.......currently listening to both KIRO and Kirby Wilbur for non-prog perspectives.......liking the neocon's take on how Obama seems for real more and more.

Will Nadar's peeps and you Greeners back him?

It was over before North Carolina and Indiana. Hillary Clinton has MATHEMATICALLY lost the race more than a month ago.

Even if she won each remaining race, she COULD NOT OBTAIN ENOUGH DELEGATES TO WIN. You cannot change the laws of mathematics.

She's a bit like Huckabee was....staying in the race for her career more than anything. Destroying it that is..because this will re-write the Clinton "brand" as the who divided the party and in the worst case scenario, let the republicans win..after the most unpopular president since Truman (whose rating was 20% during the Korean War)....no less.

I also have a theory that the machine is simply not going to appoint Barack as president. Not because of his color, but because he's too liberal and has not reassured the corporate oligarchy that he will play ball. So Clinton stays in, waiting for the corporate media overlords to fabricate just the right (wright) story in time for his downfall and her resurgence. A few voting machine tweaks will help.

Clinton may also be depending on counting the Michigan and Florida votes. Howard Dean has already stated that this will not happen. There are a few reasons for this:

1: Those states broke the rules and knew what they were getting into..but they thought Hillary was the defacto nominee at the time so who cared? What's more, the Clinton camp AGREED at the time with the decision to not count the votes of those states and said as much in a press release.

2: It wouldn't actually be fair to voters, it would simply be an attempt to stock up on delegates on Clintons part...Obama is NOT EVEN ON THE BALLOT in Michigan, meaning that it's not really a "vote" proper for the current election. If you support Obama and are in Michigan, you have no vote. That's what Clinton is now calling "fairness"

3: If Clinton won by either having Florida and Michigan counted OR by having the the popular and delegate votes thrown out (and there is evidence this may happen) based on "Electability" issues (meaning the current media flavor of the week goes against Obama) OR BOTH, the Dems would be finished. It would be a "tainted" win for Clinton. In essence, the DNC would tell the first African American nominee "Look, we know you won more delegates, and we know you won the popular vote, and even have more superdelegates..but sorry, we are going with the other person, that's just the way it is". Imagine the fallout from THAT. Clinton would appear like Bush did, as a thief of democracy..the person who lost but took power despite the votes of the people, the DNC would appear totally racist, and in all the outrage the republicans would take power again. That would be IT.

I dont think Clinton cares though...I don't think she is considering the life of the democratic party or the big picture. I think she would take a tainted win and an unpopular presidency.

Regardless of who in nominated, they both have accepted plenty of money from corporations..

The Problems of Bush will take more than several presidencies to undo. So it won't be utopia by any stretch of the imagination...

I think the best thing is to try to reform the system toward more transparent democracy.. this should not take much effort and will guard against the secrecy that Bush has enjoyed.

...and from the NYT...

Pundits Declare the Race Over
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: May 8, 2008

Very early this morning, after many voters had already gone to sleep, the conventional wisdom of the elite political pundit class that resides on television shifted hard, and possibly irretrievably, against Senator Hillary Clinton’s continued viability as a presidential candidate.

The moment came shortly after midnight Eastern time, captured in a devastatingly declarative statement from Tim Russert of NBC News: “We now know who the Democratic nominee’s going to be, and no one’s going to dispute it,” he said on MSNBC. “Those closest to her will give her a hard-headed analysis, and if they lay it all out, they’ll say: ‘What is the rationale? What do we say to the undeclared super delegates tomorrow? Why do we tell them you’re staying in the race?’ And tonight, there’s no good answer for that.”

It was not exactly Walter Cronkite declaring that the Vietnam War would end in stalemate. But the impact was apparent almost immediately, starting with The Drudge Report, the online news billboard that is the home page to many political reporters in Washington and news producers in New York. It had as its lead story a link to a YouTube clip of Mr. Russert’s comments, accompanied by a photograph of a beaming Mr. Obama with his wife, Michelle, and the headline, “The Nominee.”

The thought echoed throughout the world of instant political analysis, steamrolling the Clinton campaign’s attempts to promote the idea that her victory in Indiana was nonetheless an upset in the face of Mr. Obama’s heavy spending and his campaign’s predictions that he would win there, or that she could still come back if delegates in Florida and Michigan are seated.

“I think there’s an increasing presumption tonight that Obama’s going to be the nominee,” Chris Wallace, the Fox News host, said to Karl Rove, President Bush’s longtime political guru, who is now a Fox News analyst. The statement preceded a discussion about what a general election race would look like between Mr. Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.

A posting on the DailyKos Web site included a mock memo to Mrs. Clinton titled, “To-Do List Before Dropping Out.”

Speaking on CNN, David Gergen, a former adviser to several presidents, including Mrs. Clinton’s husband, said, “I think the Clinton people know the game is almost up.”

Stating it more bluntly, Bob Franken, the political analyst, told the MSNBC host Dan Abrams shortly after 2 a.m. Eastern time, “Let’s put it right on the table: It’s over. It’s over.”

And it picked up again on the major morning news programs in a devastating cascade of sound bites for Mrs. Clinton and her campaign.
Bob Schieffer on the CBS News program “Early Show”: “Basically, Maggie, this race is over.”

George Stephanopoulos on the ABC program “Good Morning America”: “This nomination fight is over.”

Matt Lauer on the NBC News program “Today”: “Good morning, is it over?”

The commentary was punctuated by some brutal morning newspaper headlines: “Toast!” blared The New York Post; “Hil Needs a Miracle” declared The New York Daily News.

Of course, the political news media have not exactly showered themselves in glory this year. They have frequently made predictions that have been upended by actual votes from actual people.

But their opinions matter as much as ever in this late phase of the primary race, when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are battling to sway the opinions of the uncommitted superdelegates — the party leaders and elected officials with automatic convention seats, whose support Mrs. Clinton will need if she is to snatch the nomination from Mr. Obama..... etc.

Hillary may have squeaked out a win in Indiana, but 2% wasn't enough, especially with a 14% loss in NC (regardless of the gas holiday).

But don't take my word for it, listen to the Big Giant Head: www.youtube.com/watch

finally ... sheesh