We continue our special in-depth educational series, Meet Your Superdelegates. A rare chance to get to know specific superdelegates who will be deciding the Democratic presidential nominee. We’re focusing on party elders, government officials, senior advisors, and other high profile politicians who feature prominently in television and film. And we boldly speculate who they will back at the Democratic convention. Today’s superdelegate profile comes from the breakthrough sci-fi TV thriller sensation “Battlestar Galactica.”

Laura Roslin is President of the Twelve Colonies. At the time of the Cylon attack on the Colonies, Roslin is the Secretary of Education under President Richard Adar and has worked with him since he was mayor of Caprica City.  Roslin appears to have been in a romantic relationship with Adar, which fell apart when Roslin successfully defused a large-scale teachers strike. Adar (who assumed Roslin would fail at breaking the strike through peaceful means) demanded Roslin’s resignation, citing the fact that he wanted to use force against the teachers in order to intimidate the other unions on Caprica from striking.  Roslin refused to resign and vowed to fight for her job, as she left to go to a doctor’s appointment and to the decommissioning ceremony for the Galactica. At her doctor’s appointment, Roslin is told that she has terminal breast cancer and a year to live. Regardless of the news, Roslin goes to the ceremony. Upon leaving the ceremony, the Cylons attack the twelve colonies, wiping out nearly all of humanity in the process. During the attack, she receives and responds to an automatic signal, and is informed that she is the highest ranking (and possibly last remaining) surviving member of the Presidential line of succession to respond. She was 43rd in the line of succession to the president. She is therefore sworn in as President.  Despite acting as President for two terms, Roslin has never been democratically elected President by popular accord.  That’s been a blemish on President Roslin’s record, just like it would be a blemish if Hillary Clinton got the Democratic presidential nomination based on superdelegates, not pledged delegates.  Roslin is acutely aware of that — and thus supports Barack Obama.

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