A Thousand Paper Cuts

Day by day, it just gets worse for Hillary Clinton. Here's somebody expected to win the next presidential primary, but every day the calls for her to quit the race get louder. Every day it gets more difficult for her to navigate the media maze created by a six week lull between primaries. Sure, Barack Obama had Rev. Wright, but consider the recent run by the Senator from New York.

Start with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He allegedly spent Super Bowl Sunday at the Clintons, then he goes for Obama. So too does Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, harming her chances for the rout she needs on April 22nd. Hot on Casey's heels comes Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota following suit. A quick look back tells the Clinton campaign that since March 4th, Obama leads her in superdelegate endorsements by roughly three to one.

To make matters worse, the last day of March features a couple of articles saying the campaign is having trouble paying its bills. That would be to the tune of $8.7 million dollars, including $292,000 for her staff's health insurance. The Clinton people say all will be paid in full, but the damage is done. How can you tout your healthcare chops if you can't keep current for your own campaign staff?

As they say on television, but wait, there's more. In a rare burst of candor Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, a Clinton supporter, tells Canadian media he'd be surprised if Obama lost. Using the all too frequent sports analogy, Cleaver said he didn't think the Kansas City Chiefs could beat the Indianapolis Colts, but he still roots for the Chiefs. You get which is which, I trust.

Hillary Clinton has vowed to stay in the race, and Barack Obama says she should do just that. So the dance will continue. The Democrats seem to be split about whether it hurts the party in November. Howard Dean thinks the nomination ought to be settled by July 1st.

Maybe not.