Hillary Clinton is as good as dead. This became the consensus over the past week, when the media awoke en masse to the dual reality that 1) Clinton can’t close the pledged-delegate gap and 2) Obama has her beat in the popular vote. But the Clinton campaign shows no signs of slowing‚Äö√Ñ√Æshe said herself she’s prepared to compete for at least three more months. So the question now is not just “How dead is she?” but “When will she realize it?”
It’s gotten so bad that Slate is now running what they’re calling The Hillary Deathwatch. Despite the mathematical realities facing Sen. Clinton, she’s still insisting that every voice needs to be heard (translation: she’s going to stay in this race until she’s convinced there’s no way she can steal the nomination).
While I admire her commitment, her desire to continue fighting on has nothing to do with every voice being heard and every vote counted. That’s merely the spin she’s putting on her decision to stay in the race until her campaign figures out how they can snatch the Democratic nomination away from Sen. Barack Obama. Despite her deficit in both the popular vote and the pledged delegate count, Sen. Clinton is spinning furiously as she tries to find something- anything- that will gain her some traction and reverse her sagging fortunes.
When even members of her campaign’s brain trust is rating her chances at one in ten, you have to wonder what Sen. Clinton’s real motivation is. Yes, fighting the good fight is something to be admired, but that train has long since left the station. The question now should be what’s best for the Democratic Party. It’s possible, I suppose, that the bruised egos could recover to the point where the eventual nominee’s chances in November won’t be damaged. It’s possible, certainly, but it’s beginning to seem increasingly unlikely. So many of Sen. Clinton’s supporters have assumed the tenor of her campaign- shrill, intolerant, and desperate. How do you reunite the party after this scorched earth primary campaign- and shouldn’t that energy be directed toward defeating John McCain?
I’ve long since lost the last shred of the once-considerable respect I once had for Sen. Clinton. Her willingness to place her own self-interest above the interests of the Democratic Party proves to me that she is not the best person to carry the party’s banner forward into the general election. At this point, I don’t even want her on the ticket as the Vice Presidential candidate.
Say goodbye, Hillary; it’s time to go. It’s time to do the right thing.
