Fantastic piece. Whenever I express my support for Hillary amongst my friends and coworkers, I have to be willing to brace myself for the oncoming onslaught. Any criticism of Obama is greeted with incredulous looks, like I declared a belief in UFOs. Interesting though, I spent last weekend in Philadelphia, canvassing for Clinton in lower and middle class neighborhood. The support for her was strong to the point of hardened, unapologetic and enthusiastic from both men and women. This from groups that are supposedly less progressive. Apparently, Hillary-bashing is just one of those "elitist" problems.

The Democratic primaries continue because (1) Hillary Clinton continues to rack up primary victories in the big states that are must-wins for Democrats in the fall and (2) Barak Obama continues to fail to win the nomination, close doesn't count.

Last night, Clinton showed herself as the more experienced, steadier and certainly more in command of the issues than Obama. He flubbed and "ummed" his way along with an attitude that says "He shouldn't have to bother with this" showing everyone why they should doubt that he is ready for prime time.

Great piece. Unlike so much of what's passing for commentary these days, it was sane and balanced.

Fantastic piece. I give all credit to the Obama team that they were able to manipulate (not in a bad sense) the primary process to run up delegate totals in small and caucus states. The problem with this strategy and, broadly, the Democratic primary rules (e.g. proportional award of delegates) is that it doesn't lead to a clear victory and can not be replicated in the general election. No amount of "crossing the aisle" is going to put Montana into the Democratic column in November. You have to win the base, or at least a solid chunk of it, to win the nomination and further the presidency. It's too bad that the media and Senator Obama have taken so long to figure that out.

One of the biggest reasons no one has mathematically been able to pull ahead is that 2 of the largest states -- Florida and Michigan -- have been thrown out of the equation. One candidate could get to 2025 if these states held re-votes. Obama and his supporters have aggressively derailed plans for these but the superdelegates should force the issue. The DNC's decision to disenfranchise the voters of these crucial was stupid. Superdelegates can get themselves off the hook and legitimize the nominee the old-fashioned way, by winning at the polls.

As an African-American, I'm sick and tired of all the race-baiting accusations. Clinton's comments were nothing but factual (heard repeatedly among pundits) and only in twisting them out of context can Conason make them seem racist. It was the Obama camp that first played the race card -- telling the black community, "Vote for me, Black pride" but telling the white community, "It's not that I'm black, I transcend race." Then every time something vaguely racial comes up, his campaign screams, "Is it because I'm black?" It's ridiculous.

Throughout the campaign, Obama has been using his surrogates to launch his most malicious and personal attacks against Clinton. There's no way he'll stop now. "Annie Oakley" proved that's how he really feels, he just gotten good at hiding it. At least most of the time.

In the end, it the state-by-state vote tallies that count. Many take as a given that Obama always cleans up among under-30s. The fact is that he does in blue states (going Democratic anyway) but in the swing states, for example PA and WV, Obama lost this group by double digits to Clinton. Socioeconomic and cultural (more liberal vs. more conservative) factors trump age.

And don't forget that the youth vote was supposed to win NH for Obama and they didn't bother to vote.

The big problem, led by Obama himself, is the dismissive and aggressive attitude of Obama fans. They act as if they've won this in a landslide - far from true. And anyone who doesn't fawn over him is racist, a whiner, uneducated, a red-neck or just plain unworthy of notice. And now we're supposed to support this guy? Many Democrats would come home to an Obama candidacy but, unlike Republicans, Democrats are known for self-destruction. Obama and his supporters have pissed too many people off.

This is a ticking time bomb for Democrats. There are the voters that are outraged but probably more important are the ordinary voters who become even more disinterested in the process. I have done canvassing and "get out the vote" calls for party candidates. I have asked the 80-year-old woman to come out and vote even though she has a cold or the couple that isn't sure they want to use the gas. When these people say why should they bother, it might not even count, what do we say? If Democrats lose just 2-3% of votes in a close state like Florida, we're done.

The reason I think Obama couldn't just be magnanimous is despite all the public bravado, he knows he might need those few delegates. He, like most of us, are waiting for the next shoe to drop.

A few less voters in SD said they wouldn't vote for him and that leads you to this far-reaching conclusion? Obama has consistently lost with white women, Hispanic voters, over-45 voters, even under-30 voters in lower-to-middle income homes. Obama's message - this hope/change fluff - falls completely flat and removing Clinton from the equation is not going to change that. Obama has won a battle, he will be crushed in the war.

Dem leaders actually wanted this race over months ago and the voters ignored them in droves. And voters will decide whether they are willing to support Obama. If the superdelegates, party leaders and Obama-maniacs continue to insist, demand, insult and ignore, good luck in November.