Jane Wittrup

Albuquerque, N.M.



A: All Democratic members of Congress and all Democratic governors and
former presidents are automatically superdelegates by virtue of their
positions. Many of the other superdelegates have not been named. Seven
will be named when vacancies on the Democratic National Committee are
filled before the convention this summer, and 76 more - called "add-ons"
- will be named by state parties at their conventions this summer.

A list of superdelegates who have been named so far can be found on the
Democratic Party's Web site; go here and click on "Unpledged Party
leader and Elected Official Delegates as of ...":

http://tinyurl.com/33t2b7

On the Republican side, each state has three automatic delegates: the
state's party chair, Republican National Committeeman and Republican
National Committeewoman. In most states, these delegates function much
like Democratic superdelegates, free to support any candidate they want.
In others, they are bound by primary or caucus results.

You can see who holds these three positions in each state at the
Republican Party Web site:

http://tinyurl.com/2lsycn

David Pace

News Editor for election projections, special projects and technology

AP Washington

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Q: I saw the video of the plane doing an abortive landing in Germany and I
would like to know: Do American planes and airports allow or encourage
planes to land in such a crosswind?

E. Bresler

Rhode Island



A: When planes prepare to land, air traffic controllers on the ground
provide the cockpit with weather and wind data to supplement information
available on the plane and can recommend that pilots circle around if
gusts are particularly strong, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the
U.S. controllers union. Once clearance is given, the decision to land
rests with the pilot.

The acceptable wind speed when an aircraft - American or otherwise -
takes off or lands depends on the age, weight and other attributes of
the plane. The maximum crosswind considered safe for landing the Airbus
A320 - the plane flown by Lufthansa in the incident in Germany - is 33
knots (38 mph) gusting to 38 knots (almost 44 mph), according to an
Airbus spokeswoman.

For both takeoffs and landings, aircraft normally face into the wind for
the best performance. The controllers' rule of thumb is that anything
more than a tail wind of 10 knots (roughly 12 mph) means landing routes
may need to be reconfigured, Church said.

On March 1, the day of the abortive landing at Hamburg Airport, the
average wind speed was 16 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 36 mph
and top gusts of 56 mph, according to Weather Underground. The speed and
exact direction of the wind at the moment when the landing was attempted
is not known.

Dan Caterinicchia

AP Business Writer, Washington

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Q: The American media (notably the AP, The New York Times and The
Washington Post) recently have carried numerous stories about the high
rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among American veterans
returning from Iraq. Are coalition soldiers suffering from PTSD (and
associated ailments) at similar rates?

Michael Buerger

Bowling Green, Ohio



A: Let's focus on the experience of Britain's military, since that country
has easily had the most troops in combat-heavy locations in Iraq other
than the United States.

Though U.S. soldiers have been studied more extensively than the
British, there have been several studies published in the British
Medical Journal (among other publications) showing largely what you
would expect - that duration and frequency of troop deployments are
linked to higher incidences of mental illness and post-traumatic stress
disorder.

There have also been reports about the increasing strain on Britain's
National Health Service and the crush of returning soldiers needing
treatment - both physical and psychiatric.

Maria Cheng

AP Medical Writer, London

---

Q: How are pollsters able to accurately produce public-opinion polls by
surveying people over the phone?

My understanding is that they use home phone numbers, even though, in
today's society, many younger people only have cell phones. Does this
method skew data in favor of people who still have landline service, or
is there some statistical technique that allows them to correct data for
this issue?

Ryan Lesh

Orlando, Fla.


A: The survey research industry is studying this closely, but so far the
cell phone-only population isn't undermining general population polls.

It appears people who have only cell phones - most often young, male and
lower-income - aren't much different from their demographic peers who
can be reached by landline. Poll results typically are adjusted to
Census population parameters including age, gender and race, and that
tends to correct for the missing cell-only crowd.

Also, while their numbers have grown, only about 15 percent of U.S.
households currently are cell-only so mathematically it is tough for
that group to change overall survey estimates more than a point or two.
Samples focusing on young people face more of a problem, though, as
three in 10 of those age 18 to 29 now are cell-only, according to a
federal study.

Mike Mokrzycki, AP Polling Director

For more information see this Public Opinion Quarterly article
co-authored by Mokrzycki: http://tinyurl.com/38bpua

If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see
answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to
newsquestions(at)ap.org, with "Ask AP" in the subject line. Please
include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your
question.
 

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