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A Sign It Is All But Over For Senator Hillary Clinton’s Campaign (UPDATED)

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Politics.
May 13th, 2008 | Comments

The skinny bald-headed man has sung:

James Carville has been one of Hillary Clinton’s most energetic defenders, but on Monday he all but declared Barack Obama will become the Democratic nominee for president.

Speaking to students at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, Carville argued Clinton should stay in through the final nominating contest in early June, but said the Democratic tide appears to be moving in Obama’s direction.

“I still hear some dogs barking,” Carville said, according to The State newspaper. “I’m for Senator Clinton, but I think the great likelihood is that Obama will be the nominee.”

“As soon as I determine when that is, I’ll send him a check,” he added.

This is about a good a sign that barring some huge, political-world-shaking development Obama will get the nomination. When asked about a Veep for Obama, Carville mentioned Clinton — but also Clinton supporter Wesley Clark. That is a concept that many pundits are now floating: if an Obama Clinton “Dream Team” ticket is really an “In Your Dreams Ticket” then Obama could opt for a prominent Clinton supporter, which could help unify the bruised party.

UPDATE: Political Scientist Steven Taylor points to another strong sign that it’s all but over for Clinton.

UPDATE: On the other hand, some think that Obama is in trouble.

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StockBoySF

Oh, God.... that second update was on the Taylor Marsh website.... BUt I do agree that Obama will get trounced in WV and will lose KY.

As far as why the superdelegates don't end the nomination process now... I would imagine that the superdelegates want the voters to have a say, rather than suddenly delcare that Obama is the winner and no one needs to vote any longer... I would also imagine that the superdelegates realize that the Clintons will continue to be a powerful force in Democratic (and American) politics so they don't want to tread carefully when it comes to crossing the Clintons... they know there will be some price to pay if they support Obama. I think this is especially true of the US Senators who are undecided... since they have to work closely with Hillary.

At any rate Billary will use Hill's wins in WV today and KY next week as a reason to continue... though I think Hill is just staying in to raise cash to pay herself back, which is fine. Since she has chosen to stay in the race she does need to make some convincing argument to raise that cash.

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