Monday, March 24, 2008

Democrats want clarity, and Clinton's time is running out

Breaking up is hard to do, but unless Obama is beaten soundly three times before May 7, it has to be the end of the affair
Go to UK Guardian original

Commentary by Michael Tomasky
Last week was one of the strangest I've seen in electoral politics. It began with Barack Obama in danger of falling completely off a cliff, a danger that has only partially subsided. And yet it concluded with hints and suggestions by prominent Democrats and journalists that Hillary Clinton should just drop out of the race.

'm trying to think of things to compare this to. Maybe the drawn-out and painful break-up of a relationship. You argue about this and that, the small things; she doesn't like that you watch too much football, you don't like the way she squeezes the toothpaste tube from the middle instead of the bottom, which any guy will tell you is the only logical way to do it. But eventually, the unavoidable must be discussed. All artifice falls away and you get to the point where one party or the other says, "Look, the bottom line here is ..."

We're reaching the bottom-line point. And the bottom line for what seems to be a majority of Democratic insiders is fear of a drawn-out and divisive nomination process. That argues for getting things settled sooner rather than later, and it means settling them in Obama's direction, since he's won more votes and delegates.

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