The Bernie Sanders campaign brought to our attention the “thumb on the scales” argument resulting from the large number of superdelegates appointed by the DNC. No doubt there is some theoretical justification for “party control” by having superdelegates but it also presents a marketing problem to explain why delegates chosen and bound by the vote of the people should be “watered down” on occasion by the “insiders.”
Perhaps the rule should be that to get the nomination on the first ballot a candidate must have a majority of BOTH the superdelegates and the delegates chosen in the state after the primary. That way the superdelegates cannot “override” the vote of the primary delegates. If there is no winner on the first ballot then when the second ballot comes up, all delegates are unbound and the winner is whomever receives a majority of all delegates as a group meaning both superdelegates and primary delegates combined.