What exactly was the point of the DNC rule change for superdelegates?

[MineralMan]

19. They would never do that. It's not just heavy-handed, either.

Some states have always used the caucus system, and it can't be changed in some of those states without approval of the state legislature. That was the case in Minnesota. After the 2016 election, the legislature passed a bipartisan bill switching to primaries for the Presidential race.

Iowa is another example. The national party cannot just mandate such a change, because such a change is not in the hands of the state party organization.

It's also not a critical need. Minnesota's caucuses, for example, chose Bernie Sanders. Had there been a primary, it would have gone to Hillary, and all of Minnesota's delegates would have been Hillary delegates. The caucus system works both ways. I have enjoyed working with a caucus and convention system, and have been a delegate to conventions on several levels because of that. However, I recognize now, and did before, that caucuses sample too small a number of voters and, so, are subject to being controlled by a small group of supporters of one candidate or another. That's unfair, whether I like or dislike the candidate.

Still, the system did not change the outcome in 2016. The changes would not have changed the outcome, either, had they already been in place.

So, it's really just optics.