It looks as if, despite some speculation and worry otherwise, Hillary Clinton is doing all the right things. The explanation given for her failure to release the delegates certainly makes sense. But the fact that she has called on them to support Obama is a pretty good sign that she meant what she said about doing everything possible to help Obama win.

Hopefully her supporters will see this as well and help get Obama elected. Part of the problem with an election is a blogosphere is that a lot of "supporters" are not what they appear to be. Republicans post anti-Semitic things on Obama's site, then alert the press to the fact that the comments are there. "Hillary supporters" continue to spread lies and half-truths about the primary (not to mention ignoring the fact that Republicans gave FL and MI the same penalty as Dems) just to keep the wounds open. "Obama supporters" continue to antagonize Clinton supporters.

I never bought the line that the extended campaign was good for Democrats. I think the negative nature of Hillary's campaign and the negativity of some anti-Clinton people in the media created a real rift. Hillary is doing her part, if belatedly, to fix the problem, but the Republicans are exploiting the rift, even at the top levels.

McCain and Leiberman are reaching out to Hillary supporters. Why? Does McCain really think that, racist fringe aside, Hillary's backers will support him? Or is he just reaching out to Hillary in an attempt to keep the wounds open and further damage the Democrats. I am quite pleased that Clinton is working so hard to repair the rift, but I worry that she has created a monster that she can't control anymore. And the Republicans will do all they can to make sure that the monster stays well fed.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Hillary has damaged her legacy or political future with the worst asppects of her campaign. It seems to me that she is doing what she needs to do to repair any damage that was done, but there is a lingering cloud over her. If Hillary backers really do vote McCain or stay home in November, they are doing Hillary a great disservice. If McCain does manage to beat Obama in the fall, a lot of people are going to put a lot of weight on the two front war that Obama had to fight for so long. Clinton probably won't be the VP nominee. There are too many drawbacks. She can, however, go on to bigger and better things if she hasn't hurt her standing in the party. Not voting for Obama in November would essentally be negating all the hard work that Hillary herself is doing to ensure her political legacy and brighter future.

As I began reading this article, I worried that it was late in coming. Yes, the Evita comparison was frequently on my mind during the "populist" phase of the Clinton campaign, but I was concerned because we Democrats are supposed to be mending fences now. Perhaps it would have been better if an article like this were published last week, before Hillary decided to drop out.

However, as I read the article, I was absolutely amazed at how well written it was. Its criticisms were sharp, but they were right on the money. Furthermore, they were aimed at the radical fringe that does not want to mend fences and support Obama. The point of this essay is not to attack Clinton, but to warn of some of the consequences of the kind of campaign Hillary ran. While the main stream media and others at Salon are beating around the bush with pointless articles about sexism, Ms. Paglia hones in on the real issue behind the "Hillary or bust" crowd.

Yes, Democrats DO need to be working hard to come together behind Obama, but the reactions that we have seen in the wake of his historic win raise issues that also must be dealt with. It is hard to believe that a black man is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party, not because it is so groundbreaking, but because we have heard more about Hillary than Obama since he won. The reactions of the most vocal Hillary supporters in the last few weeks makes one thing very clear: there are TWO major battles going on right now. One is the Obama/McCain battle for the White House. The other is a battle for the soul of feminism. Despite the historical ties between feminism and the civil rights movement, some women want to label Obama as just another MAN wunning for president and completely ignore the groundbreaking nature of his nomination and the positive implications that it has for future women running for office. The feminist battle is a crucial one going forward, but I hope that we can wait and fight it after Obama is president.

And, for the record, I have been a big fan of the Obama/Sebelius ticket for months. The primary obstacle to it happening could well be that Obama want someone with foreign policy experience on his team.