Hillary's Pipe Dream

What was once a foregone conclusion for Hillary Clinton a year ago has now become but a pipe dream. For all intents and purposes, the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination is over, and Barack Obama has won.

With the bosses of the Democratic Party making the decision on Saturday to essentially ignore the votes of the hundreds of thousands of Democrats who voted in Florida and Michigan, Hillary's chances for wresting the nomination away from Obama are next to nil.

Instead of honoring the wishes of the voters in the two states in question, the Democratic Party bosses decided to divide up the delegates, giving Hillary less than what the voters indicated and Obama more than he deserved.

This 'compromise plan' has practically insured Hillary's defeat for the nomination. And her supporters know it. One supporter in particular had to hauled out of the room due to her vehement protests.

Hillary has vowed to take the matter to the Convention floor. There is nothing wrong with that, except for the fact that it scares the Party elites into a state of panic.

However, the numbers are not on Hillary's side. Although she racked up a major win in Puerto Rico on Sunday, it will not matter come Tuesday as the Democratic primaries come to a close. Obama stands to win what's left, and that will give him enough delegates to put him over the top.

Don't count on Hillary to bow out gracefully, however. Her supporters are deeply convinced they got the shaft by the Democratic Party big wigs on Saturday, and they are boiling mad. Look for a fight on the Convention floor unless Hillary finds a way to swallow up her loss and drop out of the race prior to the Convention.

But this will not do a thing to help soothe the hurt feelings on the part of Clinton supporters. So convinced are they about their candidate's abilities and credentials that a significant number will support McCain if Hillary isn't the nominee.

Although some believe that Obama's charming public manner will be enough to be an opiate for the masses, it would be a huge mistake to discount the candidate's glaring weaknesses and liabilities, as well as the fact that he is losing the white vote, the Jewish vote, and the Hispanic vote.

Thus, Obama's chances of winning key states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio are shaky at best. His best chance is Pennsylvania, but he has already insulted millions in the state by portraying them essentially as cousin-humpin' rednecks who cling to their guns and religion out of fear.

Florida's large senior population, which includes a large number of Jews, will be a big problem for Obama. And this is not even taking into consideration Florida's massive Cuban-American population that already views the Senator with deep suspicion.

Ohio is a toss-up. But McCain has as good a chance as any to beat Obama in a state that has historically gone Republican in key elections.

And as for Hillary, perhaps the only vindication she can get out of the whole thing is knowing that in attempting to appease the Obama people, the elites within her Party have probably handed McCain a gift on a golden platter. She tried to tell them Obama can't win the general election.

It truly makes one wonder if the Party bosses are as concerned about winning the election as they are about avoiding causing an uproar in their African-American base by denying Obama the nomination.