I think she gave a glimpse when she said "I'll work my heart out for the nominee."...and then later.. "And I'm sure Sen Obama feels the same way."

He picked up 200,000+ pop votes and netted more delegates.

I expect it to continue until June, but with much less inflammatory rhetoric. I think she knows

it's just not in the math. Then again, it hasn't been in the math for months, so what do I know?

There is another issue that might bring this thing to a merciful end.

$$$$

Good point. She's had to go to the mattresses and come out with cash today. You gotta wonder who's going to keep giving, other than tempo.

Even including those states...he's got the the majority of popular votes, and he's still ahead with the real delegates. Clinton has lost the nomination. The only way she gets the ticket now is if the superdelegates give it to her. That would be a fatal mistake.

The democratic party is energized. If their choice is dismissed, the party will break, and McCain will pick the next 2 or 3 justices.

I read this morning that Clinton remains to stay in the race "until there's a nominee." As far as I'm concerned there is a nominee - Obama.

So I hafta wonder at her motives...why isn't she making noises that sound like...let's work together on this...let's win America back from the evil neocons...let's all vote for Obama, etc... We're running outta time, and she knows it.

I guess part of what bugs me about the "jumped in line" argument, that Clinton somehow was due this nomination is that yes, perhaps Clinton was more qualified on paper than Obama.  But what about Edwards? Richardson? Biden? Dodd?   And then there's McCain.

This has been the problem with Clinton's campaign ever since Obama emerged as her main competitor, and McCain emerged as the GOP nominee.  Almost every argument available to her to make against Obama could be just as effectively be made against her by McCain.  She's stuck in the middle.  If experience and a long record accomplishments is what you want, maybe Clinton's better than Obama, but isn't McCain's better than Clinton's? 

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It seems to me the press is ready to be done with this race, establishing the headlines, "Obama Rolls in NC; Clinton Wins a Squeaker in IN".  

i would have voted for kucinich, so my choice is obviously gonna be someone as far removed from the republican values as possible.

and i agree with you - i think she honestly believes she would make the better president. i just don't happen to agree with her. but.  if clinton had won the nomination, i would definitely have voted for her. no question.

i wasn't a bill clinton fan, either, and i voted for him both times. when he fired elders, i sent him a telegram. i called him a 'closet republican.' (i'm the first person i've ever known to use that phrase, btw.')

from that moment on, i didn't trust a damn thing he said. i also opposed nafta and gatt...but i still voted for him in 96. better him than Dole.

That's an interesting point John, and one to which I haven't given a hell of alot of thought.

As I said, because of the Iraq War, Obama's been my guy from Day 1. And I always considered Senator Clinton to be the presumptive nominee. When the others began dropping out, it still wasn't much of a focus. Which of these people has the most legislative experience?

It wasn't only until after it became a 2 horse race did the question come to the forefront.

But this is a change election year, right?

People want something new.

Obama's new. If he wins the presidency, we'll all find out together. After GW Bush, I seriously can't imagine ANYONE, including me, doing a worse job.

But that opens a different discussion (one that I had with friends over a couple of barrels of Patron last week).....

Never mind the initial miscalculation by the Clinton camp, ie not recognizing a change election year and then trying to switch to that theme. Is it possible in a change election year that Senator Hillary Clinton was not only not helped all that much by Bill's very short coat-tails, but perhaps hindered by the connection?

The Clintons have an interesting and complex relationship.  I'm one of those who thinks it's more than a business partnership. It's a real marriage, though he's seriously flawed as a partner. The way she maintained her dignity throughout the Lewinsky thing impressed me endlessly. That is one strong woman. I hate to reduce two complex and smart people to my uninformed speculation of their psychosexual dynamics. That doesn't mean I won't try though -- I get the impression he's purposely undermining her. He knows she's stood by him, and he's got an obligation to stand by her. Until this campaign began, he, like most ex-presidents, was growing in stature.  He and GHWBush were practically a formal act, and he was clearly doing well at the bank. His problems have gone into soft focus. The biggest campaign gaffes have been his. Based on what I've read about him and seen of him, I find it hard to believe he suddenly lost his savvy. Is he jealous? Just can't let her have it and eclipse him? Is it even intentional? I honestly don't know.  

I said this on the Fray a while ago. If you fall into the experience trap, McCain gets the edge.

I wonder if she would accept a VP slot? She ought to. After this campaign, it would take a little effort to offer it to her though. There would have to be a creeping fear that you were always and forever being second-guessed and that critical information would be leaked to the media.