1. Hillary’s dilemma: She should drop out, she can’t possibly win. She can’t drop out, she just won some big victories.
2. The MSM media has clearly flipped to her. The reason: Her continued campaign is good news. It saves us from months of political boredom.
3. Her only chance is somehow to discredit Obama as a plausible nominee. I hope she doesn’t go too far down this negative road, and that the MSM doesn’t help her make mountains out of the molehills that have emerged so far. As Peter points out below, the Democrats have no alternative these days but to rely on her self-restraint.
4. McCain owes Huck big for staying in the race and allowing him to grab the headlines last night and this morning.
5. Here’s one rejoinder to the professor I talked about before who’s voting for Obama in the hope he will govern as a Democrat. One of my colleagues says it’s conceivable she’ll vote for McCain in the hope he’ll govern like a Democrat. Her hope, of course, is more reasonable, and it may be one reason that arguably Mac is the strongest possible Republican candidate.
6. One of Hillary’s comments this morning suggests that her real goal now is a Obama-Hillary ticket. And as Steve Thomas points out below, the role of the Superdelegates may end up being to facilitate that statesmanlike conclusion to this contest.
7. Obama-Clinton would be really, really hard to beat.
Hillary needs to drop out. She cannot win enough delegates to pass Obama, and the superdelegates cannot take the nomination away from an African American and still expect to win in the fall.
The appearance will be racism, and that may not be too far from the truth.
I don't see why Hillary should consider dropping out:
Further, it's inconceivable (to me) that Clinton is looking at an Obama-Clinton ticket. Clinton-Obama, perhaps ... but I can't see how Clinton, at age 60, could possibly accept second fiddle to Obama, who if he wins in November will see eight years in office.
Clinton can't step away now. She's not clearly beaten. Her path to victory is cloudy, but to resign the match when a stalemate is brewing would haunt her for the rest of her life.
I don't know. As of now Clinton trails Obama by less than one hundred delegates. And she has actually received more votes.
I expect something will be done with Florida and Michigan, possibly another primary election. And those states will put Clinton over the top.
She can't pass Obama in delegates
I don't see why not. All she needs to do is win PA, and get a do-over (and win)in FL and MI. That seems very possible.
All she needs to do is win PA, and get a do-over (and win)in FL and MI. That seems very possible.
The do-over is the key. But I have a hard time seeing a do-over taking place. That creates about as many problems as it solves. Just my opinion, of course.
In accumulating delegates on the Democratic side, "winning" more primary votes by itself will not do it. It's got to be unrealistically big wins to get to 2025 without the as-yet undeclared superdelegates.
I can't see the national Dem Party telling Dems in Michigan and Florida that they don't get a primary vote. Especially if their votes are potentially decisive. These are big and potentally swing states in the general election.
John, I agree with you that it's going to be a hard decision on someone's part to get past this mess. A do-over has the benefit of seeming to be the most fair. But if Obama senses he has the best shot at capturing the super delegates he'll never agree to a do-over ... why risk it, particularly if he thinks Clinton's figured out how to beat him at the ballot box. Similarly, Clinton's in a box about a do-over because she's maintained all along she's already secured those delegates. And if she thought Obama's momentum had returned, she wouldn't risk it.
It's a mess. In my heart I'd love to see a Democrat melt-down. But that would be like Christmas arriving early: I'm just not that lucky. I have to believe that someone is going to broker a resolution to this that doesn't spill blood.
">">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou4JnWQsxKw"> Hillary keeps making it more difficult to think we Democrats will get a happy ending. This is a made-to-order McCain ad as well as a fraudulent claim on her part.
In my heart I'd love to see a Democrat melt-down.
Well, the GOP has already melted down and nominated a liberal, so this race is worth watching solely for it's entertainment value now. Politically speaking, the outcome is already set.
">">https://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/dnc_encouraging_florida_and_mi.php"> This just in.
Lest we get carried away by the thought of statesmanship from Democratic party superdelegates, there's this">">https://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/8867.html"> hardball in Ohio!
Hillary weighs in on the question of a re-vote in MI or FL.
She must sense she has the upper hand at this point, and foresees that advantage into the future.