Well, thanks for nothing Pennsylvania

by Stacie

I think Josh Marshall has it right when he calls today's situation "Status Quo Ante." Fester notes that, despite Clinton's win, her chances of securing the nomination diminished slightly last night. Her campaign appears to have settled on a strategy of raising doubts about Obama, and I think Obama now needs to make the case boldly that the math for Clinton doesn't work, that she's run a terrific campaign but can't win it, and that voters now need to shut the door on the primary and begin the general election.

Clinton can raise all the questions she wants about Obama, but what voters really need to hear is a couple of facts: she can't win, and she's only helping McCain now.

Obama won't say any of this, but the campaign needs dispatch its surrogates far and wide to every camera and every reporter with a pen and paper they can find and say it over and over again: The math doesn't work, she can't win, she's only helping McCain.

Comments

[nabalzbbfr]

Hillary may not have the votes to secure the Democatic nomination, but she has more than enough to deny Obama the nomination. She just has to play a little hardball: tell the superdelegates that if they nominate Obama, she will run as a third party candidate. Once Obama loses the first vote at the convention, he is toast.

[John]

I disagree with the idea that anyone associated with Obama needs to try to talk Hillary down. This is not his job and will only make him appear to be a corrosive opponent, which is not what he needs at this point. He needs to placate disappointed Hillary voters after she concedes, and they will be sorely disappointed when this happens. He and his people need to stay on message with the idea that Hillary is within her rights to carry this thing as far as she wants. This problem is the Democratic Party's problem. The Party needs to get off of their lazy a** and end this thing if they expect to win this election in November. This is why the Party exists as an organized entity, and this is why the superdelegates are party apparatchiks and why they get to cast votes with no strings attached. The party needs to set a firm deadline and have these people declare their intentions soon so that we can end this thing.

[Earl]

nabalzbbfr: She just has to play a little hardball: tell the superdelegates that if they nominate Obama, she will run as a third party candidate. Once Obama loses the first vote at the convention, he is toast.

That would be the ultimate betrayal and guarantee McSame this November.

Incomprehensible chaos would result.

[nabalzbbfr]

That would be the ultimate betrayal and guarantee McSame this November.

Au contraire, it would be the ultimate in high-minded patriotism. President McCain would generously reciprocate with a true government of national unity, which would put behind us the era of small-minded partisan bickering.