Obama's Strength in Numbers

The days of sitting on the sidelines and remaining impartial in the contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appear to be coming to an end. More and more Democrats believe that the party needs to put the bitter fight to rest as soon as possible. Of this new crop of endorsers, the vast majority appear to be siding with the front-runner. From today's Wall Street Journal:

Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking on Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to endorse Sen. Obama Monday, according to a Democrat familiar with her plans. Meanwhile, North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group--just one has so far--before the state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say.

Of course, we've also learned that Clinton plans to fight on right up to the convention, a mere five and a half months away (and you thought the past three months seemed long). To be sure, the No-Sleep-Till-Denver rallying cry doesn't seem to be music to the ears of many in the party hierarchy.

If Florida and Michigan aren't seated in her favor, Clinton plans to take up the matter with the Credentials Committee. And what the heck is the Credentials Committee? Via TPM and ABC, Donna Brazile sheds light on the byzantine process:



Obama says Clinton should stay in the race as long as she likes. That may mean a whole lot more campaigning, and, as a result, a whole lot more endorsements for Obama.

Are there scenarios by which Clinton could still win. No doubt. But barring a scandal of Spitzer-esque proportions, the numbers just aren't in Clinton's favor. Obama is picking up strength in the polls, wooing the lion's share of late-breaking super-delegates, and, most important of all, he's holding steady in terms of his overall delegate lead.
As Political Machine's Dave noted earlier, reports of the Clinton campaign's debt troubles certainly are not helping her comeback effort, either.

None of this is to say that Hilary is not a strong candidate. As I wrote back in September, she is and always was. Unfortunately, she just happened to run when there was a stronger one in the field.