Race: Out

America is not ready for a woman president, but will it settle for a black man?

The Democratic clusterfuck known as the candidate campaign seems to have drawn to a close, as today's primaries are expected to give Barack Obama the necessary delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination.

Hillary Clinton will acknowledge that Obama has secured the necessary delegates to be the nominee, but will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her upcoming speech. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, two senior officials said, the campaign is over. The advisers said Clinton has made a strategic decision to not formally end her campaign, giving her leverage to negotiate with Obama on various matters including a possible vice presidential nomination for her, although let's be honest, she won't take that spot even in the equally unlikely chance it is offered to her. It would undermine the whole drive of her campaign saying she was content being number two, as well as weaken Obama as a leader if his campaign resorted to using her influence and support to prop him up.

(UPDATE: Apparently the hypotheicals are in overdrive and I stand corrected - Clinton says she would take a Veep spot if it would "help the party's prospects in November". Great, but I still don't think it's likely to go down. Call it a gut feeling. Or maybe I'm ready for lunch. Meanwhile Jimmy Carter says he'll back Obama...way to fall in line. If only we could do something about your one-man Middle East peace plan...)

McCain vs. Obama...wunderbar. Not the election I hoped to see, but my vote's begrudgingly for Chocolate Thunder. It was still an incredibly stupid position for the party to be making history with a black or female candidate, especially in a time that is more a slam dunk than ever to get the Republicans out of office. Yet with the least clear cut of victories to his advantage, Obama takes his superior lack of experience and oft mentioned lower margin of success in projected contests against McCain than Clinton to the polling booth. Do not be surprised if Obama fails to gain Clinton supporters (who have a higher fallout backing him than Obama constituents would following Clinton), and fails to win the election. McCain dodged a bullet and has far better odds now.

Battles, "Race: Out"