Joan: Hillary began receiving calls to drop out when it became apparent that the outcome was no longer mathematically likely to change. This wasn't because Clinton is a woman. It's because Democrats wanted to get focused on the crucial task of beating McCain and taking back the White House, and avoid just what transpired: An ugly internecine battle that ended up putting us at each other's throats, and diminishing the stature of both candidates.

All the apologies and outreach would therefore have been unnecessary, if she had put country and party before herself.

But far from just "staying in the race," Clinton took it into the mud, nurturing outrage by playing the victim to her supporters, impugning the integrity of the process, and impugning the electability of her opponent. And she was treated with nothing but class by her opponent in response.

Instead of calming the waters, she roiled them. She manufactured a rift that was an inevitable byproduct of making an argument to the SDs to disregard the pledged delegate math. She manufactured the rift by running down Obama's candidacy, and therefore all those who voted for him. She basically said, "That's great, but none of that should count, because I want to believe he can't win, and I want you and everyone else to believe that, too." Even though she was losing to him!

She manufactured the rift by trying to make a civil rights issue out of FL and MI, which was purely a Democratic party mess that she signed off on. She manufactured the rift by continuing to give her supporters the false belief that they were being wronged and disregarded. She manufactured the rift by introducing the popular vote argument with self-serving math that included voided primaries and ignored legitimate caucuses. She manufactured the rift with the electoral college argument. She manufactured the rift by doing precious little to defuse the sexism victimization bomb she knew would only further alienate her supporters.

But not only did she carefully and cynically nurture outrage in her own supporters along the way. All of the above only served to outrage Obama's supporters as well.

The degree to which her campaign had become a narcissistic quest was made clear Tuesday night. She could've been magnanimous and started the healing, started talking down the supporters she alone whipped into a frenzy, but instead she was petty and small, and gave the distinct impression that she wanted to continue the controversy, continue the division by not conceding, turning instead to her outraged constituency to find out "how to move forward," when there was no alternative but to concede. As if "how to move forward" was some sort of reasonably open question. And even so, Obama showed nothing but class in response, and was much more effusive in his praise for her than she was for him, even in the face of this continuing farce and her implicit insults to his candidacy, and her childish refusal to let a grand historical moment stand untarnished.

Even more ridiculous, everyone then tried to ignore the elephant in the room, saying they understood Hillary's need to take some time after this tough fight to come to terms with her defeat. Funny, but I see professional athletes all the time have their lifelong dreams crushed, and after the final whistle manage to shake the opponents' hands, accept the defeat publicly, and move on. I see presidents lose a bid for a second term come out and concede that same night. I see defeated nominees concede graciously in the same way. It is not some alien concept.

And now, you're basically saying that it's Obama who has to fix the mess that Hillary created in trying to undermine the legitimacy of his delegate lead and eventual victory.

Looking at this objectively, there's only one source for the rancor on both sides: Hillary Clinton. This is the harvest of what she has sown. And this is the clearest indication of all that she was never suited to be our president, because clearly, she was willing to fracture her own party and potentially cripple its chosen candidate if she couldn't win any other way.

So...Sure, as a practical matter, Obama is going to have to continue to be bigger than Clinton. But how any honest person can avoid laying the blame for this mess squarely on Hillary Clinton's shoulders is beyond me. And how anyone but Hillary Clinton, as a matter of principle, should carry the onus of healing this breach is equally beyond me.

Well, I get bored reading all your repetitions, so we're even. (just kidding)

I did check out the video montage Joan offered as evidence. I didn't find it particularly compelling.

Of course there's sexism. And racism. And age-ism, and beauty-ism and on and on.

A lot of what I saw on that tape didn't strike me as particularly sexist. Inane, juvenile, shallow, petty, mean-spirited, yes. And there was some sexism mixed in.

But it hardly constituted the ox-stunning compendium she promised. The MSM is vapid and useless. We know this. I've heard the same snarky, condescending, dismissive tone underlying many of those comments/clips directed toward men, particularly the various Democrats. Kerry was mocked about his appearance. Likewise Dukakis. Bush has been mocked about everything under the sun, including his chimp-like resemblance.

People mock, people tear down. They do it to men and women. They do it to people they don't particularly like. Joan's going to have to present something a little weightier to buttress the case she's trying to make. There's a difference between mocking someone because she's a woman, vs. mocking or characterizing in unflattering ways someone you don't like.

The main idea I keep hearing is that "They wouldn't do this to a man." To which I say, yes they would, and yes they have.